Big Ten men's ice hockey tournament | |
---|---|
Conference hockey championship | |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Conference | Big Ten Conference |
Number of teams | 7 |
Format | Single-elimination tournament |
Last contest | 2024 |
Current champion | Michigan State |
Most championships | Michigan (3) |
TV partner(s) | Big Ten Network |
Official website | www.bigten.org |
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.
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.
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]
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]
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 |
Pennsylvania State University | State College, Pennsylvania | Nittany Lions | 1855 | Public | 46,606 |
University of Wisconsin | Madison, Wisconsin | Badgers | 1848 | Public | 43,820 |
By school
| By coach
|
The Big Ten Conference is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1896, it predates the founding of its regulating organization, the NCAA. It is based in the Chicago area in Rosemont, Illinois. For many decades the conference consisted of 10 prominent universities, which accounts for its name. As of August 2024, it consists of 18 member institutions and 2 affiliate institutions. The conference competes in the NCAA Division I and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, the highest level of NCAA competition in that sport.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division I in all sports, with many teams competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Notre Dame is one of only 16 universities in the United States that play Division I FBS football and Division I men's ice hockey. The school colors are gold and blue and the mascot is the Leprechaun. It was founded on November 23, 1887, with football in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Robert Giles Motzko is the head coach of the University of Minnesota men's hockey team in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he had previously served as Assistant Coach in 2001–05. He was previously the head coach of the St. Cloud State Huskies from 2005 to 2018. During his time at SCSU, he was named the WCHA Coach of the Year in 2006 and again in 2007.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team of the University of Notre Dame, competing at the NCAA Division I level as an associate member of the Big Ten Conference. The Irish play their home games at Compton Family Ice Arena. The head coach of the Fighting Irish is Jeff Jackson, and his assistant coaches are Paul Pooley, Andy Slaggert, and Max Mobley.
Scott Alan Sandelin is an American former professional ice hockey player. He is currently the head coach of the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team. In 2011, he became the first coach in Bulldog history to lead them to a national title, in a 3–2 overtime game against the University of Michigan at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In the 2018 NCAAs, he led the Bulldogs to a second national title, over Notre Dame 2–1, also played at the Xcel Energy Center. The following season, in the 2019 NCAAs, he led the Bulldogs to a third national title. Sandelin grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota, where he went on to be drafted in the second round by the Montreal Canadiens and play collegiate hockey for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.
Derrick Walton Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and spent his first professional season as a two-way contract player with the Miami Heat and their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
The 2015–16 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Ann Arbor, Michigan for the 49th consecutive year at the Crisler Center, which has a capacity of 12,707. This season marked the program's 100th season and its 99th consecutive year as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The team was led by 9th year head coach John Beilein. Because this was Michigan's 100th season, the team was known as Squad 100 or Team 100
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman is an American professional basketball player for Bilbao of the Spanish Liga ACB. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. Abdur-Rahkman played high school basketball for Allentown Central Catholic High School in his hometown of Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he was a four-time Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class AAA All-State selection.
The 2016–17 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolverines, led by head coach John Beilein in his tenth year, played their home games for the 50th consecutive year at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This season marked the program's 101st season and its 100th consecutive year as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The team earned the 2017 Big Ten Conference tournament championship and reached the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Kyle Connor is an American professional ice hockey player for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Connor was drafted 17th overall by the Jets in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Victor Moritz "Mo" Wagner is a German professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for Alba Berlin before moving to the US to play college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines from 2015 through his junior season for the 2017–18 Wolverines team. Wagner entered his name for the 2017 NBA draft without hiring an agent, but withdrew and returned to Michigan. He was selected with the 25th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Charles I. Matthews is an American professional basketball player who is currently playing for BC Luleå in Sweden. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. He played his freshman season for the 2015–16 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team after attending St. Rita of Cascia High School. As a high school senior he was a 2015 Jordan Brand Classic All-American selection.
Tyler Motte is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Motte was drafted 121st overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, and spent 33 games with the team in 2017 before being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has also played for the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators.
Christopher Cale Morris is an American professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for the Kansas City Mavericks of the ECHL.
Jon Teske is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. He was part of the 2017–18 team that reached the Championship Game of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Teske was a member of 2017 and 2018 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament champions during his first two seasons.
The Michigan–Notre Dame men's ice hockey rivalry is a college ice hockey rivalry between Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey and Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey that is part of the larger rivalry between the University of Michigan and Notre Dame University. The rivalry between the Wolverines and Fighting Irish notably includes the football rivalry.
Matthew Beniers is an American professional ice hockey center for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Kraken drafted Beniers second overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft with their first-ever selection in an entry draft. He played college ice hockey at Michigan. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year in 2023.
The 2021–22 Michigan Wolverines men's hockey team was the Wolverines' 100th season of play. They represented the University of Michigan in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. They were coached by Mel Pearson, in his fifth year, and played their home games at Yost Ice Arena. The Wolverines won the 2022 Big Ten men's ice hockey tournament and received an automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Tournament, where they reached their NCAA record 26th Frozen Four and were eliminated in the semifinals by eventual national champion Denver.
The 2022–23 Michigan Wolverines men's hockey team was the Wolverines' 101st season of play. They represented the University of Michigan in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. They were coached by Brandon Naurato, in his first year as head coach, and played their home games at Yost Ice Arena.