Wisconsin Badgers
#2 Michigan
Quick Six: No. 13/14 Wisconsin wraps regular-season home play vs. No. 2 Michigan
February 18, 2026 | Men's Hockey
Badgers celebrating fans, seniors for final regular-season games at the Kohl Center
MADISON, Wis. – The No. 13/14 Wisconsin men's hockey team plays its final regular-season series at the Kohl Center this season when No. 2 Michigan comes to town on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21.
Friday's game starts at 7 p.m. CT, while Saturday's contest starts at 6 p.m. CT. Both games stream on B1G+.
Here are six quick things to know before tuning in:
Rosters: Badgers || Wolverines
1 - CELEBRATING OUR FANS AND OUR SENIORS: With this weekend marking its final regular-season games at the Kohl Center this year, Wisconsin will be running promotions during both nights of the series.
Friday is Fan Appreciation Night and Rock the Red-themed. When fans arrive on Friday, they can enter to win prizes throughout the game, such as a signed Wisconsin men's hockey stick, 2026-27 Wisconsin men's hockey season tickets and a Roku TV. Additionally, students will receive a free red Bucky t-shirt while supplies last.
Reminiscing on our favorite memories ahead of our final two home games this weekend 🥹
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 17, 2026
Join us on Friday for Fan Appreciation Night and Rock the Red Night!
🎟️: https://t.co/NBG1xCp04b pic.twitter.com/MAOT0KKSax
"We've got to utilize it," Head Coach Mike Hastings said about the Kohl Center crowds. "They're coming here to be entertained. Chasing a game is not real entertaining if you're the home crowd. For us, getting off to good starts and trying to get them involved because we're doing what we need to be doing on both ends of the rink. The one thing I've really appreciated from day one coming here is that they appreciate it when you go out and give what you have."
Saturday is Senior Night. Wisconsin will celebrate its seven Badger seniors in a pre-game ceremony. Captain Ben Dexheimer, Kyle Kukkonen, Simon Tassy, Christian Fitzgerald, Tyson Dyck, Jack Horbach and Aiden Dubinsky will all be honored before the game.
It's already Senior Weekend at the Kohl Center.
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 16, 2026
Badgers host No. 2 Michigan for the final regular-season home series of the season.
Looking forward to be a couple great crowds!!!
🎟 https://t.co/vgpg0kASIY pic.twitter.com/aHSnLNTzUM
Buy tickets to this weekend's game here.
2 - BIG PICTURE: The Badgers currently own an eight-point lead for the fourth and final home Big Ten tournament quarterfinal spot over Minnesota and Ohio State with three weeks remaining in the regular season. UW could clinch home ice with at least five points this weekend, and a pair of losses by Ohio State, which plays at No. 1 Michigan State.
Following its series at home against Michigan this weekend, Wisconsin has a week off before traveling to Penn State on Thursday and Friday, March 5-6, to end the regular season. Both games start at 6 p.m. CT and stream on B1G+.
UW also currently sits in 15th in the NCAA Percentage Index, or NPI, the official system for selecting and seeding teams for the NCAA tournament. Sixteen teams will make the national tournament, with all conference tournament winners receiving automatic bids, and the rest of the field is determined by NPI placement.
"It's our last two home games of our regular season, and we're playing for our playoff life, we're playing for the NPI, and at the end of the day, we're playing for Friday," said Hastings on the importance of this weekend's games. "I think the crowds make a big difference here when we go out and do our job and allow them to enjoy and support us in a way that can help us be successful."
3 - MORRISSEY MANIA: Sophomore forward Gavin Morrissey tallied a pair of goals in Friday's 4-2 victory at Ohio State. His first goal came 5:01 into the second period and served as the game-winner, before he scored another 15:04 into the third frame on the breakaway to seal the victory.
MORRISSEY'S RIGHT ON THE MONEY 🤑
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 14, 2026
A breakaway BEAUTY and the sophomore's (@gavmorrissey7) got his second goal of the game! pic.twitter.com/qWXfQozYDH
The sophomore extended his point streak to four games on Friday before it ended the next night, tallying three goals and seven points over the stretch.
Morrissey currently leads the Badgers with 28 points on six goals and 22 assists in 27 games played, with his 22 helpers tying him for 12th in the country in the category.
The forward and two-time Hobey Baker Award fan vote nominee has also been excellent in the face off circle this year, with a 57% success rate (332 wins and 250 losses). His 332 wins rank second in the Big Ten and ninth nationally, and his success rate ranks fifth in the conference among skaters who have taken at least 65 faceoffs.
mood @gavmorrissey7 pic.twitter.com/5euOSbYb7V
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 14, 2026
4 - LAST TIME OUT: Wisconsin enters the weekend after splitting a series at Ohio State in Columbus on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13-14, winning game one, 4-2, before dropping game two, 3-2.
On Friday, Wisconsin took a 2-0 lead early in the first period with goals 18 seconds apart from Grady Deering and Simon Tassy. Morrissey scored early in the second to give UW a 3-0 advantage heading into the final period. Ohio State got on the board four minutes into the final frame, but Morrissey scored again to make it 4-1. With 14 seconds left, OSU scored with an extra attacker, but UW held on to claim the 4-2 victory.
That's three straight wins for the Badgers!!! pic.twitter.com/qrz4hgdhVs
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 14, 2026
In game two, Wisconsin got on the board first with 25.7 seconds left in the first on a Simon Tassy power-play goal. Ohio State responded 3:11 into the second, but Vasily Zelenov converted his own rebound for a power-play goal of his own at 10:47 to give UW a 2-1 advantage heading into the third. OSU scored twice in the third, once at 3:54 and again at 8:06, to claim a 3-2 victory.
VAS ATTACK 💥
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 15, 2026
Third goal of the year for the freshman!
🍎: Tyson Dyck & Blake Montgomery pic.twitter.com/D1max6nvnM
5 - SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES: The Wolverines own a 24-5-1 overall record, going 15-4-1 in Big Ten play to sit first in the conference with 43 points. They enter the weekend after playing Penn State at home in Ann Arbor, earning a 4-4 tie and a 1-0 shootout win in game one before winning game two, 6-3.
Senior forward T.J. Hughes leads the roster with 43 points (15g, 28a) in 30 games played, while sophomore forward Will Horcoff leads with 21 goals in 30 games. Freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic has 18 wins in 25 games played, accumulating a .922 save percentage and a 2.13 goals-allowed on average.
The Badgers and Wolverines split their games earlier this season at Yost Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with UW dropping a 7-4 game before taking a 6-1 victory over the Wolverines on Nov. 7 and 8, respectively.
What a Saturday it was for the Badgers
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) November 10, 2025
The highlights from Ann Arbor.
Badgers welcome Ohio State to the Kohl Center this weekend pic.twitter.com/rJpDsyxAdI
"When you're playing a team like Michigan, and that's their staple, you better be able to make a play and possess the puck and hold onto it," Hastings said. "If you don't, they have it, and now you're defending. I do think there's some positivity with us having some consistency with the group we're going to have up front. Now, we're going to have to go back to breaking pucks out and coming out of our zone with possession so we can have that going into their zone."
6 - HOW TO WATCH: Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. CT on Friday and 6 p.m. CT on Saturday. Both games stream on B1G+. Audio play-by-play can be found on 1310 WIBA, as well as on the Badgers app and the Varsity Network app. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram at @BadgerMHockey.
