44 // VARSITY March 27, 2014
A
fter more than four decades of facing as
conference foes in the WCHA, long-time ri-
vals Wisconsin and North Dakota were no-
where to be found on each other's schedules for the
2013-14 season.
Leaving the WCHA behind, the Badgers joined the
Big Ten Conference for its inaugural season of hock-
ey while UND aligned itself with the newly-formed
National Collegiate Hockey Conference. So, for the
first time since 1968-69, there would be no meeting
between the Badgers and UND. Or so it seemed.
However, the events of last Saturday have brought
the rivals together again for a first-round NCAA
tournament matchup in Cincinnati this weekend.
And, in an ironic twist, it was the Badgers' first-ever
Big Ten tournament championship that helped push
North Dakota into the NCAA field.
Even after UND defeated Western Michigan 5-0 in
the NCHC third-place game at the Target Center in
Minneapolis, the team's NCAA fate remained out of
its own hands.
For UND to earn a spot into the tournament, it
needed UMass Lowell, the No. 5-ranked team in the
country, to defeat New Hampshire in the Hockey
East championship game and Wisconsin to defeat
Ohio State in the inaugural Big Ten tournament
championship game taking place across the Missis-
sippi River in St. Paul, Minn.
"In this case, we were their key," UW head coach
Mike Eaves said. "It doesn't matter, we could have
been the Russians and they would have cheered for
us if it helps them get into the NCAAs."
UMass Lowell, which knocked Wisconsin out of
last year's NCAA tournament, cruised to the Hock-
ey East title with a 4-0 win. That left the Badgers-
Buckeyes tilt standing between North Dakota and
an NCAA berth ― and the Big Ten title fight proved
to be a much closer contest.
Ohio State jumped out to a 2-0 lead midway
through the first period, but Wisconsin countered
with a pair of power-play goals to knot the game at
2-2. The Buckeyes scored the next two goals, and
"You're going to have to battle through
some things, the adversity of being
behind, and stay with it, stay patient,"
Eaves said. "I thought our group showed
some maturity ...That maturity and
that steely resolve paid off for us."
