The No. 13 Wisconsin men's hockey team has finished its regular season a week early and is now forced to wait and see whether it will have home ice in the first round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Playoffs.
The Badgers (11-12-5 WCHA, 15-14-7 overall) are currently in sole possession of fourth-place in the WCHA, but are only one-point ahead of St. Cloud State and Minnesota State, who are tied for fifth-place in the conference.
The top five teams in the WCHA earn home ice in the first round, making this weekend's games for St. Cloud State and Minnesota State extremely important for Wisconsin.
Wisconsin went 3-1 against the Huskies of St. Cloud State this season, and would earn home ice if the two tied with 27 points. However, Minnesota State holds a 2-1-1 advantage over the Badgers, which would give the Mavericks home ice and send Wisconsin on the road.
With that said, here are the matchups for both St. Cloud State and Minnesota State this weekend, as all eyes in Wisconsin will be following their series very closely.
St. Cloud State has the arduous task of traveling to North Dakota to take on the No. 1 Fighting Sioux. The Huskies split with North Dakota in early January, winning 3-2 and losing 6-2. The Huskies split against Wisconsin last weekend, but have been relatively hot as of late. St. Cloud State has won six of its last seven games, with the only hiccup coming against the Badgers in the series opener last Friday.
The Fighting Sioux have been on a hot-streak of their own, having gone undefeated in their last 15 games with a record of 14-0-1. North Dakota's strong play is the main reason for its climb to No. 1 in the rankings, and with the top seed in the WCHA conference wrapped up, it will be interesting to see how intense the Fighting Sioux come out this weekend.
That is not to say that North Dakota will lie down, as every team in the WCHA wants to win no matter what, and the Fighting Sioux still have something to play for - maintaining the No. 1 spot in the polls.
As for Minnesota State, the Mavericks will have an easier task in playing Michigan Tech. The Huskies of Michigan Tech are in second to last in the conference, and only have pride to play for at this point. Playing the role of spoiler is always an option, so expect Michigan Tech to give the Mavericks all they can handle.
That, accompanied with Minnesota State's poor play as of late - the Mavericks are 1-3 in their last four games - should bode well for the Badgers, who undoubtedly will need help from both North Dakota and Michigan Tech this weekend.
It seems highly unlikely for Wisconsin to come out of the final weekend of the regular season with home ice, as all Minnesota State or St. Cloud State has to do is earn two points, but stranger things have happened.
If the Badgers can get a little bit of luck and a few bounces in their favor - something the team has lacked as of late - Wisconsin could very well have one more series at the Kohl Center in front of its home crowd.
If not, there is always the NCAA Regional, which is being held in Madison this season. If the Badgers make the NCAA Tournament and make it to the Regional, they will be right back home.
