Wisconsin Badgers
Notre Dame
Quick Six: No. 2 Wisconsin plays final fall semester series at Notre Dame
December 03, 2025 | Men's Hockey
Badgers travel to Indiana to cap off first half of play
MADISON, Wis. – For its final two games of the fall semester, the No. 2 Wisconsin men's hockey team travels to Notre Dame, Indiana, for a series against the Fighting Irish on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5-6, at Compton Family Ice Arena.
Friday's game starts at 6 p.m. CT, while Saturday's begins at 4 p.m. CT. Both games stream on Peacock.
The Badgers (10-2-2, 6-2-0 Big Ten - 16 points) currently sit in second place in the Big Ten with 16 points, one point behind top-ranked Michigan for the top spot in the conference.
Here are six quick things to know before tuning in:
Rosters: Badgers || Fighting Irish
1 - POWER PLAYERS: Wisconsin currently boasts the number one power play in the nation with a 32.2 percent (19-for-59) success rate. Its 19 power-play goals rank third in the nation, and UW is 10-1-0 in games with a power-play goal.
In the series at Michigan State on Nov. 21-22, Wisconsin scored two power-play goals – one on each night. On Friday, senior forward Christian Fitzgerald kicked off UW's comeback with a second-period power-play goal, his seventh of the season. Fitzgerald's seven power-play goals are tied for first in the nation, and his nine total goals are tied for 15th.
POWER-PLAY FITZY STRIKES AGAIN 🚨
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) November 22, 2025
SEVENTH power-play goal of the season for the senior (@13Fitzgerald)
🍎: Simon Tassy & Ben Dexheimer pic.twitter.com/zeRhQuK2EO
Fitzgerald leads the roster with nine goals, and his 13 points are tied for first. The senior also had an assist on Dexheimer's overtime-winning goal on Saturday.
Notre Dame's power play also ranks high at No. 3 in the nation. The Fighting Irish sit at 31.0 percent on the power play (13-for-42)
2 - CAPTAIN COMES IN CLUTCH: Captain and senior defenseman Ben Dexheimer played hero in Wisconsin's 2-1 overtime win at then-No. 1 Michigan State on Saturday, Nov. 22. He scored the game-winning goal 2:36 into the extra time to help UW complete a sweep of the top-ranked team in the nation.
Dexheimer's game-winning goal and assist on Friday helped him earn a Big Ten Third Star of the Week nod – his first in four years at UW.
CAN'T. TEACH. CLUTCH. 😤
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) November 23, 2025
THE CAPTAIN (@BenDexheimer) WITH THE OVERTIME WINNER!
🍎: Christian Fitzgerald & Vasily Zelenov pic.twitter.com/8zu8ye4zJJ
In 14 games played, the blue liner has 13 points, enough to tie for the team lead in scoring and ninth among defenseman in the nation. His 11 assists rank first among the Badgers and are tied for third among defensemen in the country.
Dexheimer led all Big Ten rear guards in November with eight points.
3 - MONTGOMERY'S MAGIC TOUCH: Freshman forward Blake Montgomery has continued to stay hot offensively, earning Big Ten Second Star of the week after posting a two-goal, three-point weekend at Michigan State. He tallied a goal and an assist in Friday's game before adding a power-play goal on Saturday to total seven goals in 14 games.
MONTY MAAAGIC 🪄
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) November 22, 2025
Sixth tally of the year for the freshman!
🍎: Simon Tassy pic.twitter.com/g0uKS0lYgi
All seven of Montgomery's goals have come in the last nine games, and he sits in second place on the roster in the category. His seven goals are good to tie for eighth among frosh in the country, and his nine points in 14 games played place him in second among all Badger freshmen.
4 - LAST TIME OUT: Before traveling to Notre Dame, UW had an off week over Thanksgiving, but most recently swept then-No. 1 Michigan State in East Lansing on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21-22.
On Friday, a four-goal second period fueled UW's 5-4 comeback win over the Spartans. Michigan State led 2-0 after the first period. Wisconsin responded in the second period, adding four goals to take a 4-2 lead heading into the third. In the second frame, Christian Fitzgerald scored on the power play, before Blake Montgomery tied it at 4:11. Adam Pietila gave UW its first lead and Tyson Dyck scored in the period for the Badgers. MSU battled in the third and climbed to within one. Ryan Botterill restored UW's two-goal lead just 16 seconds later at 9:50. The Spartans continued to push, scoring once more at 10:24. The Badgers held on for the remainder of the contest to get the win.
Badgers sniped their way to a B1G comeback win at No. 1 Michigan State
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) November 22, 2025
The highlights pic.twitter.com/AxXgyGNo23
Wisconsin won Saturday's game in a 2-1 overtime contest. After a scoreless first period, Wisconsin got on the board midway through the second period on a power-play goal from Blake Montgomery. Michigan State battled, killing off four of five Wisconsin power plays before tying the game at one with 39 seconds left in the third period on an extra-attacker, power-play goal to send the contest to overtime. At 2:36 into the extra time, Dexheimer scored the game-winning goal for the Badgers to give them a road sweep of what was then the top-ranked team in the nation.
That's how you finish a road sweep over the No. 1 team in the nation 🦡 pic.twitter.com/6WDv6uKFjK
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) November 23, 2025
5 - SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH: The Fighting Irish own a 4-9-1 record through 14 games, going 0-6-0 in Big Ten play to total one point – an overtime loss against Michigan on Nov. 1. They enter the series after an East Coast road trip, winning a 5-4 game at Merrimack on Nov. 26 before dropping a 5-3 contest at Boston College on Nov. 28.
Graduate student forward Sutter Muzzatti (6g, 7a) and junior defenseman Paul Fischer (4g, 9a) lead the roster with 13 points in 14 games played, and Muzzatti's six goals are tied for first among the Fighting Irish with junior forward Cole Knuble. Sophomore goaltender Nicholas Kempf has four wins in 14 starts, accumulating a .902 save percentage and 3.22 goals-allowed on average.
6 - HOW TO WATCH: Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. CT on Friday and 4 p.m. CT on Saturday. Both games stream on Peacock. Audio play-by-play can be found Friday on 1310 WIBA and Saturday on 1070 The Game, as well as the Badgers app and the Varsity Network app. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram at @BadgerMHockey.
