Badger men's hockey suffers 2nd-worst home playoff loss ever

Wisconsin men's hockey was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament by Ohio State for the third year in a row. The Badgers' loss came in historic fashion.

Wisconsin's Joe Palodichuk (14) collides with Badgers goaltender Daniel Hauser as Hauser attempts to make a save in the second period Wednesday March 11, 2026 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. Ohio State scored on the play to take a 3-0 lead. | Mark Stewart / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Madison, WI — Fans inside the Kohl Center hoping to see a different result when the Wisconsin Badgers again met the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Tournament left the building sorely disappointed on Wednesday night. Wisconsin men's hockey ungracefully exited the conference tournament with a 7-1 quarterfinal loss, and was eliminated by Ohio State in the bracket for the third-straight season.

“It didn’t start good and it got worse,” Badgers head coach Mike Hastings said plainly in a postgame press conference.

Wisconsin (21-12-2, 14-10-0 Big Ten) failed to score until the game was well out of hand. A late shorthanded goal by UW's Finn Brink prevented a shutout, but the Badgers were already trailing 7-0 before they got on the board. Wisconsin outshot Ohio State 34-20, but the Buckeyes limited high-quality scoring chances for the Badgers as OSU took away the middle of the ice throughout the night.

"At this time of the year and as you move on, if we're fortunate enough to play in the NCAA Tournament," Hastings said while literally knocking on the wood of the table he sat behind, "it's—it's a ground game. It's—you're gonna have to earn every inch you get. And tonight, they dug in. And I didn't think we went through; we kind of went around."

Wisconsin men's hockey handed most-lopsided defeat in four years

FINAL

Wisconsin's run in the Big Ten Tournament never got off the ground.

A 7-1 loss that creates a laundry list of "worst defeat since" https://t.co/KxuPhdC94p

— Kedrick Stumbris (@KedrickStumbris) March 12, 2026

The Badgers had not suffered a defeat as lopsided as Wednesday's since before Hastings arrived on campus. The Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated Wisconsin by that same final score, 7-1, in December of 2022. That loss, however, was on the road.

Fans in Madison had not seen the Badgers defeated by six or more goals in over eight years. On February 10, 2018, the Gophers won the Border Battle Rival matchup 7-1.

Narrowing down to the 93 postseason games Wisconsin men's hockey has played at home, the Badgers have only once ever been defeated by. greater margin than they were on Wednesday night. According to Todd Milewski of Badger Extra, Wisconsin's 11-4 loss to the Colorado College Tigers (on what would become known to Badger hockey fans as "Black Sunday") in 1981 is the only time UW has lost a home playoff game by more than six goals.

That Wisconsin team earned one of the final at-large bids to the 1981 NCAA Tournament before winning the national championship.