On Thursday, April 9, No. 2 seeded North Dakota battled Wisconsin in the Frozen Four at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The difference in the game would be a pair of first period goals 27 second apart as the Badgers edged the Fighting Hawks 2-1.
THE BADGERS ARE HEADED TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP‼️
They'll face the winner of Michigan-Denver 👀 pic.twitter.com/T2DdjOd5T0
— ESPN (@espn) April 9, 2026
The first period saw both of Wisconsin’s goals scored, the first by Simon Tassy at the 12:54 mark of the period. It was assisted by Vasily Zelenov. The second goal was scored by Ryan Botterill at the 13:21 mark of the period. That goal had a pair of assists by Ben Dexheimer and Joe Palodichuk.
2️⃣ GOALS FOR THE BADGERS IN UNDER 30 SECONDS 🚨🚨
Wisconsin leads North Dakota 2-0 after the first period on ESPN2 and the ESPN App 👀 pic.twitter.com/r9dVSeRqMT
— ESPN (@espn) April 9, 2026
The second period saw hard nosed hockey by both squads, but no goals scored. In the third period North Dakota continued to work, but struggled getting the puck to the net… Eventually the Fighting Hawks scored a goal at 19:08 in the third period by Ellis Rickwood to cut the deficit to one. The goal was assisted by Dylan James and Ben Strinden. The final 52 seconds were bled away by Wisconsin forcing UND into tough positions trying to possess the puck, never getting a true shot on net in the closing seconds.
Wisconsin outshot North Dakota 37-22 including 18-4 in the first period and 12-6 in the third period. UND led in shots on net in the second period 12-7. Wisconsin goaltender Daniel Houser saved 21 of the 22 shots he faced in net. UND goaltender Jan Spunar saved 35 of the 37 shots he faced between the pipes. Both goalies are freshmen.
North Dakota ranked 6th in the country on the power play, but went 0-5 tonight against Wisconsin. UND won the face-off battle 34-29 while Wisconsin held an advantage in blocked shots 19-10.
The Badgers will now play the winner of tonight’s second semifinal between No. 1 Michigan and Denver in the National Championship. The Wolverines and Pioneers will drop the puck at approximately 7:45 p.m. with full game coverage available on ESPN.
The title game between Wisconsin and Michigan/Denver will be played on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. with full game coverage available on ESPN. The 2026 Frozen Four is being played in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena, home of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.
