The No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers (13-3-2, 8-2-0 Big Ten) fell 4-1 to the reigning national champion No. 6 Western Michigan Broncos (12-6-0) in a lop-sided final game of the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off this weekend.
In a mid-season tournament with Boston College (11-6-1), Lake Superior State (6-13-1) and Western Michigan, Wisconsin made the finals for the fifth year in a row but couldn't take home the championship in what would have been their third year in a row.
Road to the finals
The Badgers took the semi-final game 3-2 against Lake State on Sunday afternoon. Freshman goaltender Daniel Hauser had the start in net for Wisconsin.
In a dominating five first minutes of the game, Wisconsin went 5-for-5 on faceoffs and had six shots on goal.
Sophomore defenseman Weston Knox scored his first goal of the season with 6:58 remaining from the blue line. Knox appeared in three games before the tournament, having gone pointless until his goal against Lakers netminder Rorke Applebee.
Two minutes later, the Badgers went on their first power play of the game as freshman forward Vasily Zelenov was tripped. In a poor man-advantage display, Wisconsin lost the only faceoff, had no shots on goal and senior defenseman Ben Dexheimer had to block a shot headed toward Hauser.
The second period was quiet until a Laker defenseman had to sit two minutes for boarding. The Badgers had seven shots on goal but couldn’t convert on 5-on-4 play. Lake State evened the game on a breakaway just seconds after the penalty was complete.
Senior defenseman Aiden Dubinsky was sent to the penalty box for slashing with 10:48 remaining. During the penalty, Wisconsin senior forward Jack Horbach had a short-handed attempt but was unsuccessful, and both teams went scoreless in the two minute penalty.
Lake State took the lead with 9:30 to go in the second period, just after Horbach left the box.
A delayed tripping penalty made Wisconsin head coach Mike Hastings pull Hauser, but the Badgers couldn’t hold possession long enough to score and went on the power play.
Dexheimer tied the game on the man-advantage bar down from between the circles, scooping up the puck after the faceoff.
Going into the third period tied 2-2, the Badgers struggled to keep the puck out of their defensive zone to start the period. Horbach sat two minutes for holding the stick four minutes into the period, and Wisconsin was able to keep the puck circling the ice and away from Hauser.
But deep into the final period, Wisconsin took the lead. With Freshman forward Finn Brink fighting along the boards, he broke free on a breakaway, puck-handling in front of Applebee with two Lakers on his heels. He was able to notch his third goal of the season and give Wisconsin a 3-2 lead
After an intense back-and-forth , the Badgers went back on the power play with 2:06 to go. Lake State pulled Applebee 48 seconds remaining and couldn’t tie the game, sending Wisconsin to the championship game.
Hauser had 18 saves and a .900 save percentage to end game one in the tournament.
Brutal loss to reigning NCAA champions
After beating Boston College 5-3 on Sunday, Western Michigan faced Wisconsin in the championship game on Monday. Sophomore goaltender Eli Pulver got the start for Wisconsin in the 4-1 loss.
WMU matched the Badgers from the first faceoff, with both goalies dominating the first period.
Zelenov drove the net 10 minutes into the first to take the 1-0 lead. With the help from freshman forward Brun Idžan, they were able to put pressure on goalie Hampton Slukunsky and give the Badgers an early lead.
Hastings pulled Pulver with 3:16 remaining for a delayed holding penalty, and the Badgers shot twice against Slukynsky before their man-advantage started. None of the four Wisconsin shots resulted in a goal.
The game got chippy with eight seconds to go in the first, and both senior forward Kyle Kukkonen and WMU freshman Bobby Cowan drew roughing penalties before the end of the period.
Two minutes into the second period, a scuffle in front of the net led to a large pile-up that blocked Pulver’s vision.
With both teams in the midst of an intense battle, WMU shoved the game-tying 1-1 goal into the net with 17:32 to go. Two Broncos got stuck inside Pulver’s crease, effectively opening a gap between Pulver and the net.
The Broncos then took the lead at eight minutes, passing between the circles and past a fallen Dexheimer to take the 2-1 lead. They never looked back.
Wisconsin was able to get shots on goal, but none went past Slukynsky to tie the game. Just before the end of the second period, the Badgers went on their final power play of the game.
Although Wisconsin started the third period on the man-advantage, they only managed one shot and one lost faceoff.
The Badgers had many attempts until the final minutes to get another goal in over the Broncos, but there was nothing to show for it on the scoresheet.
Hastings pulled Pulver with just over two minutes in the third for an extra skater to tie the game, but WMU shot the puck down the ice for an empty net goal to advance their lead to 3-1.
The Broncos scored their third goal against Pulver just 14 seconds later to go up 4-1 with just over two minutes to go in the game. Wisconsin managed two shots before the Broncos took home their first Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off trophy.
Pulver made 21 saves for a .875 save percentage in his third full game between the pipes for the Badgers.
Wisconsin currently sits at a .778 win percentage on the year, higher than their .675 in the 2023-24 season when Hastings took over. Brewing with young talent and a strong scoring presence, beating the reigning national champions could’ve given the Badgers a boost heading into the new year.
With the soon return of top-scoring junior forward Quinn Finley and strong defenders freshman Luke Osburn and sophomore Logan Hensler, the Badger’s season is still looking up. Michigan State and Penn State are ahead on Wisconsin’s schedule, both opportunities for the Badgers to maintain their top ranking.
Looking ahead, Wisconsin faces Alaska Anchorage Friday at 7 p.m. at the Kohl Center.
