No. 12 Wisconsin (22-12-2) upset No. 8 Dartmouth (23-8-4) and No. 3 Michigan State (26-8-2) in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Worcester. After five NCAA tournament game losses, the Badgers beat the 2-seeded Big Green 5-1 to advance to the quarterfinals — where they wrestled a 4-3 overtime win out of the Spartans.
First round
The Badgers controlled both ends of the ice in their 5-1 win over Dartmouth, giving Wisconsin an easy path to the next round.
After a poor performance against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament, freshman goaltender Daniel Hauser made 13 saves against the Big Green on a .929 save percentage. Dartmouth goaltender Emmett Croteau, meanwhile, had a rough night against Wisconsin’s forwards, making 23 saves at just a .885 clip. Two empty net goals buried the Big Green in the third period.
The Badgers came ready to play from puck drop. Gaining control early, the Big Green stumbled and made mistakes. Wisconsin went on the power play after Dartmouth had too many men on the ice just 2:38 into the game.
Senior forward Chrstian Fitzgerald won two faceoffs and junior forward Quinn Finley put two shots on Croteau before senior forward Simon Tassy found an opening. Standing low in Croteau’s crease gave Tassy the opportunity to pitch Finley’s pass through the netminder for a 1-0 game 2:52 in on the man-advantage.
A back-and-forth game progressed with both goaltenders facing minimal shots. With 12:38 remaining, Hauser made an unbelievable stick deflection — throwing his stick across the crease to keep a sliding puck out of the net.
Still, the Badgers didn’t manage a shot on goal before Hank Cleaves took a quick shot with 9:55 to go. A cross-ice pass left the Badger defense scrambling as Cleaves’ wrister flew over Hauser’s glove for a 1-1 tie.
Itching to regain their lead, Wisconsin kept the puck in their offensive zone. Croteau held his ground as another opportunity opened for Dartmouth.
With 4:56 to go in the first period, freshman forward Vasily Zelenov went to the box after a faceoff violation for using his hand to play the puck. The Badgers held the Big Green to one shot on goal before Zelenov was back on the ice as the clock ticked down.
The game slowed in the second period as Badgers junior defenseman Joe Palodichuk was called for hooking 1:03 into the period. Finley returned after a left arm injury scare during the first shift of the game as the penalty kill unit strong-armed Dartmouth.
Croteau played steadily, deflecting or gloving shots that sent his way by an energized Wisconsin team. Hauser sat tight at the other end of the ice as the Badgers went back on the power play with 7:08 remaining but were unable to convert against the No. 3 team in penalty kill.
Freshman forward Finn Brink jumped the boards too early with 4:44 to go and Dartmouth went on the power play for too many men on the ice. The Big Green had zero shots on net during their man-advantage.
Resumed five-on-five play kept the game tied 1-1 going into an integral third period.
With both teams having a hard time finding their footing, it was anyone’s game in the final 20 minutes. Wisconsin’s shots on Croteau were collected by the goalie and Hauser stood tall in the Badgers’ defensive zone.
With 10:13 remaining, finally Zelenov tore into the offensive zone and passed the puck through two Big Green to senior forward Jack Horbach. Taking the puck into Croteau’s crease, Horbach backhanded it over the goaltender to take the 2-1 lead.
Wisconsin continued the push offensively, refusing to resort to a defensive stand. It worked in their favor four minutes later when Tassy notched his second goal of the night.
Keeping his body in front of the net, Tassy redirected sophomore forward Ryan Botterill’s snipe from the right circle to widen the gap 3-1 with 5:43 to go.
With his team losing steam, Dartmouth head coach Reid Cashman pulled Croteau with 4:06 on the clock. The Badgers responded just 24 seconds later, as Fitzgerald raced down the ice and beat Dartmouth to the puck to slide in Wisconsin’s fourth goal of the game for a 4-1 lead.
Unwilling to let up, Croteau returned to the net for just over a minute before Cashman pulled him again. Finley snatched up Cooper Cleaves’ lazy pass and wristed in a second empty netter 19 seconds later to bury Dartmouth 5-1.
Second round
The Spartans were desperate for a chance at the Frozen Four after their first round exit in 2025, but the Badgers came out on top and won 4-3 on Saturday.
Coming out as the regional champions, the Badgers put up a strong defense against the team that beat them twice in January. Riding the hot streak, freshman goaltender Daniel Hauser started against Michigan State goaltender Trey Augustine.
The first period was a back-and-forth battle, as both Hauser and Augustine were brick walls in their nets.
Neither team held possession of the puck for long periods of time before the opposition took over. The Badgers ended the first period in their defensive zone, effectively blocking the Spartans from getting a chance at Hauser.
After the first intermission, Wisconsin came out of the tunnel hot.
Sophomore forward Gavin Morrissey won the faceoff and sent the puck between his legs to a waiting junior forward Quinn Finley. Toe-dragging between the two circles, Finley ripped the puck past Augustine to take the 1-0 lead 18 seconds into the second period.
Wisconsin pushed into Michigan State’s defensive zone and put pressure on Augustine. The Badgers had a few chances but couldn’t widen the gap early.
A two minute power play 3:38 into the game didn’t result in another goal, but the Badgers’ had a positive showing on the first man-advantage of the game.
They lost their footing when senior forward Jack Horbach was sent to the box for high sticking with 13:47 to go. Gavin O’Connell shot from outside the right circle with 11:50 remaining, where Anthony Romani screened Hauser and blocked the netminder’s vision for a 1-1 game.
Rolling from the tying goal, Michigan State immediately jumped back into Wisconsin’s offensive zone. Patrick Geary helped the Spartans jump ahead just 31 seconds later.
In a one-on-one that turned into Hauser alone in front of two Spartans, Geary wristed a quick shot past the Badgers’ goalie to take the 2-1 lead 8:41 into the second period.
Wisconsin was stunned from the quick comeback and struggled to notch another goal. The Badgers’ had a few close chances but couldn’t get back on the board.
The Badgers received their second power play with 6:25 remaining in the period. Finley managed one good shot that went wide, but Wisconsin's man-advantage ended with a whimper two minutes later.
Michigan State pushed back against Wisconsin to end the period, but the 2-1 score stood going into the third period.
Feeling their Frozen Four opportunity slipping away, Wisconsin got desperate. Their game was off slightly and nothing was opening up, but the clock was ticking.
With 11 minutes to go, senior defenseman Ben Dexheimer was assessed a two-minute minor for hooking. Michigan State took advantage of their second power play 33 seconds later to take a 3-1 lead over Wisconsin.
In a wrister through traffic in front of the net, Matt Basgall notched the Spartan’s third goal of the game. An accurate and tricky shot from the blue line put the Badgers’ down two with 11:27 left on the clock.
Wisconsin pushed hard offensively butMichigan State dug their skates in.
Freshman forward Oliver Tulk won a faceoff with 5:36 remaining in the game and cycled the puck. Despite a few messy passes and a tough battle in the corner, freshman defenseman Luke Osburn picked up a rebound and wristed a knee shot into an open net with 4:47 left.
Morrissey joined the scoresheet 34 seconds later, keeping the puck in the zone and scoring a crucial game-tying wrister from the right end of the blue line to make it 3-3.
Knowing the next goal would determine who would be seeing Las Vegas in two weeks, the game got chippy. With 3 minutes left, senior defenseman Aiden Dubinsky was called for roughing and Daniel Russell was called for embellishment.
Despite Russell arguing his call, the game went on four-on-four play and lulled the period into a close. The third period buzzer sounded without a shot on goal in almost two minutes.
Wisconsin started the 20-minute overtime on a lost faceoff, but it didn’t matter. Taking control and racing to the offensive zone, the Badgers relied on their captain.
From the blue line with a feed from Morrissey, Dexheimer wristed in the game-winning goal through an unintentional screen from Augustine’s own teammates. Wisconsin flooded the ice 24 seconds into overtime as they snatched up the 4-3 win from the Spartan’s grasp.
Returning to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2010, Wisconsin is headed into unknown terrain. With their last national championship in 2006, the Badgers saw their last title game in their 2010 loss to Boston College in Detroit.
With wins against Dartmouth and Michigan State, the Badgers need strength, discipline and clear heads going into their battle versus a team that’s scored eight goals and shut out both Merrimack and Quinnipiac in the last two rounds.
Wisconsin plays North Dakota in the semifinals 7:30 p.m. April 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
