It seems like the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team found its kryptonite. Unfortunately, it resulted in their dismissal from the Big Ten tournament.
For the first time in Big Ten hockey history, the last place team in the conference won a quarterfinal series in the Big Ten tournament. Unfortunately, for the No. 5 Badgers (26-11-2), they were the history-making two seed, as the seven-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes (14-19-4) defeated them 2-1 in the best-of-three series.
Despite all the good vibes and improvement from last year, Wisconsin’s stint in the Big Ten tournament gained them only one more win and ended the same way.
The Buckeyes had reason to be confident going in. After all, they did beat Wisconsin the last two times the teams met, albeit those games were back in Columbus. The Badgers, who defeated Ohio State 3-1 and 6-0 in the two games at the Kohl Center back in December, thought being back at home would give them the edge again.
Instead, it was Ohio State who put a hurting on the Badgers early in the opening game, outshooting Wisconsin 6-0 in the early going and getting an early goal from defenseman Brent Johnson. The Badgers tied things up at one later on, but then the Max Montes show began.
Montes scored twice, including a game one snipe on the power play, to give Ohio State a lead they would not relinquish. He added the game-sealing empty-netter to clinch a 3-1 win for the Buckeyes.
“The one thing I think that’s beautiful about this game, even when it rears its head like it does tonight, is it just reveals,” UW head coach Mike Hastings said. “It’s a revealing sport. I thought they paid the price a bit more than us and won the special teams battle. They were harder and they were rewarded for it. We’d better turn that around in less than 24 hours.”
The Badgers did respond, with a 4-2 win in game two, but they needed a lot of great saves from goaltender Kyle McClellan in order to do it – 37 saves to be exact.
The power play was much better in the second game, going two-for-five, and UW’s stars showed up. Sophomore Cruz Lucius had two assists and the game-sealing empty-net goal, senior David Silye scored the separating goal in the second period and added an assist as well. It felt like the Badgers might have wrestled momentum back.
Along with a Big Ten tournament record-breaking home crowd Saturday night, history was on the Badgers’ side as well. Of the six Big Ten quarterfinal series that have gone three games, five of these games have been won by the team that wins game two.
Instead, the Badgers bucked the trend and extended their personal game-three losing streak to five games dating back to their time in the WCHA with a listless performance and another 3-1 loss.
The Badgers had a near-goal in the opening few minutes of the game with a puck sneaking past Buckeyes goaltender Logan Terness, but it was rescued by defenseman Theo Wallberg for the Buckeyes. It seemed to take the wind out of UW’s sails, who never really got close again for the rest of the game.
The result? A disappointing upset on home ice and the reality that, at the time the team is supposed to be peaking, they’re playing their worst hockey of the year.
“We’ve got to find a way to score more than one goal in our own building in a win-or-go-home [game],” Hastings said. “Experience is the best teacher, and two out of the last three nights we experience something that we don’t want to experience here in a couple weeks.”
The Badgers finished the season series against the Buckeyes accounting for four of their five conference wins and scoring just five goals combined in those four losses.
Stars of the Weekend
3 – David Silye, Wisconsin. Had the big momentum-changing goal in game two and was solid in the faceoff dot in the opening two games.
2 – Max Montes, Ohio State. The forward had two goals, including the game winner, in the all-important game one.
1 – Logan Terness, Ohio State. The goaltender recorded the win in both Ohio State wins and didn’t play in the loss, turning aside 57 of 59 UW shots all weekend.
Up Next
The now-No. 9 Badgers have also dropped to ninth in the all-important PairWise rankings, the main criteria used for seeding in the NCAA Tournament. They now will have to sit and wait the next couple of weeks and try to stay sharp because the next time they suit up for a game, it will be in the NCAA Tournament.
The selection show is March 24, but due to the transparent seeding process the NCAA uses in hockey, the Badgers will have a pretty good idea of where they’ll end up ahead of time.
Currently, the Badgers would likely slot in as the first three seed and face the defending champions Quinnipiac in round one before a likely date with top-seed Boston College in the regional final.
According to PlayoffStatus, the Badgers could finish anywhere from the No. 5 overall seed to the No. 11 seed, but have an 84% chance of remaining on the 8/9 line.
“On to chapter three,” Hastings said postgame.
