With Notre Dame looming, Michigan hockey looks to boost tournament resume

Michigan hockey's quest for a third straight Big Ten Tournament title begins on Friday night as the fourth-seeded Wolverines host the No. 5 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Yost Ice Arena.

It will be a best-two-out-of-three weekend series, with the winner advancing to the conference tournament semifinals to face an opponent that will be determined as the tournament goes on. All three games (if three are necessary) will take place at Yost Ice Arena.

For Michigan, the series against Notre Dame proves to be a big one. The Wolverines have slowly been climbing the PairWise rankings — they're up to a tie for 11th in the nation after last night's action — but a loss to the Irish could be detrimental to Michigan's NCAA Tournament hopes.

Notre Dame ranks 21st in the PairWise rankings, and a series loss to the Irish could put Michigan on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.

It's the second time in three weeks that Notre Dame will play a series at Yost Ice Arena. The Fighting Irish visited Yost in late February, and Michigan got the best of them in both matchups.

Goaltender Jake Barczewski shut out Notre Dame in the series opener on Friday night, and goals from Gavin Brindley and Marshall Warren helped the Wolverines to the sweep.

Michigan is 3-1 against Notre Dame this season, with the only loss coming in South Bend on Dec. 1.

If Michigan beats Notre Dame in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals and advances to the semifinals, its chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season.

Should the Wolverines and all other home-ice favorites advance into the semifinals, Michigan will face Michigan State in East Lansing in a winner-take-all contest for a spot in the tournament championship.

Friday night's series-opener between the Wolverines and Fighting Irish is set to begin at 7 p.m. and will air on B1G+.

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