Not that they didn’t before, but now the games really matter in Big Ten hockey. Ohio State ran away with the regular-season crown, and by doing so obtained a straight-line path into the semifinals of the Big Ten Hockey Tournament.
We now know who Ohio State will play. Penn State made it through the best-of-three rounds to get a shot in the knockout portion of the tournament in the semifinals, and will be traveling to Columbus for a survive and advance situation as the No. 4 seed.
That semifinal matchup will be played Sunday afternoon at Value City Arena. The other semifinal will be between the No. 2 and 3 seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday night.
Obviously the Buckeyes would love to add the tournament title to their resume for the double-dip, but it should be noted that a win is not a must to get into the NCAA Tournament. They are likely in that field no matter what happens this weekend.
Ohio State is 3-1 against the Nittany Lions this season, the lone loss coming at home 3-4 in November. Get ready for some fun hockey at the Schott Sunday and hopefully beyond.
