Notre Dame forwards Christian Hanson (pictured) and Ryan Thang were both injured in last weekend's overtime win at Ohio State.

In winning one of two games against Ohio State in Columbus this past weekend, Notre Dame achieved an important milestone — securing a first-round bye and the right to host a second-round series in the CCHA tournament.

And while the Fighting Irish still have work to do to sew up the regular season championship, clinching the bye couldn’t have come at a better time for coach Jeff Jackson’s squad. Senior Christian Hanson and junior Ryan Thang were both injured in Friday’s thrilling come-from-behind victory against the Buckeyes.

Of the two, Thang is worse for the wear, injuring his left leg when he crashed into the Value City Arena boards in a collision that at the very least made one cringe, and at worst made witnesses turn away. While it initially appeared he may have suffered knee ligament damage from the incident — the pain, Thang told Irish Illustrated, “was excruciating” — the injury was later diagnosed as a high ankle sprain. He’ll likely miss the rest of the regular season after playing 117 consecutive games for Notre Dame.

Hanson suffered a concussion in the same game and also missed Sunday’s series finale. The senior has begun skating again this week, but is still listed as day-to-day and would need to pass the appropriate concussion protocol to play this weekend.

With the first-round bye in hand, Jackson can afford to give Hanson and Thang all the rest they need to recover in time for the playoffs, where the past experiences for those players and their teammates should lead to a long run.

“(Having a top-four spot secured) allows me to be more cautious with a guy like Christian Hanson,” Jackson said. “The most important thing is getting guys healthy in my estimation. We have a lot of veterans that have experienced the highs and lows of the CCHA playoffs and the NCAA tournament and hopefully those experiences get them ready.”

In the meantime, the Fighting Irish will have their hands full at home against Northern Michigan this weekend. The Wildcats have rebounded from a dreadful first half and become one of the league’s hottest teams in recent weeks. The recent success is no surprise for Jackson, who credits coach Walt Kyle for orchestrating a strong second half much like last year.

“[Northern Michigan is] on a roll,” Jackson said. “They’re playing the way people expected to play for most of this year. They’ve had their share of injuries as well, but they were expected to be a good team.”

With Thang out and Hanson questionable for this weekend, Jackson will be looking to their teammates to step up their play, much like they did when Erik Condra’s season ended with an injury in the CCHA playoffs.

“That’s going to be a key,” Jackson said. “Last year, guys elevated their games [when Condra was injured]. Ryan Thang took a big step, and Kevin Deeth, Dan Kissel and Justin White. I think that’s what has to happen — people have to enhance their roles.”