After splitting this weekend's series with Michigan State, Wisconsin will begin the inaugural Big Ten hockey tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Badgers will begin play on Friday at 2 p.m. CT versus the winner of No. 3 Michigan and No. 6 Penn State on Thursday. All games will be played at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., and televised on BTN.
The Badgers earned the first-round bye after the split, which set their final regular-season record at 22-10-2 and 13-6-1 in Big Ten play. Wisconsin scored three goals in the first period, allowing the Badgers to withstand three subsequent Michigan State goals. With two minutes left in the first frame, UW had twice as many goals (four) as MSU had shots on goal.
In the tournament, Minnesota (25-5-6, 20-14-3) earned the No. 1 seed, followed by Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State and Penn State. The championship game will be played Saturday at 7 p.m.