The Jeff Jackson Era lives on.
At least for one more game. His seventh-seeded Irish saw to that by knocking No. 2 seed and third-ranked Minnesota out of the Big Ten tournament with a 4-1 victory Sunday in Minneapolis to take the best-of-three quarterfinal series, two games to one.
The Irish (12-24-1) advance to play top seed Michigan State (24-6-4), Saturday at 6 p.m. EDT in the Big Ten semis. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network. The Spartans received a first-round bye.
Upstart and 5 seed Penn State (20-12-4), which swept 4 seed Michigan in two games on the road, faces 3 seed Ohio State (23-12-2) in Saturday’s other semifinal in Columbus, Ohio (8:30 p.m. on BTN). The Buckeyes edged 6 seed Wisconsin, 3-2, Sunday in the deciding game of their quarterfinal series in Columbus.
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Saturday’s winners meet for the Big Ten title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on March 22 at 7:30 p.m. EDT at the site of the highest-remaining seed.
At 3M Arena at Mariucci on Sunday night, Jaydn Davis scored a first-period goal and Grant Silianoff another in the second for a 2-0 Irish lead, and Owen Say made them stand up with 39 saves.
Minnesota (25-11-1) answered with a power-play goal early in the third, but Cole Knuble made it 3-1, and Hunter Strand added an empty-netter to complete the upset.
The 69-year-old Jackson announced his impending retirement before the season started once Notre Dame’s season came to an end. After a last-place Big Ten finish in the regular-season, he got milestone career win No. 600 in Friday’s quarterfinal series opener.
Jackson has coached in the collegiate ranks for 26 seasons, the last 20 of them with the Irish.
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