Men’s ice hockey will become an official Big Ten sport with the 2013-14 academic year, the conference announced today that the Big Ten Men’s Ice Hockey Tournaments will be held at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn., in 2014 and 2016, and at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich., in 2015 and 2017.
The inaugural Big Ten Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament will be held March 20-22, 2014 at Xcel Energy Center. Tickets are expected to go on sale in the summer of 2013.
The tournament will feature all six teams, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin – in a single elimination format. Thursday’s quarterfinals will feature the No. 3 seed facing the No. 6 seed and the No. 4 seed battling the No. 5 seed. The top two seeds will open tournament play in the Friday semifinals, with the No. 1 seed against either the No. 4 or 5 seed and the No. 2 seed facing the No. 3 or 6 seed. The championship game will be held on Saturday.
