Minnesota, which won the regular season Big Ten Championship, and Wisconsin earned first-round byes by finishing the regular season as the top two teams in the conference.
The third-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes claimed a 6-3 victory over the sixth-seeded Michigan State Spartans in Thursday's first quarterfinal. The Buckeyes jumped out to a 2-0 lead just over five minutes into the opening frame, but the Spartans went on to score three unanswered goals in a 5:22 span to take a 3-2 lead into the first intermission. Buckeyes sophomore Brendon Kearney (Northville, Mich.) tied the game at 13:54 of the middle frame and senior forward David Gust scored two goals 1:13 apart to reopen a two-goal lead for Ohio State. Freshman forward Tanner Laczynski closed out the scoring with his tally at 3:51 of the third period. Michigan State senior forward Villiam Haag had a goal and an assist for the Spartans in the defeat.
Fourth-seeded Penn State defeated fifth-seeded Michigan, 4-1, in the tournament's second quarterfinal game. The Nittany Lions tallied four unanswered goals to start the game with points coming from nine different players. Freshmen Liam Folkes and Nate Sucese and senior David Goodwin all scored in the first period, giving Penn State an early 3-0 lead. Sophomore defenseman Vince Pedrie found the back of the net just 1:03 into the second period to give Penn State a 4-0 advantage. Michigan's lone goal came nearly halfway through the second as freshman forward James Sanchez batted the puck past Penn State goalie Peyton Jones at the 10:19 mark. Jones finished the game with 30 saves to backstop the Nittany Lions to the victory.
The Big Ten Tournament championship game will take place at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 18 and will mark the final college hockey game at historic Joe Louis Arena. The winner will receive the conference's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Championship. All remaining games will be broadcast live by BTN.
FAMILY 4-PACKS AVAILABLE FOR BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
Starting at $49, fans can purchase Family 4-Packs for the Big Ten Tournament. The offer features four single-session tickets, four slices of pizza or hot dogs and four soft drinks for any date of the Big Ten Tournament. Family 4-Packs can be purchased at the Joe Louis Arena Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets (800-745-3000) and online at
www.OlympiaEntertainment.com
.
SINGLE-SESSION TICKETS AVAILABLE
College hockey fans can take in all the action of the Big Ten Tournament by purchasing single-session tickets, starting at $18, which allow access to all Big Ten Tournament games on the corresponding day.
Prices for single-session tickets are as follows:
Single-session tickets for the Big Ten Tournament can be purchased at the Joe Louis Arena Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets (800-745-3000) and online at
www.OlympiaEntertainment.com
.
