Denver, Wisconsin advance to 2026 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four final

We are down to two.

After a couple of thrilling and rather unpredictable games on Thursday, the … and the Wisconsin Badgers clinched spots in the 2026 NCAA Men’s D-I Hockey National Championship Game.

Everyone was excited to see what was going to happen when the Frozen Four got underway in Las Vegas. The four schools attending are the top four all-time in national titles, with historical rivalries mixed in, giving an extra layer to the final stage of the NCAA Tournament.

Let’s take a look at how things played out in the national semifinals:

On, Wisconsin

With a deep offensive attack and great goaltending, everyone thought the North Dakota Fighting Hawks were destined to play in the national title game. However, Daniel Hauser and the Badgers had other ideas.

The Badgers came out flying in the opening period, really taking the play to the NCHC regular-season champions. There were two big turning points in the game, both going in Wisconsin’s favor. In the latter half of the first period, Simon Tassy scored his 14th goal of the season to give the Badgers the lead. Then, just 27 seconds later, captain Ben Dexheimer made a great pass to send Ryan Botterfill on a breakaway, with the sophomore sneaking a shot through Fighting Hawks goaltender Jan Spunar to give Wisconsin a surprising two-goal lead.

The other moment that hurt NoDak the most came in the second period. Wisconsin took back-to-back penalties three penalties apart, giving the Fighting Hawks a glorious opportunity to get back in the game. However, they failed to capitalize.

North Dakota really couldn’t get much sustained pressure in the third period, and while Ellis Rickwood scored late to cut the deficit to 1, the team didn’t complete the comeback, as the Badgers came away with a 2-1 victory.

The win sends Wisconsin to the national championship game for the first time since 2010.

The Badgers controlled the game for the majority of the afternoon, outshooting North Dakota 37-22, giving up just six shots on goals in the final stanza. Special teams killed the Fighting Hawks as well, as UW killed off all five penalties it took.

Here are the standouts from Wisconsin’s big win:

Daniel Hauser, G, Wisconsin: Sure, Hauser might not have had the same amount of work as Spunar, but that doesn’t take away the quality of saves the freshman was tasked with on Thursday. The Fighting Hawks had several grade-A scoring chances in the contest, especially in the first period, but Hauser was there (almost) every time. The Chestermere, Alb. native has certainly picked up his game in the national tournament. After a lackluster performance in the Big Ten Quarterfinals last month, Hauser has given up just five goals over the Badgers’ first three games of the NCAAs.

Simon Tassy, RW, Wisconsin: The Badgers only have a couple of top-tier scoring weapons, but Tassy’s game has been growing over the second semester, with the senior starting to rise to the occasion in this tournament. He scored a pair of goals in the win over Dartmouth, and then came up with the big goal to get things started for Wisconsin against NoDak, and, my, what a shot it was.

That release is why Tassy sits third on the team in goals this year. He also led UW with six shots on goal in the win. The Quebec native is having one of the best seasons of his college career, and he played a key part in giving him a chance to end it on the ultimate high.

Hicks, Anderson player heroes for Denver

For two teams that are littered with skill and finesse, both sides had no quarrels with taking liberties with one another, as the action in the second semifinal was fast and intense.

It was Denver who struck first, as a Michigan turnover and a pretty setup from Brendan McMorrow and Kieran Cebrian led to Kyle Chyzowski scoring his second goal of the national tournament.

However, the Wolverines quickly responded. Josh Eernisse scored his first goal since the Big Ten Quarterfinals to tie the game, with Hobey Baker finalist T.J. Hughes banging in a rebound off the glass less than a minute later to give his team the lead.

Michigan had all the momentum heading into the middle frame, but DU leveled the score thanks to a smart point shot from defenseman Cale Ashcroft.

The game remained tied at two until the latter half of the third. After the Pioneers failed to cash in on four consecutive power plays, the Wolverines made the most of their first opportunity on the man advantage, with Jayden Perron scoring his 17th of the season to give his team the lead once again.

Time started to tick away on DU, who could hardly get any offense going against the Wolverines. However, Garrett Brown put on a shot toward goal that was tipped in by freshman Clarke Caswell with less than three minutes to go in regulation, sending the game to overtime.

Michigan came out in the extra frame inspired, had numerous chances to end the game, but DU’s Johnny Hicks made a couple of 10-bell stops to keep his team alive. A second overtime was needed, and after a few more big saves, captain Kent Anderson, who had scored just one goal prior to the Frozen Four, scored the game-winner, giving Denver a 4-3 victory, and a third national title game appearance in five years.

Michigan ended up outshooting 52-26, but with a team labeled with numerous players set to turn pro, it was a disappointing end for the No. 1 team in the country.

Here are the stars from the marathon matchup:

Johnny Hicks, G, Denver: Let’s be honest, this game doesn’t even get to overtime, let alone two, if it isn’t for the play of Hicks. DU seemingly played most of the game on its heels, but whenever Michigan had a chance, the freshman netminder came up clutch. The saves he made on the Wolverines’ Garrett Schifsky early in the first overtime were sensational. Despite standing at a measly 5-foot-10, Hicks proved to be a taller obstacle than Michigan probably expected. Along with getting run over by New York Rangers draft pick Malcolm Spence earlier in the game, Hicks ended up making 49 saves, having now won 15 of his 16 decisions this year and riding a 12-game win streak into the national title game.

Jayden Perron, F, Michigan (Carolina Hurricanes): It’s always tough coming out on the losing end of things, but Perron certainly gave it everything he had on Thursday night. He finished tied for the team lead in shots on goal (5) and had a couple of chances himself to be the hero for the Wolverines. Strong on the puck and able to get to the front of the net, the Winnipeg native has a lot of upside in his game that can translate to the pro ranks. He finishes his junior season with career highs in goals (18), assists (23) and points (41).

Tale of the Championship Tape

The Pioneers are looking to continue the closest thing we’ve seen to a dynasty in the college game since Boston College won three championships in a five-year span. David Carle is hoping his team can do the same feat this year, as DU has won NCAA titles in 2022 and 2024, with the latter giving Denver a record 10th national championship.

The last time Wisconsin made it this far in the tournament was under Mike Eaves. The team is trying to win the program’s seventh national championship, fourth all-time in NCAA Men’s D-I history. It comes after some lean years for the program, which missed the national tournament in three of the previous four campaigns and has not won a tournament game since that runner-up performance 16 years ago.

This isn’t the first time these two teams have met in the national championship game. In 1973, “Badger” Bob Johnson guided his team to its first NCAA title at DU’s expense.

This matchup is very intriguing. On one side, you have the experienced and battle-tested Pioneers taking on a Badgers team that has been heating up in this tournament. Wisconsin certainly has a chip on its shoulder, with the team feeling like it has something to prove. DU has a number of players who are seemingly one phone call away from signing NHL contracts, with the team using that talent to go on another deep run in the NCAA playoffs.

Wisconsin is also trying to become the first team from the Big Ten to win a national title.

The Badgers are 6-3 in national championship games, while the Pioneers are 10-3 but haven’t lost a championship game since 1973 (which was later vacated by the NCAA for recruiting violations). Wisconsin is 76-66-13 against its former WCHA rival.

The NCAA Championship Game is scheduled for Saturday, April 11, with puck drop scheduled for a little after 5:30 p.m. ET.