Buckeyes on the Bubble: Women’s Hockey ends regular season strong

The Ohio State Women’s Ice Hockey team ended the season on a 3-0-1 run, staying in strong position to reach the NCAA Tournament.

The Ohio State Women’s Ice Hockey team ended the season on a 3-0-1 run, going unbeaten against No. 2 Wisconsin and St. Cloud State, staying in strong position to reach the eight-team NCAA Tournament.

Ohio State sits at No. 5 in the PairWise Rankings. As I’ve explained before, the PairWise Rankings tell us exactly where every team sits in selection order for the NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament. There are four automatic bids and four at-large teams. The No. 5 spot in the PairWise Rankings means that the Buckeyes are holding on to the second of the four at-large spots.

The Buckeyes open the WCHA conference tournament with a best-of-three home series this weekend against Minnesota State. A sweep would guarantee the Buckeyes a tournament bid, though they’re pretty safe at this point no matter what, unless something crazy like getting swept happens. (And even then, it might take a bid thief in one of the conference tournaments to keep Ohio State out.)

The NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament is an eight-team bracket. The first round is hosted by the four highest seeds. The Buckeyes are a ways out of a Top 4 spot, though picking up the fourth seed isn’t impossible. It would take some help, though. Northeastern currently holds that fourth spot, and the Huskies host Vermont in a best-of-three series in the first round of the Hockey East tournament. If Northeastern loses the series, that leaves an opening for the Buckeyes–especially if Ohio State reaches the WCHA final.

Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, though. Next weekend–after the opening round of conference tournaments–we’ll look back in at where the Buckeyes will be headed in the NCAA Tournament, and if there’s still a chance of hosting the first round.

Ohio State’s one and only appearance in the NCAA Tournament came two years ago, when the Buckeyes upset Boston College to reach the Frozen Four, where they fell to eventual National Champion Clarkson in overtime.