In advance of Minnesota’s series in Wisconsin last weekend and two wins away from securing the Big Ten regular-season title, Golden Gophers coach Bob Motzko was asked about how his team had handled a break in the schedule the week before.
“The best answer would be Saturday night late,” he said. “We’ll tell you.”
The Gophers beat the Badgers 4-1 Friday but fell short Saturday, as Wisconsin came from behind for a 3-1 win, delaying what feels like an inevitable outcome in the Big Ten final standings.
During a press conference a few days after the Saturday loss, Motzko credited the Badgers with a well-earned win and added that the Gophers have the opportunity to learn from the experience.
“There were things that we did in the game that we can’t do. but it had been coming,” said Motzko, “and maybe now Coach gets the room back a little bit.
“We haven’t lost a lot of games in conference since November in regulation, so it came at a good time for us. You’ll hear a coach say that once in a while. This one is right on because there are some tendencies that we had coming that we need to get cleaned up, and this is the weekend now to start cleaning that up.”
Mathematically speaking, Michigan is the only team that can catch first-place Minnesota, but that seems unlikely. The Gophers need to win one of their remaining four games to capture the regular-season championship and first-round Big Ten playoff bye, and if Michigan loses just one of its remaining games, the Gophers don’t even need their own single win.
Five teams are vying to finish no lower than fourth in the Big Ten standings, as the teams that place second through fourth host a first-round, best-of-three series. With 35 points, it’s unlikely that second-place Michigan will finish lower than fourth, but it’s still mathematically possible.
Three teams – Michigan State, Ohio State, Notre Dame – are tied with 31 points each, although the Buckeyes have two games in hand on the Spartans and Fighting Irish.
Then there’s Penn State currently in sixth place with 30 points. The Nittany Lions host the Golden Gophers this weekend. Penn State has lost just four home games this season.
“They shoot from everywhere,” said Motzko. “They’re very offensive, they stretch it out of the zone, they try to get you a long way away from the puck. The closer we stay, the better. Wisconsin does that, too, so two weeks now that we will have seen teams that play away from the puck, but they’re very good at it, Penn State.”
Minnesota is seeking its sixth regular-season Big Ten conference championship.
“We just got to get there and play good hockey,” said Motzko. “That’s it.”
More than wins and losses
No team wants to lose the home game that gives an arch-rival a championship. In denying Minnesota the regular-season B1G title last Saturday night in the Kohl Center, Wisconsin did more than win a game. The Badgers made a statement about their commitment to each other – a commitment that Wisconsin has maintained during a challenging season.
“The season has not gone as well in the win-loss columns as we would have liked,” said coach Tony Granato, “but the one thing you can talk about with our team is that each and every day we show up. We’re there for each other. We have fun with each other. We push each other and we stay in the right frame of mind.”
During his weekly press conference, Granato said that there was a chance of letting down after Friday’s 4-1 game because the Badgers might have questions how they could improve enough to beat a team like Minnesota after having played so well and lost.
“I was really proud of the guys and their mental approach to it, the way they attacked them the same way they did on Friday,” said Granato.
The Badgers got a boost from reunions celebrating Wisconsin’s 1973 and 1983 NCAA championship teams.
“There was that excitement that we’ve somewhat lacked in the last couple of months,” said Granato, adding that the weekend felt like a “typical Wisconsin-Minnesota” series.
“Doesn’t matter who’s in first place or last place,” said Granato. “Doesn’t matter. You put those two teams on the ice, special hockey’s going to happen. I thought both those games were great college hockey games.”
There are 34 points separating first-place Minnesota from last-place Wisconsin. The Badgers’ 3-1 win Saturday broke a six-game losing streak against the Golden Gophers, a streak that began Nov. 6, 2021. In those six games, the Gophers outscored the Badgers 34-10.
With four games remaining, Wisconsin cannot play its way out of last place in the Big Ten standings.
So much more than hockey
The murder of three Michigan State students and the injuries to five other Spartans when a gunman began firing randomly on campus shortly after 8:00 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13 have impacted far more than the eight young people who were shot. In the abstract, we know that families are shattered forever and that literally thousands of students, staff and faculty are traumatized.
This time, the horror of this senseless event ripples through the Big Ten and college hockey communities.
Since Michigan State was scheduled to play on the road in Wisconsin this weekend, Badgers coach Tony Granato asked MSU’s Adam Nightingale how his program wanted to handle things.
“We reached out to them right away and told them that we’d adjust and do whatever they needed or thought was appropriate,” said Granato. “When something like that happens, we’re all affected but when you realize that the team you’re going to play this weekend is dealing with it on a personal level because it happened to them, there’s a little bit more concern and awareness to the situation.
“Everything is going to go as scheduled, based on that [being] what they decided is best for them.”
Berkey Hall, the academic building where the first two students were killed, is a 15-minute walk from Munn Ice Arena. The Michigan State student union, where the third victim was shot, is a quick 11 minutes from Munn.
It’s not surprising, then, that the Spartans opted to leave for Madison ahead of schedule, arriving Wednesday instead of Thursday. Granato said that Michigan State will be given ice time to practice Thursday.
“Getting away from campus a day early,” said Granato, “is what they thought was right to do.”
