The No. 12 Wisconsin Badgers defeated No. 2 North Dakota 2-1 in the Frozen Four semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Freshman goaltender Daniel Hauser made 21 saves and rode a hot hand with back-to-back tournament wins against Dartmouth and Michigan State. The netminder was dialed in for the game that pushed the Badgers one step closer to raising a banner for the first time since 2006.
Ready to face Jan Špunar, the No. 2 goaltender in win percentage, Wisconsin head coach Mike Hastings put senior forward Christian Fitzgerald, sophomore forward Gavin Morrisssey and junior forward Quinn Finley on the top line.
Both sides traded shots until a turnover with 7:06 remaining in the first changed the game. Senior forward Simon Tassy skated into the offensive zone for the sliding puck and wristed it past Špunar to give Wisconsin the early 1-0 lead.
With their foot on the gas, Wisconsin took control of the puck again off a faceoff and made another play. Senior defenseman Ben Dexheimer shot the puck through the neutral zone to a waiting sophomore forward Ryan Botterill.
Trailed on both sides by two Fighting Hawks, Botterill skated in towards Špunar and slipped the puck past the blindsided netminder. Špunar failed to grab the bouncing puck as Wisconsin widened their lead 2-0 with 6:39 to go in the first period.
A hungry North Dakota team started slipping early. Wisconsin went on the power play for a holding penalty with 4:33 to go, but the Fighting Hawks killed it. Fitzgerald was the only shot on goal as the game went back on five-on-five.
Wisconsin resumed an intense battle on Špunar for the dwindling seconds but went into the second period with their 2-0 lead.
Out of the tunnel, the game hit a lull. Both teams were refinding their footing after the Badgers tore through the Fighting Hawk defense in the first period.
With just over 10 minutes left in the second, Dexheimer was sent to the box for holding. Hauser made two saves as the Badgers killed their first penalty of the game.
Two minutes later, freshman defenseman Luke Osburn sat two minutes for holding. Three seconds into their penalty kill, junior defenseman Joe Palodichuk was called for interference, and the Badgers had to play three-on-five.
Wisconsin’s defense put everything on the line to protect their lead. Dexheimer momentarily left the ice with an injury after a blocked one-timer with 1:45 remaining on the five-on-three, but returned to the game for the third period.
Hauser backed up any shots that got through, and the Badgers held on as the second period slid to a close.
North Dakota skated onto the ice for the final 20 minutes with pressure to respond. Osburn went back to the box 5:32 into the third period for tripping, but the Fighting Hawks had no notable chances on Hauser.
With 10:42 left in the game, freshman forward Vasily Zelenov was taken down by the boards with no whistle, but senior forward Jack Horbach was called for boarding next to the controversial non-call.
Just over a minute into Horbach’s penalty, North Dakota was called for slashing, and the game went to four-on-four for 33 seconds. Neither team managed a shot on goal as North Dakota started to scramble.
After a media timeout with under five minutes to go, the Fighting Hawks put pressure on the Badgers. Špunar was pulled with 3:34 to go as the clock ticked down and North Dakota turned desperate.
Hauser made huge saves to protect the Badgers’ chances at the finals, including one where he managed to glove the puck even as a Fighting Hawk player fell into him.
North Dakota saw a glimmer of hope with 52 seconds remaining when Ellis Rickwood sniped in a rebounding wrap-around shot to bring the Fighting Hawks within one.
One final North Dakota shot that soared over the net ended the game, sending the Badgers to the final for the first time since the 2010 loss to Boston College in Detroit.
The Badgers played their best hockey against the Fighting Hawks. Wisconsin held down the No. 3 team in scoring offense, outshooting them 37 to 22.
The Badgers’ penalty kill dragged the Hawks to their demise as Wisconsin held strong against the five man-advantages North Dakota received. Neither team managed to score on their power plays, where Wisconsin received two of their own and only managed one shot.
The Badgers can rely on Hauser on the back-end to face a powerful Denver team, but Wisconsin will need their top scorers making plays when the Pioneers are down a skater.
Wisconsin faces No. 4 Denver in the finals at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
