Quick Six: Men’s hockey NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!

Saturday, April 11

Las Vegas

4:30 p.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

Denver

Buy Tickets

The Wisconsin men's hockey team celebrates going to the national title game

Photo by: Kali Mick

Quick Six: Men’s hockey NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!

April 10, 2026 | Men's Hockey

Badgers play Denver for national title on Saturday, April 11

By: Kali Mick

LAS VEGAS – The Wisconsin men's hockey team is national championship-bound! The Badgers will face Denver in the national title game on Saturday, April 11, at 4:30 p.m. CT/2:30 p.m. PT at T-Mobile Arena, home of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights. The game airs on ESPN.

Here are six quick things to know before tuning in:

Rosters: Badgers || Pioneers

1 - SURVIVE AND ADVANCE: With a 2-1 win over second overall-seeded North Dakota in the national semifinals, Wisconsin advances to its ninth official NCAA championship game and aims to win its seventh NCAA Championship in program history.

Slap that bracket, Dex 👏#MFrozenFour x @BadgerMHockey pic.twitter.com/4rJakDsrzf
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) April 10, 2026

The win helped the Badgers officially improve to 17-6-0 all-time in the NCAA tournament (.739 win percentage). Only one school in NCAA history with more than four Frozen Four games played is better.

Wisconsin produced a great start, outshooting the Fighting Hawks, 18-4, through 20 minutes. More importantly, the Badgers jumped on the board early twice, scoring two goals in 27 seconds of the first period to take a 2-0 lead over the Fighting Hawks. Senior forward Simon Tassy got UW on the board with a snipe at 12:54, before sophomore forward Ryan Botterill snapped the puck past Jan Špunar at 13:21, which would eventually serve as the game-winning goal.

UW's defense stayed steady, killing off five penalties, including 1:57 of a two-man advantage for North Dakota, to keep the game 2-0. The Fighting Hawks pulled their goaltender for the first time with 3:34 remaining, and the Badgers held strong until 52 seconds left, when Ellis Rickwood closed the game to one goal. UW survived the rest of the way for the 2-1 victory.

We're stayin' in Vegas. pic.twitter.com/MYQwPB8i2T
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) April 10, 2026

2 - THE HAUS ALWAYS WINS: Goaltender Daniel Hauser stood tall in net for the Badgers, stopping 21 of 22 shots he faced to earn his 21st win of the year.

The Haus always wins. 🃏 pic.twitter.com/SbHaIQtECT
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) April 10, 2026

The freshman's 21st victory of the season ties him with Curtis Joseph (1988-89) and Dean Anderson (1984-85) for the freshman single-season wins record at Wisconsin.

Hauser had a highlight reel save in the final minute of the second period, stopping a Fighting Hawk on the breakaway to keep the score 2-0 until ND got on the board in the last minute of the game with an extra attacker.

Like a brick wall 🧱

📺 ESPN2#MFrozenFour x @BadgerMHockey pic.twitter.com/igJwb1vHZ5
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) April 9, 2026

In three tournament games played, the Chestermere, Alberta, native has three wins in three starts, accumulating a .921 save percentage and 1.66 goals-allowed on average.

3 - A FAMILIAR FOE: Denver is a historic NCAA postseason opponent for the Badgers, as the teams have faced each other three times, with the Badgers owning a 3-0 NCAA tournament record over the Pioneers.

All In pic.twitter.com/ynBh2nxRuX
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) April 10, 2026

UW and DU first met in the NCAA tournament in the 1972 third-place game on March 18 in Boston, where Wisconsin won, 5-2. The Badgers then won their first national championship on March 17, 1973, in Boston, a 4-2 win over the Pioneers. UW and DU's most recent meeting came on March 29, 2008, a 6-2 Wisconsin win in the first round at the Kohl Center. All-time, UW has a 76-66-13 record over its former WCHA foe, with the teams' last meeting coming Friday and Saturday, Oct. 25-26, 2024, in Denver.

4 - TITLE GAME FAN EVENTS: Join fellow Badger fans at Beerhaus in Las Vegas before Wisconsin's 2026 NCAA Frozen Four championship game on Saturday afternoon!

The event takes place from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. PT at Beerhaus (3790 S. Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, Nevada 89158), just a 5-minute walk from T-Mobile Arena, where Wisconsin is set to play Denver at 2:30 p.m. PT.

Bucky Badger and the Badger Band will perform, and giveaways will be available for fans while supplies last.

Another game, another fan event 🙌

See you tomorrow at Beerhaus! pic.twitter.com/5rGqNys8Pm
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) April 10, 2026

Fans are also encouraged to attend UW's Blue Carpet Arrival at Frozen Fest, which will take place at 12:15 p.m. PT. The Frozen Fest will take place from 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. PT at Toshiba Plaza in front of the East entrance of T-Mobile Arena.

Click here to find additional information about the Frozen Four from the NCAA, including ticket information, a daily schedule and the official bracket.

Badger fans watching in Madison are also invited to gather at The Sett in Union South for a title game watch party starting at 4:30 p.m. CT.

It all comes down to this.

Join us tomorrow at the Sett in @WisconsinUnion South to watch @badgermhockey take on Denver in the National Championship game 🏆#OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/5NzHFcWbTW
— Wisconsin Badgers (@UWBadgers) April 10, 2026

5 - SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: NCHC tournament-champion Denver boasts a 28-11-3 overall record, going 17-6-1 in conference play. The Loveland Regaionl second seed advanced to the Frozen Four with a 5-0 win over regional third-seed Cornell before beating defending national champion and regional top-seed Western Michigan 6-2 in the finals.

The Pioneers then made the national championship game with a 4-3 double-overtime win against top-overall seed Michigan in the national semifinals on April 9.

Hobey Baker top-three finalist and junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp leads the roster in both goals and points with 18 and 39, respectively, in 42 games played. Freshman goaltender Johnny Hicks has 15 wins in 15 starts and has 22 overall games played, accumulating a .957 save percentage and 1.20 goals-allowed on average.

6 - HOW TO WATCH: The Badgers play Denver in the national championship game on Saturday, April 11, at 4:30 p.m. CT./2:30 p.m. PT. Fans can watch the action live on ESPN. Audio play-by-play for both games can be found on 1310 WIBA in the Madison area, as well as on the Badgers app and the Varsity Network App. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram @BadgerMHockey.