Detroit - Wisconsin kept its NCAA tournament hopes alive by edging Ohio State 2-1 on Friday in the Big Ten hockey tournament semifinals at Joe Louis Arena.
Badgers edge Buckeyes in Big Ten hockey semifinals
By News Services
March 18, 2017 at 1:44AM
Will Johnson's 10th goal of the season, 1 minute, 30 seconds into the third period, broke a 1-all tie and proved to be the winner. Luke Kunin, the Wild's first-round draft pick in 2016, gave Wisconsin a 1-0 lead at 17:18 of the first. It was the freshman forward's 22nd goal.
Dakota Joshua scored a power-play goal for the Buckeyes in the second.
Jack Berry stopped 23 shots for the Badgers, Matt Tomkins 24 for OSU.
Wisconsin (20-14-1) still needs to win the Big Ten tournament to make the 16-team NCAA field. An automatic berth goes with the conference playoff title.
The Badgers don't have a chance at an at-large bid because they are No. 17 in the PairWise rankings even with their latest win.
OSU (21-11-6), 13th in the PairWise, still has a shot at an NCAA at-large berth — barring big upsets in other conference tournaments.
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Two offensive linemen from Lakeville, Bryce Benhart and Riley Mahlman, are standouts for Big Ten rivals of Minnesota.
