It’s been 20 years since the Badgers men’s hockey team hoisted an NCAA Championship trophy, when Wisconsin defeated the Boston College Eagles to claim their sixth title in program history. But since then, the Badgers have struggled to reach their former glory.
Their best chance came in 2010, when Boston College got their revenge and routed Wisconsin 5-0 in the National Championship game, and the Badgers haven’t been able to replicate that success since.
The 2005-06 Badgers team consisted of future NHL players like Joe Pavelski, Brian Elliott, Adam Burish. Wisconsin finished the season with a 30-10-3 record and No. 2 in the USCHO rankings.
In the NCAA Tournament, the Badgers defeated Bemidji State, Cornell, Maine and Boston College en route to their sixth national championship. In those four games, Elliott allowed just three goals.
This past weekend, Wisconsin celebrated the 20th anniversary of their 2006 National Championship run. There were some key players on that championship team in attendance at the Kohl Center for the Badgers matchup with the Penn State Nittany Lions. Some players in attendance were Joe Pavelski, Brian Elliott, Robbie Earl, and former head coach Mike Eaves.
Wisconsin is putting together a quality season under third-year head coach Mike Hastings. In his first year at the helm, he brought the Badgers back to the NCAA tournament in 2024, only their second appearance since 2014. After a disappointing campaign the year after, the Badgers have bounced back in a big way this season.
It has been an eventful season for Wisconsin so far. The Badgers have a 15-7-2 record and were ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation before back-to-back losses against the then-No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions this weekend dropped them to No. 8.
Wisconsin has had multiple highlight victories this season with multiple wins over No. 1 Michigan State and No. 2 Michigan. The Badgers racked up two wins in four games over the top ranked Michigan State Spartans.
After falling down 2-0 early in the first game against the Spartans, the Badgers put together a four goal second period, which led them to a dramatic 5-4 victory. Then, immediately following that game, Ben Dexheimer scored the game winning goal in overtime to give the Badgers a narrow 2-1 victory.
Forwards Quinn Finley, Christian Fitzgerald, and Gavin Morrisey have led the way this season. Christian Fitzgerald leads the team in goals scored, Finley is currently second for the team lead in goals scored, while Morrisey has a team high 18 assists on the campaign.
However, Wisconsin is currently amidst their worst stretch of the season, losing four consecutive games to Michigan State and Penn State. Before this skid, the Badgers had just three total losses and only one loss on home ice at the Kohl Center as well.
Coincidentally, the Badgers 2005-06 team had a four-game losing streak of their own around the same time as this current team. That year, the Badgers went on to win 12 of their next 17 games on their way to their first National Championship since 1990.
Wisconsin has been unable to find the back of the net recently. During their four-game losing streak, the Badgers have only put together 7 goals, being outscored 18-7 by both Michigan State and Penn State combined.
After Wisconsin’s first loss to Penn State over the weekend, head coach Mike Hastings remarked on the Badgers recent struggles stating, “I just told the guys, we’ve got to decide when is this going to end?” The month of January has not been kind to the Badgers so far.
The Badgers still have time to turn it around before the end of the regular season, with 10 games remaining on the schedule. Wisconsin will head to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers this upcoming weekend.
