After a come from behind win against Michigan State in Worcester, the Wisconsin Badgers will play in their first Frozen Four in 16 years.
Following the Badgers’ embarrassing loss to Ohio State on home ice in the Big Ten quarterfinals, the hope of appearing in the NCAA Tournament hinged on the outcome of other conference championships across the country.
Results in the Big Ten and ECAC tournaments fell Wisconsin's way, and the Badgers entered the tournament ranked No. 12 in the nation and the No. 3 seed in the Worcester region.
Wisconsin faced the Dartmouth Big Green, the winners of the ECAC conference, in the regional semifinals. After a 1-1 tie through two periods of play, senior Jack Horbach scored a goal off a pass by freshman Vasily Zelenov to give the Badgers the lead in the third period. With a 5-1 win, Badgers advanced to the regional finals, marking the Badgers first NCAA Tournament win since 2010.
Wisconsin matched up against Michigan State in the regional finals. The Badgers faced the Spartans twice in the regular season, splitting the season series two games a piece.
After a scoreless first period, junior Quinn Finley put the Badgers on the board less than 30 seconds into the second period. Michigan State responded with a power-play goal that deflected off goaltender Daniel Hauser’s glove into the net, tying the game.
The Spartans took the lead soon after with a dazzling assist from Tommi Mannisto to Patrick Geary, ending the period up 2-1. Midway through the third period, the Spartans capitalized on the power play to extend their lead by two.
As Wisconsin’s hopes of entering the Frozen Four seemed to slowly fade away, freshman Luke Osburn scored the Badgers’ second goal to bring them within one with less than five minutes to go. Within 34 seconds, sophomore Gavin Morrissey scored the game-tying goal to send the game into overtime.
Key saves from Hauser in the third period gave the Badgers momentum and held the Spartans at three goals. Senior defenseman and captain Ben Dexheimer scored the game-winning overtime goal less than 30 seconds into overtime.
Wisconsin will now face the No. 2 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (29-9-1) in the Frozen Four semifinals in Las Vegas. Long time rivals in the WCHA up until 2013, they last played each other in October 2023, where the Fighting Hawks won 2-0.
Part of the NCHC conference, North Dakota comes off of two consecutive shutout wins against Merrimack and Quinnipiac in the regionals of the NCAA tournament.
They are favored to advance to the Frozen Four finals, entering at -200 odds compared to Wisconsin’s +154. However, as head coach Mike Hastings has often said, the adversity Wisconsin faced in the regular season has prepared them for moments like these. Wisconsin's comeback win against Michigan State in the regional finals is proof of that resilience.
The last time the Badgers played in the Frozen Four was in 2010, before they joined the Big Ten Conference. Then led by head coach Mike Eaves, the Badgers entered the tournament ranked third in the nation, earning them a No. 1 seed in the West Region where they ultimately lost in the Frozen Four championship to Boston College.
Wisconsin last won the Frozen Four title back in 2006 against Boston College. Sixteen years later, this Wisconsin team has the opportunity to return to the national stage and add a new chapter to the program’s history.
Puck drops at 4 p.m. CDT Thursday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
