The Wisconsin Badgers take on the Denver Pioneers this evening in Vegas for the Badgers’ first men’s hockey title game since Obama’s first term, and B5Q’s resident hockey guru, Taylor Valentine, sat down with me to preview this intriguing matchup, which should be a really fun one.
Ahead of the game, we gave our keys to a Badgers win, as well as our predictions for the evening contest.
Mike Hastings Being Mike Hastings
A lot of this contest comes down to scouting and game planning, and Hastings has put the Badgers in very good positions to advance throughout the NCAA Tournament, including two exquisitely game-planned wins over No. 3 overall seed Michigan State and No. 2 overall seed North Dakota, where coaching was likely the pivot for both Wisconsin victories. The title game vs Denver should be no exception.
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Hastings has solid Frozen Four experience with Minnesota State (2021 and 2022), and actually faced Denver and David Carle in 2022, falling 5-1 in the title game against a dominant Denver squad. Although neither national semifinal foray led to a title, Hastings has experienced recent trials by fire under the brightest lights possible, and that should prove valuable against the closest thing to a modern dynasty college hockey has in the Pioneers.
If Hastings is who we think he is, he will definitely have his Badgers ready to roll against Denver.
Building on The Win Over North Dakota
The underdog Badgers did just about everything right against North Dakota (besides drawing too many penalties), including standing guys up at the blue line and winning puck battles in the neutral zone. That will have to continue against Denver, a supremely talented and disciplined team riding a goalie on a heater.
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The Badgers attacking and not being content to sit back and let the Pioneers dictate the game will be vital. In addition, Wisconsin’s penalty kill, which was subpar most of the season, has been outstanding in the tournament, including handling almost two minutes of 5 on 3 against North Dakota. A good PK can quickly transition to momentum, although limiting the Pioneers’ power play chances will be important.
Finally, continuing to get in between the puck and the goalie will be huge. North Dakota only managed a paltry 22 shots on goal, but took over twice that many shots, with the Badgers blocking a huge number of them.
Predictions
Taylor: 4-3 Wisconsin. Johnny Hicks hasn’t given up four goals all year as a starter, but Wisconsin gets that fourth goal against Hicks, and the Badgers walk away with a 3rd period goal to take it 4-3.
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Scary Alvarez: 3-2 Wisconsin. It’s a tightly-fought, back-and-forth classic, where the Badgers dig deep and find just enough to hold off the Pioneers, capturing the school’s 7th national championship.
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