#2 North Dakota (29-9-1) and #4 Wisconsin (23-12-2) will square off at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday afternoon with a trip to the national championship game on the line; the NCAA Frozen Four semifinal matchup will be the 172nd all-time meeting between the two storied programs.
The last three games between UND and UW were played at Ralph Engelstad Arena (Grand Forks, ND), with the home team prevailing in each of the three contests.
On October 14th, 2023, North Dakota blanked the Badgers 2-0 behind a 29-save shutout from Ludvig Persson. In November 2018, UND hosted Wisconsin for a pair of games and earned a sweep (5-0, 3-2 OT).
Following the 2022-23 season, UW moved on from head coach Tony Granato, who led Bucky to just one NCAA tournament appearance (2021) in his seven seasons behind the bench. In his 250 Badger games, Granato posted an overall head coaching record of 105-129-16 (.452).
New Badger head coach Mike Hastings has led UW to the national tournament in two of his three seasons; two seasons ago, Wisconsin lost a 3-2 overtime thriller to defending champion Quinnipiac in the first round of the NCAAs.
In his eleven seasons with the Minnesota State Mavericks, Hastings brought his squad to the NCAA tournament nine times, with two Frozen Four appearances (2021, 2022) and a runner-up finish in 2022. Minnesota State also won six regular season WCHA titles and two regular season CCHA titles under his watch, and won the conference playoff title five times.
If North Dakota fans can lament the fact that it has been ten seasons since UND’s last national title, that sentiment is doubly true in Madison, as Bucky’s last title was fully TWO decades ago.
Former Badger coach Mike Eaves was widely criticized for recruiting in a cycle, bringing in huge freshman classes every four years in the hopes that a dominant senior class would bring a title to Madison down the road.
And it worked. Once. In 2006, the Badgers won a national championship on the backs of three seniors (forwards Adam Burish and Ryan MacMurchy and defenseman Tom Gilbert) plus forwards Joe Pavelski and Robbie Earl, underclassmen who left the program after that season. Mike Eaves came close four years later, but Wisconsin fell to Boston College 5-0 in the title game. North Dakota derailed UW’s title hopes at the end of the 2014 season.
Turning our attention to tonight’s game…
A half-point per game or better is my benchmark for solid offensive production, and Mike Hastings’ squad will have eleven players in the lineup who meet that threshold: sophomore forward Gavin Morrisey (9-27-36), junior forward Quinn Finley (17-16-33), senior forward Christian Fitzgerald (16-15-31), freshman forward Oliver Tulk (7-17-24), freshman forward Vasily Zelenov (5-12-17 in 26 games), sophomore forward Ryan Botterill (9-12-21), senior forward Simon Tassy (13-9-22), freshman forward Finn Brink (5-8-13 in 25 games), senior defenseman Ben Dexheimer (7-20-27), junior defenseman Joe Palodichuk (3-14-17), and freshman defenseman Luke Osburn (6-15-21).
Graduate forward Tyson Dyck put up a strong line of 5-10-15 in his 26 games with the Badgers this season; he has been out of the lineup since March 11th. Sophomore defenseman Logan Hensler (4-8-12 in 23 games) – a first-round pick (23rd overall) of the Ottawa Senators in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft – has been out of the lineup since January 31st.
North Dakota is expected to have ten players in the lineup tonight who have met that same offensive threshold: senior forward Ellis Rickwood (8-28-36), senior forward Ben Strinden (15-19-34), freshman forward Will Zellers (18-16-34), sophomore forward Mac Swanson (11-17-28), freshman forward Cole Reschny (6-29-35), senior forward Dylan James (21-10-31), freshman forward Jack Kernan (11-10-21), junior defenseman Jake Livanavage (5-20-25), junior defenseman Abram Wiebe (5-24-29), and freshman defenseman Keaton Verhoeff (6-14-20).
UND freshman forward Ollie Josephson (6-14-20) missed both regional games with a lower-body injury he sustained against Duluth on March 14th; his status for the Frozen Four is in doubt.
Remarkably, North Dakota has eleven players with twenty or more points this season, the most since the 2003-04 roster which also had eleven and which featured, among others, Zach Parise, Brandon Bochenski, Brady Murray, Colby Genoway, Drew Stafford, David Lundbohm, Chris Porter, Nick Fuher, and Matt Jones
It will be interesting to see how tonight’s game plays out, as there is only one puck and both teams have dominated possession all season long. Wisconsin is fourth in the country in Corsi at 56.4%, while North Dakota is third (56.7%). The Fenwick numbers are similar, with UW at 57.1% (3rd) and UND at 56.7% (4th).
Corsi measures the number of shot attempts for each team at even strength, while Fenwick measures the number of unblocked shot attempts for each side.
More to the point, Wisconsin has outshot opponents 1244-968 this season (33.6-26.2 per game), while North Dakota is not far behind at 1235-917 (31.7-23.5). UW is fifth in faceoff percentage (53.9%); UND is fourth (54.0%).
UND will have a decided advantage on special teams in this one. While both teams click along on the power play (UW 26.9%, 6th in the country; UND 26.7%, 7th), Wisconsin struggles mightily on the penalty kill. The Badgers have already given up THIRTY power play goals this season on only 103 shorthanded situations, a success rate of just 70.9% (second-worst in the country, ahead of only Minnesota).
North Dakota’s penalty kill ranks 14th in the country with an efficiency rate of 83.3%.
All told, UND’s specialty teams are at a plus-19 this season; the Badgers, plus-5.
While both teams boast top-five offenses (North Dakota 3.85 goals/game, 3rd in the nation; Wisconsin 3.76 goals/game, 5th), UND is also stout on defense, allowing just 2.26 goals/game (7th-best in the country). The Badgers allow over three goals per game (3.03, 36th).
Here is another way to look at it:
In 39 games, UND has outscored opponents 150-88.
In 37 games, UW has outscored opponents 139-112.
In its two regional games, North Dakota outscored Merrimack and Quinnipiac by a combined score of 8-0.
In the regional semifinals, Wisconsin broke a 1-1 tie with Dartmouth by scoring four goals in the last ten minutes of the game. In the regional final, the Badgers trailed Michigan State 3-1 with less than five minutes remaining. UW scored twice in the span of 34 seconds late in the final frame and scanned their ticket to the Frozen Four with a Ben Dexheimer goal just 24 seconds into overtime.
Wisconsin Team Profile
Head Coach: Mike Hastings (3rd season at UW, 62-45-7, .575)
National Ranking: #4
NPI Ranking: 12th
KRACH Rating: 259.2 (9th)
Strength of Schedule: 10th of 63 teams
This Season: 23-12-2 overall, 11-10-3-0 Big Ten (4th of 7 teams)
Last Season: 13-21-3 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 6-10-1-7 Big Ten (6th)
2025-26 Season Statistics:
Team Offense: 3.76 goals scored/game – 5th of 63 teams
Team Defense: 3.03 goals allowed/game – 36th of 63 teams
Power Play: 26.9% (35 of 130) – 6th of 63 teams
Penalty Kill: 70.9% (73 of 103) – 62nd of 63 teams
Key Players: Sophomore F Gavin Morrisey (9-27-36), Junior F Quinn Finley (17-16-33), Senior F Christian Fitzgerald (16-15-31), Sophomore F Ryan Botterill (9-12-21), Freshman F Oliver Tulk (7-17-24), Senior F Simon Tassy (13-9-22), Senior D Ben Dexheimer (7-20-27), Junior D Joe Palodichuk (3-14-17), Freshman D Luke Osburn (6-15-21), Freshman G Daniel Hauser (20-7-2, 2.56 GAA, .899 SV%, 3 SO)
North Dakota Team Profile
Head Coach: Dane Jackson (1st season at North Dakota, 29-9-1, .756)
National Rankings: #2
NPI Ranking: 2nd
KRACH Rating: 485.4 (2nd)
Strength of Schedule: 15th of 63 teams
This Season: 29-9-1 overall, 16-2-1-5 NCHC (1st)
Last Season: 21-15-2 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 11-8-4-1 NCHC (5th)
2025-26 Season Statistics:
Team Offense: 3.85 goals scored/game – 3rd of 63 teams
Team Defense: 2.26 goals allowed/game – 7th of 63 teams
Power Play: 26.7% (36 of 135) – 7th of 63 teams
Penalty Kill: 83.3% (95 of 114) – 14th of 63 teams
Key Players: Freshman F Cole Reschny (6-29-35), Senior F Ben Strinden (15-19-34), Freshman F Will Zellers (18-16-34), Senior F Dylan James (21-10-31), Sophomore F Mac Swanson (11-17-28), Senior F Ellis Rickwood (8-28-36), Junior D Jake Livanavage (5-20-25), Junior D Abram Wiebe (5-24-29), Freshman D Keaton Verhoeff (6-14-20), Freshman G Jan Spunar (20-4-1, 1.90 GAA, .917 SV%, 6 SO)
By The Numbers
Last Meeting: October 14, 2023 (Grand Forks, ND). A Hunter Johannes shorthanded goal would stand as the game-winner in a 2-0 North Dakota victory. Senior netminder Ludvig Persson made 29 saves, and the Fighting Hawks kept UW powerless on four man-advantage opportunities. Earlier in the day, UND football defeated the NDSU Bison by a score of 49-24.
A Recent Thriller: November 3, 2018 (Grand Forks, ND). One night after blanking the Badgers 5-0, the Green and White needed overtime heroics to complete the sweep. Enter Jacob Bernard-Docker. UND’s JBD scored just 21 seconds into the extra frame while North Dakota was enjoying a 5-on-3 advantage. The two extra skaters for the home team came courtesy of UW’s Josh Ess, who was assessed a minor penalty for cross-checking at 18:21 of the third period, and Tyler Inamoto, who earned a seat next to his teammate for contact to the head (elbowing) just sixteen seconds later. The overtime game-winner came just as Ess was leaving the penalty box. For the weekend, North Dakota outshot the Badgers 58-47 and held Bucky scoreless on six power plays.
Most Important Meeting: March 27, 1982 (Providence, RI). A 2-2 tie after two periods turned into a 5-2 Sioux victory, as Phil Sykes netted a hat trick and led UND to its fourth National Championship. Glen White scored the first goal of the game for North Dakota and assisted on two of Sykes’ goals. Darren Jensen backstopped the Green and White and was named to the all-tournament team along with Sykes, defenseman James Patrick, and forward Cary Eades. This title would be the second of three North Dakota titles won at the Providence Civic Center (1980, 2000).
All-time Series: Wisconsin leads the all-time series, 87-73-13 (.544), although North Dakota holds a slight 6-4 edge in games played at neutral sites. The teams first met in December 1968.
Last Ten: The Green and White have had Bucky’s number lately, going 8-1-1 (.850) in the last ten tilts and outscoring the Badgers 33-16.
Game News and Notes
North Dakota is appearing in the program’s 23rd NCAA Frozen Four; Wisconsin is making its thirteenth appearance. Ten of UW’s Frozen Fours came between 1970 and 1992 under head coaches Bob Johnson and Jeff Sauer. Six current UND players have faced the Badgers in their collegiate careers. This is the first game in Las Vegas for the Wisconsin men’ hockey program; North Dakota previously hosted U.S. Hockey Hall Of Fame Games here against Minnesota (Orleans Arena, 2018) and Arizona State (T-Mobile Arena, 2022).
The Prediction
All season long, North Dakota has demonstrated depth, excellent specialty team, a well-rounded defensive corps, and stellar goaltending. UND is the heavier, more physical team, and that will take a toll as the game wears on. Mike Hastings’ squad is well-coached and wont’ make it easy, but last line change and the sea of green inside T-Mobile Arena this afternoon will propel the Fighting Hawks to the program’s fourteenth NCAA title game appearance. UND 5-3 (EN).
Bonus Prediction
In the second NCAA Frozen Four semifinal, the Denver Pioneers will outlast the Michigan Wolverines by a final score of 4-3, setting up an all-NCHC championship game on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Media Coverage
Tonight’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and also available via webcast on ESPN+. All UND men’s hockey games can be heard on stations across the Fighting Hawks Radio Network as well as through the iHeart Radio app. Puck drop is set for 4:00 p.m. Central Time.
Social Media
Keep up with the action live during all UND hockey games by following @UNDmhockey and @UNDInsider on X/Twitter. Fans can also read the action via Brad Schlossman’s live chat on the Grand Forks Herald website.