LAS VEGAS (AP) — Simon Tassy and Ryan Botterill scored 27 seconds apart in the first period and Wisconsin defeated North Dakota 2-1 on Thursday to put the Badgers in the Frozen Four title game for the first time since 2010.

The Badgers (24-12-2), seeded third in their region, will play the winner between Michigan and Denver in the championship game Saturday. Wisconsin has won six titles, its most recent coming 20 years ago.

Wisconsin defeated North Dakota (29-10-1) for the first time in the NCAA Tournament after going 0-3 against the Fighting Hawks. Wisconsin, which beat a No. 1 seed for the second time in a row, had gone 1-11-2 in its previous 14 meetings with the Hawks.

North Dakota, which came less than a minute from being shut out for the first time in more than a year, has gone a decade since winning its eighth national championship.

Daniel Hauser stopped 21 shots for the Badgers, including tough glove save through traffic while sitting down on a 6-on-5 with 2:05 left.

Front-line center Ellis Rickwood scored North Dakota’s lone goal on a 6-on-5, and Jan Spunar made 35 saves.

The Badgers’ defense limited a North Dakota offense that entered the game third nationally in scoring (3.8 goals per game). But Wisconsin’s forecheck dictated the early points and set the tone.

Wisconsin dominated the first period, taking 18 shots on goal to four. The Badgers scored twice 27 seconds apart when Tassy and Botterill hit the back of the net from the right circle.

Even when the Hawks had chances, they usually failed to take advantage, going 0 for 5 on the power play, including a 5-on-3 in the second period that lasted 1:56. Ollie Josephson also missed a chance in that period to score on a breakaway.

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For one weekend only, the Midwest (and Denver) descends upon Sin City.

The 2026 Frozen Four — the penultimate stage of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship — will open with No. 2 seed North Dakota Fighting Hawks taking on the Wisconsin Badgers in Las Vegas. The Fighting Hawks have been dominant thus far in the tournament, winning their first two games by a combined score of 8-0.

Presumptive NHL draft top-five pick Keaton Verhoeff headlines North Dakota’s roster, but Cody Croal leads the team with three goals in the first two rounds.

Watch Frozen Four games with Fubo (free trial)

North Dakota will be taking on the biggest surprise appearance, with Wisconsin surviving the Worcester Regional Final over No. 3-seed Michigan State in an overtime thriller. The game-winning goal came on a deflection off the stick of Ben Dexheimer, who headily tipped in what looked like a harmless dump-in from the blue line. Wisconsin is looking to be the first team since 2006 to win the men’s and women’s national title in the same season.

The last team to achieve the feat? Wisconsin.

With that, here’s how to watch the Frozen Four match between North Dakota and Wisconsin, including time, TV schedule, streaming information, game odds and more:

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Sports Information)– Fighting Hawk track and field is set to split between California and North Dakota for a pair of meets this week, with competition occurring from Thursday to Saturday for UND.

It all begins out west at the Bryan Clay Multis where action will begin at 1 p.m. CT on both Thursday and Friday in Azusa. The Fighting Hawks overlap on Friday as action kicks up at the NDSU Spring Classic at 1 p.m. CT on Friday and 11 a.m. CT on Saturday in Fargo.

Last Time Out

North Dakota track and field collected four total broken school records over the weekend, with two more coming in Saturday competition as the Fighting Hawks took on two meets out in California

MIKE FANELLI TRACK CLASSIC

Saturday competition began for UND in the women’s 10,000-meter run where Elle Sondag crossed the finish line in 36:28.89 in her event debut to take eighth in section one and finish eighth overall. In the men’s portion of the same event, Ethan Adams finished 23rd in section over for 26th overall behind a PR time of 31:19.28 that now ranks ninth in school history.

In the 800-meter run, Gabriella Ruggeri ran a time of 2:10.65 (PR, fifth all-time) to finish fourth in section four and 25th overall in 21 heats of competing athletes. Aleksa Milanovic represented the men and finished second in section six and 13th overall out of 27 heats of competition with a time of 1:51.63.

Then the history-making turned up a notch. Olivia Correale broke the program record in the women’s mile run with her time of 4:47.47 to take first place overall in the event. And the domination continued in addition to the new school history. Katie Rogers took second in 4:52.51 with the second-best time in UND history as Marie-Louise Jorgensen finished fourth with a time of 4:56.93 in her event debut that now ranks third in the record books. Frida Giersdorff rounded out the speedy performances with her 4:57.59 clocking for seventh place and the fourth-best time at UND.

The men’s mile run race followed with the same kind of headlines as Louis-Lys Fanucchi added to the weekend success. He also broke the men’s mile run record with his time of 4:07.75 as Henrik Lindstrot followed in fifth place with a time of 4:10.97, marking a new PR and the third-best time in school history.

TRITON INVITATIONAL

The throwing results continued for North Dakota in San Diego with Fighting Hawks competing in the shot put and discus throw. Julia Matthews tied her outdoor personal best of 46-4 1/4 (14.13m) in the women’s shot put, which ranks eighth in school history, to finished 13th in the event.

STANFORD INVITATIONAL

Late results from yesterday’s competition at Stanford came in with historical performances for North Dakota on Friday evening.

It all began with Giersdorff besting her own school record by over 12 seconds in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase. She ran a new PR time of 10:06.17 to rewrite history and take seventh place in the event. Over in the men’s half of the event, Fanucchi emerged victories with his clocking of 8:42.15, which marks a new PR and the second-best time in school history. Lindstrot came fifth in 8:49.08 for a new personal best and the third-best time in the UND record books.

Another school record fell in the women’s 10,000-meter where Keeler broke another one of her own top marks. She took fourth overall in the event with her time of 31:56.03, which improves her previous school record by nearly 10 seconds. Her locking now sits as the 20th-fastest time in NCAA history.

In section two of the event, Shewaye Johnson ran a 33:44.70 (PR) for the third-best time in UND history and ninth place. Naja Weiler clocked a 33:51.36 (PR, 13th place), which now sits fourth in school history and marks a new freshman record.

Summit League Accolades

Peak Performer of the Week

– Jadyn Keeler – Women’s Track (April 7)

Fight ‘em Hawks!

The Fighting Hawks have already achieved a plethora of new top-10 indoor marks in program history this season, including four chart-topping school records:

*Olivia Correale – Mile Run (No. 1 – 4:47.47)

*Louis-Lys Fanucchi – Mile Run (No. 1, 4:07.75)

*Frida Giersdorff – 3000-meter Steeplechase (No. 1 – 10:06.17)

*Jadyn Keeler – 10,000-meter Run (No. 1 – 31:56.03)

On Tap

North Dakota track and field will take on a plethora of meets next weekend with the Pacific Coast Invitational, Beach Invitational and Bryan Clay Invitational out in California as well as the Tom Tellez Alumni Invitational in Texas.

For updates and more information on North Dakota track and field, follow on social media @UNDtrackfieldXC or visit FightingHawks.com.