It is every freshman’s dream to play in a big game, and for freshman Brendan Smith and the Wisconsin men’s hockey team, there was no bigger game than Sunday’s 3-2 loss against North Dakota in the Midwest Regional Final.

Smith came to Wisconsin as a highly touted defenseman—he was drafted 27th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the last year’s NHL Entry Draft—and played well during the first half of the season. Smith played in every game up to Jan. 12, when he suffered an injury that sidelined him the rest of the regular season and the WCHA Playoffs.

However, Smith was back on the ice Sunday and was lining up as a forward on the Badgers’ fourth line with sophomores Aaron Bendickson and Andy Bohmbach.

The move undoubtedly coincided with the decision by Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves to move senior forward Josh Engel back to defenseman after Smith’s injury, where Engel played the first three years of his collegiate career.