MADISON – The disappointment is expected when a team comes as close to winning a national championship as the Wisconsin hockey team did.
The Badgers finished with twice as many shots as Denver and led for 47 minutes in the NCAA title game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 11. Their defense was record-setting, allowing the fewest shots in championship game history.
They were really a play or two away.
“This group has been phenomenal to coach. They’re a special group,” UW coach Mike Hastings said. “Life is hard sometimes, and I’m not diminishing anything other than I thought they did what they could do tonight and weren’t rewarded for it. Up until this point, we had been.”
That said, UW’s 2-1 loss to the Pioneers should not dim what appears to be a bright future for the program after the wounds of this year’s tough finish heal.
Here are three reasons why.
The Badgers’ young talent delivered in 2025-26
You can never be sure about roster projections given the option to transfer or sign professional deals, but the Badgers potentially return five of the eight players who recorded at least 20 points this season. That includes their top two scorers: sophomore Gavin Morrissey (36 points – 9 goals, 27 assists) and junior Quinn Finley (33 points – 17 goals, 16 assists).
The defensive core will have promise, too. Four of the top six blue liners at the end of the season have eligibility remaining, led by alternate captain Joe Palodichuk and freshman Luke Osburn, an all-Big Ten honorable mention selection.
The blue line also could get a boost from two players who didn’t finish the season due to injury: junior Zach Schulz and sophomore Logan Hensler. Schulz, who was on the first line when he broke his leg against Notre Dame in December, was close to returning to game action this season. Hensler (leg injury) was on the second unit at the time of his injury.
Goaltender Daniel Hauser will be just a sophomore next season.
The leadership group will miss senior Ben Dexheimer, but alternate captains Palodichuk, Schulz and Morrissey have eligibility left.
That is a lot of players who will be able to draw from the experience of this season.
“I know it sucks in the moment, but I know our guys will carry this into the next year,” Morrissey said. “It’s hard to forget, but I’m just proud of the team.”
The fan base is energized
During each season of Hastings’ tenure, the Badgers have averaged at least 10,000 fans per game. This year their average of 10,197 ranked second in the nation behind North Dakota.
UW finished with a flurry attendance-wise, posting eight straight crowds of 10,000 or better to close the season. That included a program-record crowd of 15,511 for the regular-season finale versus Michigan.
Also impressive were the 2,700 students who attended the Big Ten quarterfinal loss to Ohio State, a game that was a late addition to the schedule and played on a Wednesday night. That was the Badgers’ most students on hand for a game since at least 2013-14. It was a rowdy group that pumped energy into the Kohl Center.
“I want to thank the fans for coming out all year and supporting us through thick and thin,” said senior associate athletic director Jason King, who oversees men’s hockey. “This year, we averaged more students than we’ve averaged in years. The Crease Creatures brought it night in and night out. I know our team fed off that.”
Mike Hastings, staff show they can win big at UW
Hastings arrived at Wisconsin with an impressive résumé that included back-to-back trips to the Frozen Fours with Minnesota State, including a championship game appearance 2022.
He had not had a losing season until the 2024-25 season, but this season he and his staff handled the adversity of rebounding from that while also maneuvering the team through a season impacted by injury and the usual swings in play.
High-level success doesn’t always transfer when a coach leaves one program for another. What we learned in 2025-26 is that Hastings’ formula works at Wisconsin, too.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Three reasons the Wisconsin hockey program’s future is promising
Reporting by Mark Stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
