Big Ten men's ice hockey tournament

The Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is the conference tournament for the Big Ten Conference. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Big Ten men's ice hockey tournament
Conference hockey championship
SportIce hockey
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Number of teams7
FormatSingle-elimination tournament
Last contest2023
Current championMichigan
Most championshipsMichigan (3)
TV partner(s)Big Ten Network
Official websitewww.bigten.org

The tournament was first held in 2014, the first year of conference play; the first four tournaments alternated between Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota and Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.[1] Due to the addition of Notre Dame to conference play, a new playoff format was introduced for the 2018 tournament, utilizing campus sites instead.

Format

2014–2017

From 2014 through 2017, all six Big Ten teams participated in a single-elimination tournament held over three days at one neutral host site.[2] These four tournaments alternated between Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota and Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.[1]

Teams were seeded by the regular-season conference standings. In the quarterfinals on Thursday of the tournament weekend, No. 3 played No. 6 and No. 4 played No. 5. On Friday, No. 2 played the winner of the first game and No. 1 played the winner of the second game (the teams were not reseeded). The two semifinal winners played each other on Saturday in the final.[3]

2018–2020

Due to poor attendance at the neutral site tournaments, and the addition of Notre Dame as a seventh Big Ten team in hockey, a new format was introduced in 2018. The No. 1 team in the regular-season conference standings automatically advances to the conference semifinals, while the remaining teams are seeded into best-of-three quarterfinals to determine the three remaining teams. The remainder of the playoff is single-elimination.[4][5][6]

All games are held at the home arena of the team with the higher seed, rather than a neutral site. In order to reduce the likelihood of scheduling conflicts at team venues, the semifinals and championship are played as single games (in contrast to other conference tournaments).[5][6] The 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

2021–present

The 2021 tournament will return to a single-elimination tournament held over three days at one neutral host site for the first time since 2017.[8]

Members

There are currently seven member schools, with all seven participating in the men's division.

Institution City Nickname Founded Affiliation Enrollment
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan Wolverines 1817 Public 44,718
Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan Spartans 1855 Public 55,543
University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Golden Gophers 1851 Public 48,231
University of Notre Dame South Bend, Indiana Fighting Irish 1842 Private 12,292
Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio Buckeyes 1870 Public 59,873
Penn State University State College, Pennsylvania Nittany Lions 1855 Public 46,606
University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin Badgers 1848 Public 43,820

Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament champions
Main article: List of Big Ten men's ice hockey tournament champions
Year Winning team Coach Losing team Coach Score Location Venue Reference
2014WisconsinMike EavesOhio StateSteve Rohlik5–4 (OT)Saint Paul, MinnesotaXcel Energy Center[9]
2015MinnesotaDon LuciaMichiganRed Berenson4–2Detroit, MichiganJoe Louis Arena[10]
2016MichiganRed BerensonMinnesotaDon Lucia5–3Saint Paul, MinnesotaXcel Energy Center[11]
2017Penn StateGuy GadowskyWisconsinTony Granato2–1 (2OT)Detroit, MichiganJoe Louis Arena[12]
2018Notre DameJeff JacksonOhio StateSteve Rohlik3–2 (OT)Notre Dame, IndianaCompton Family Ice Arena[13]
2019Notre DameJeff JacksonPenn StateGuy Gadowsky3–2Notre Dame, IndianaCompton Family Ice Arena[14]
2020Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[15]
2021MinnesotaBob MotzkoWisconsinTony Granato6–4Notre Dame, IndianaCompton Family Ice Arena[16]
2022MichiganMel PearsonMinnesotaBob Motzko4–3Minneapolis, Minnesota3M Arena at Mariucci[17]
2023MichiganBrandon NauratoMinnesotaBob Motzko4–3Minneapolis, Minnesota3M Arena at Mariucci[18]

Championship records

References
  1. "Big Ten announces tournament sites" (Press release). Park Ridge, Illinois: NCAA. April 19, 2012. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  2. "Big Ten Announces Conference Schedule for Inaugural Season of Men's Ice Hockey" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. May 8, 2013. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  3. Jovenitti, Tony; Jashvina Shah (19 March 2014). "Big Ten Tournament Preview". College Hockey News. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  4. "Big Ten Announces Conference Schedule for 2017-18 Hockey Season". Big Ten Conference. May 4, 2017. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  5. Dilks, Chris (September 30, 2016). "Big Ten Officially Approves On-Campus Playoffs". SB Nation. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  6. Gonzalez, Jason (May 20, 2016). "Big Ten hockey in process of approving new on-campus playoff format". Star Tribune. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  7. "Big Ten Statement on Competitions, Recruiting". Big Ten Conference. March 12, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  8. "Big Ten Weekly Hockey Release". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  9. "Wisconsin Wins Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament" (Press release). Saint Paul, Minnesota: Big Ten Conference. March 22, 2014. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  10. "Minnesota claims Big Ten Tournament title" (Press release). Detroit, Michigan: Big Ten Conference. March 21, 2015. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  11. Merriman, Sean (March 19, 2016). "Michigan defeats Minnesota in championship game". Saint Paul, Minnesota: Big Ten Conference. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  12. "Penn State Wins Hockey Tourney In 2OT". Detroit, Michigan: Big Ten Conference. March 19, 2017. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  13. "Morrison's Overtime Goal Gives Irish B1G Tourney Title". Notre Dame, Indiana: Big Ten Conference. March 17, 2018. Archived from the original on March 19, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  14. "Irish Capture Second Straight B1G Crown; Fourth Straight NCAA Bid". Notre Dame, Indiana: Big Ten Conference. March 23, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  15. "Big Ten Statement on Competitions, Recruiting". Big Ten Conference. March 12, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  16. "Gophers Take Down Badgers, Win B1G Tournament Championship". gophersports.com. March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  17. McNeil, Kristy (March 19, 2022). "Michigan Scores Four Straight to Win Second B1G Tournament Championship". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  18. McNeil, Kristy (March 18, 2023). "Mich-AGAIN! U-M Wins Second-Straight Big Ten Tournament Title". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
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