2025–26 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey season

2025–26 Wisconsin Badgers
men's ice hockey season
2025–26 Wisconsin Badgers; men's ice hockey season
Conference	Big Ten
Home ice	Kohl Center
Rankings
USCHO	#13
USA Today	#14
Record
Overall	18–10–2
Conference	11–9–0
Home	9–5–2
Road	8–4–0
Neutral	1–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Mike Hastings
Assistant coaches	Todd Knott; Nick Oliver; Kevin Murdock
Captain	Ben Dexheimer
Alternate captain(s)	Gavin Morrissey; Joe Palodichuk; Zach Schulz
	Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey seasons; « 2024–25 2026–27 »

The 2025–26 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey season is the 77th season of play for the program and 25th in the Big Ten. The Badgers represent the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, play their home games at Kohl Center and are coached by Mike Hastings in his third season.

Departures

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Luke Buss	Forward	United States	Transferred to Union
William Gramme	Goaltender	Sweden	Transferred to Northern Michigan
Anthony Kehrer	Defenseman	Canada	Graduation (signed with Springfield Thunderbirds)
Daniel Laatsch	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (signed with Pittsburgh Penguins)
Cody Laskosky	Forward	Canada	Graduation (retired)
Owen Lindmark	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with San Diego Gulls)
Owen Mehlenbacher	Forward	Canada	Transferred to Massachusetts
Ryland Mosley	Forward	Canada	Graduation (signed with Cleveland Monsters)
Tommy Scarfone	Goaltender	Canada	Graduation (signed with Cincinnati Cyclones)
Sawyer Scholl	Forward	United States	Transferred to Minnesota State

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Finn Brink	Forward	United States	20	Maple Grove, MN
Grady Deering	Forward	United States	20	Des Moines, IA
Aiden Dubinsky	Defenseman	United States	21	Highland Park, IL; transfer from Minnesota Duluth
Daniel Hauser	Goaltender	Canada	21	Chestermere, AB
Bruno Idžan	Forward	Croatia	19	Zagreb, CRO; selected 181st overall in 2025
Blake Montgomery	Forward	United States	20	Annapolis, MD; selected 117th overall in 2024
Eli Pulver	Goaltender	Canada	22	Vancouver, BC; transfer from Minnesota State
Oliver Tulk	Forward	Canada	20	Gibsons, BC
Vasily Zelenov	Forward	Austria	19	Moskva, RUS; selected 204th overall in 2024

Roster

As of September 2, 2025.^[1]

No.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
2	Luke Osburn	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2006-09-09	Plymouth, Michigan	Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)	BUF, 108th overall 2024
4	Ben Dexheimer (C)	Senior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	2002-06-21	Edina, Minnesota	Madison Capitols (USHL)	—
5	Zach Schulz (A)	Junior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2005-06-14	South Lyon, Michigan	USNTDP (USHL)	NYI, 177th overall 2023
6	Logan Hensler	Sophomore	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	2006-10-14	Woodbury, Minnesota	USNTDP (USHL)	OTT, 23rd overall 2025
7	Gavin Morrissey (A)	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2003-02-16	Rochester Hills, Michigan	Fargo Force (USHL)	—
8	Jack Phelan	Sophomore	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2004-05-28	Hinsdale, Illinois	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)	DET, 137th overall 2023
9	Kyle Kukkonen	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	2002-11-13	Maple Grove, Minnesota	Michigan Tech (CCHA)	ANA, 162nd overall 2021
11	Simon Tassy	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2001-03-21	Montreal, Quebec	Minnesota State (CCHA)	—
13	Christian Fitzgerald	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-05-31	Coquitlam, British Columbia	Minnesota State (CCHA)	—
14	Joe Palodichuk (A)	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	171 lb (78 kg)	2003-02-26	Cottage Grove, Minnesota	Fargo Force (USHL)	—
16	Tyson Dyck	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2004-02-06	Abbotsford, British Columbia	Massachusetts (HEA)	OTT, 206th overall 2022
17	Grady Deering	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	2005-06-19	Des Moines, Iowa	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)	—
18	Adam Pietila	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	191 lb (87 kg)	2003-01-14	Hartland, Michigan	Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)	—
19	Quinn Finley	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	179 lb (81 kg)	2004-08-08	Suamico, Wisconsin	Chicago Steel (USHL)	NYI, 78th overall 2022
21	Ryan Botterill	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	2003-07-23	Portage la Prairie, Manitoba	Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)	—
22	Jack Horbach	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	2002-05-04	Naperville, Illinois	Madison Capitols (USHL)	—
26	Weston Knox	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2004-04-06	Andover, Minnesota	Minot Minotauros (NAHL)	—
27	Finn Brink	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2005-04-06	Maple Grove, Minnesota	Madison Capitols (USHL)	—
28	Aiden Dubinsky	Senior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2004-04-28	Highland Park, Illinois	Minnesota Duluth (NCHC)	—
30	Eli Pulver	Sophomore	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2003-03-02	Vancouver, British Columbia	Minnesota State (CCHA)	—
31	Daniel Hauser	Freshman	G	5' 11" (1.8 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2004-01-29	Chestermere, Alberta	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)	—
33	Anton Castro	Sophomore	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2003-01-23	Mendota Heights, Minnesota	Fargo Force (USHL)	—
47	Blake Montgomery	Freshman	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	2005-05-04	Annapolis, Maryland	London Knights (OHL)	OTT, 117th overall 2024
55	Oliver Tulk	Freshman	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	2005-01-19	Gibsons, British Columbia	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)	—
91	Bruno Idžan	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2006-01-16	Zagreb, Croatia	Lincoln Stars (USHL)	OTT, 181st overall 2025
94	Vasily Zelenov	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2006-02-02	Moskva, Russia	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	BUF, 204th overall 2024

Standings

2025–26 Big Ten ice hockey Standings
	Conference record										Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	OTW	OTL	3/SW	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#2 Michigan	20	15	4	1	4	0	1	43	86	55	30	24	5	1	141	71
#1 Michigan State	18	13	5	0	2	2	0	39	62	38	28	22	6	0	103	55
#6 Penn State	17	10	7	1	0	2	0	33	59	55	28	18	9	1	100	80
#13 Wisconsin	19	11	8	0	3	0	0	30	76	72	29	18	9	2	110	89
Minnesota	19	6	12	1	0	2	1	22	49	60	30	10	18	2	83	100
Ohio State	17	6	11	0	1	2	0	19	52	69	27	10	16	1	80	93
Notre Dame	17	1	15	1	0	2	0	6	42	77	29	5	20	4	79	118
Championship: March 21, 2026 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated February 14, 2025

Schedule and results

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Regular Season
October 3	7:10 pm	at Lindenwood*	#20	Centene Community Ice Center • St. Charles, Missouri		Hauser	W 3–0	2,001	1–0–0
October 4	7:10 pm	at Lindenwood*	#20	Centene Community Ice Center • St. Charles, Missouri		Hauser	W 7–2	2,152	2–0–0
October 9	7:00 pm	USNTDP*	#18	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin (Exhibition)	B1G+	Pulver	W 6–0	—	—
October 16	7:00 pm	#20 Minnesota State*	#17	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin	B1G+	Hauser	T 1–1 ^OT	6,555	2–0–1
October 17	7:00 pm	#20 Minnesota State*	#17	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin	B1G+	Hauser	T 2–2 ^OT	8,478	2–0–2
October 24	7:00 pm	Alaska*	#17	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin	B1G+	Hauser	W 5–3	8,190	3–0–2
October 25	6:00 pm	Alaska*	#17	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin	B1G+	Hauser	W 4–1	10,584	4–0–2
October 30	8:00 pm	#19 Minnesota	#14	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin (Rivalry)	BTN	Hauser	W 5–2	7,007	5–0–2 (1–0–0)
November 1	6:00 pm	#19 Minnesota	#14	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin (Rivalry)	B1G+	Hauser	W 4–0	10,016	6–0–2 (2–0–0)
November 7	6:00 pm	at #2 Michigan	#10	Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan	B1G+	Hauser	L 4–7	5,800	6–1–2 (2–1–0)
November 8	6:00 pm	at #2 Michigan	#10	Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan	BTN	Hauser	W 6–1	5,800	7–1–2 (3–1–0)
November 14	7:00 pm	Ohio State	#7	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin	B1G+	Hauser	L 1–5	9,255	7–2–2 (3–2–0)
November 15	6:00 pm	Ohio State	#7	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin	B1G+	Hauser	W 6–5 ^OT	10,963	8–2–2 (4–2–0)
November 21	7:30 pm	at #1 Michigan State	#7	Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan	B1G+	Pulver	W 5–4	6,555	9–2–2 (5–2–0)
November 22	6:00 pm	at #1 Michigan State	#7	Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan	B1G+	Pulver	W 2–1 ^OT	6,555	10–2–2 (6–2–0)
December 5	6:00 pm	at Notre Dame	#2	Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana	Peacock	Hauser	W 7–4	5,283	11–2–2 (7–2–0)
December 6	5:00 pm	at Notre Dame	#2	Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana	Peacock	Hauser	W 9–2	5,046	12–2–2 (8–2–0)
Holiday Face–Off
December 28	4:00 pm	vs. Lake Superior State*	#2	Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Holiday Face–Off Semifinal)	B1G+	Hauser	W 3–2	8,277	13–2–2
December 29	7:30 pm	vs. #7 Western Michigan*	#2	Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Holiday Face–Off Championship)	B1G+	Pulver	L 1–4	7,002	13–3–2
Regular Season
January 9	7:00 pm	Alaska Anchorage*	#3	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin	B1G+	Hauser	W 5–0	7,314	14–3–2
January 10	6:00 pm	Alaska Anchorage*	#3	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin	B1G+	Hauser	W 3–2	9,578	15–3–2
January 15	8:00 pm	#4 Michigan State	#2	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin	BTN	Hauser	L 3–4	7,677	15–4–2 (8–3–0)
January 16	7:00 pm	#4 Michigan State	#2	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin	B1G+	Pulver	L 1–4	12,114	15–5–2 (8–4–0)
January 23	7:00 pm	#8 Penn State	#5	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin	B1G+	Hauser	L 2–7	10,187	15–6–2 (8–5–0)
January 24	7:30 pm	#8 Penn State	#5	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin	BTN	Hauser	L 1–3	13,355	15–7–2 (8–6–0)
January 30	7:00 pm	at Minnesota	#8	3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota (Rivalry)	BTN+, Fox9	Hauser	L 1–4	10,113	15–8–2 (8–7–0)
January 31	6:00 pm	at Minnesota	#8	3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota (Rivalry)	BTN+, Fox9	Hauser	L 4–8	10,652	15–9–2 (8–8–0)
February 6	7:00 pm	Notre Dame	#13	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin		Hauser	W 6–5 ^OT	10,880	16–9–2 (9–8–0)
February 7	7:00 pm	Notre Dame	#13	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin		Hauser	W 5–4	12,148	17–9–2 (10–8–0)
February 13	5:30 pm	at Ohio State	#13	Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio		Hauser	W 4–2	4,874	18–9–2 (11–8–0)
February 14	6:30 pm	at Ohio State	#13	Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio	BTN	Pulver	L 2–3	5,332	18–10–2 (11–9–0)
February 20	7:00 pm	#2 Michigan	#13	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin
February 21	6:00 pm	#2 Michigan	#13	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin
March 5	TBA	at Penn State		Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania
March 6	TBA	at Penn State		Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time. Source:^[2]

Rankings

Poll	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27 (Final)
USCHO.com	20	18	17	17	14	10	7	7	2 (3)	2 (4)	2 (21)	2 (13)	–	2 (12)	3 (1)	2 (3)	5	8	13	13	13
USA Hockey	19	18	17	16	14	9	7	8	2	2	2 (16)	2 (5)	–	2 (4)	3	2	5	7	11	12	14

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 12.^[3]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

References

^ "2025–26 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". uwbadgers.com. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Hockey Schedule". uwbadgers.com. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.

External links

[1] "2025–26 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". uwbadgers.com. Retrieved September 2, 2025.

[2] "2025-26 Men's Hockey Schedule". uwbadgers.com. Retrieved September 23, 2024.

[3] "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey
Playing venues	UW Ice Rink (1921–1935) Hartmeyer Ice Arena (1963–1967) Dane County Coliseum (1967–1998) Kohl Center (1998–present)
Head coaches	A. C. Viner (1921–1923) Robert Blodgett (1923–1924) Kay Iverson (1924–1926) Rube Brandow (1926–1927) John Farquhar (1927–1930) Spike Carlson (1930–1931) Art Thomasen (1931–1935) John Riley (1963–1966) Bob Johnson (1966–1975, 1976–1982) Bill Rothwell (1975–1976) Jeff Sauer (1982–2002) Mike Eaves (2002–2016) Tony Granato (2016–2023) Mike Hastings (2023–present)
Seasons	1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
Conference affiliations	WCHA (1970–2013) Big Ten (1968–1981, 2013–present)
Culture & lore	Badger Showdown Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic
Rivalries	Minnesota
All-time leaders	Mike Eaves (267 Points) Mark Johnson (125 Goals) Graham Melanson (81 Wins)
National championships	1973 1977 1981 1983 1990 2006
Frozen Four appearances	1970 1972 1973 1977 1978 1981 1982 1983 1990 1992* 2006 2010
NCAA Tournament appearances	1970 1972 1973 1977 1978 1981 1982 1983 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992* 1993 1994 1995 1998 2000 2001 2004 2005 2006 2008 2010 2013 2014 2021 2024
Conference Tournament titles	WCHA: 1970 1972 1973 1977 1978 1982 1983 1988 1990 1995 1998 2013 Big Ten: 2014
Hobey Baker winners	Blake Geoffrion (2010)
Notable players	Adam Burish Jake Dowell Mike Eaves Brian Elliott Jake Gardiner Paul Houck Dany Heatley Mark Johnson Ryan McDonagh Craig Norwich Steven Reinprecht Craig Smith Derek Stepan Brad Winchester
University of Wisconsin Madison, WI