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Wisconsin men's hockey earns massive resume-boosting win

In its series-opener against the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines, the Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team earned a win at just the right time
Kedrick Stumbris|
Wisconsins's Quinn Finley celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal in a 6-5 overtime victory over Notre Dame Friday Feb. 6, 2026 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
Wisconsins's Quinn Finley celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal in a 6-5 overtime victory over Notre Dame Friday Feb. 6, 2026 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. | Mark Stewart / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Entering the weekend barely on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, the Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team was faced with a tremendous challenge, but even greater opportunity. As No. 13/14 UW welcomed the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines to Madison, points in Big Ten play, positioning in the NPI, and the maybe even Wisconsin's confidence hung in the balance.

All those concerns have been assuaged, if only slightly, after the first contest in a two-game series between the Badgers and Wolverines inside the Kohl Center. Wisconsin earned a 4-1 victory, outplaying Michigan for most of the night, particularly in the final 40 minutes after allowing a first-period goal to the Wolverines' power play.

"I thought in the second period on, we played a lot better than we did in the first, and I didn't think we were poor in the first," UW head coach Mike Hastings said.

The victory boosted UW's positioning in the NCAA Percentage Index (the metric used to seed and select teams for the postseason tournament) and its chances of clinching home ice for the first round of the Big Ten conference tournament.

1st Star: Badgers forward Jack Horbach

Capping his night, and securing the victory, with an empty net goal, Jack Horbach found the back of the net for just the second time this season, The forward put in an outstanding two-way effort on the night that included an assist by forcing a critical turnover.

Prior to Vasily Zelenov's go-ahead goal, Horbach forced Michigan defender Luca Fantilli into a neutral zone turnover that put the puck directly onto Ryan Botterill's stick near the Wolverine blue line. Botterill delivered the puck to a streaking Zelenov, who put the puck into the back of the net with an impressive wrister.

Horbach earned an assist on the play with an effort that, in Hastings' words, "epitomizes what it is to be a Badger."

2nd Star: Wisconsin goaltender Eli Pulver

With preferred starter Daniel Hauser nursing an upper-body injury, the net belonged to Eli Pulver on Friday night. In his ninth start for the Badgers, the sophomore came up big, despite several shaky outings earlier this season.

"I thought [Pulver] put together a good week; we needed him to," Hastings said in post-game interview. "And we're going to need him to continue that because if you're going to win at this time of the year you have to have quality goaltending. And tonight we had it."

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With the win over Michigan, UW improved its standing to 2-3 in games finished in net by Pulver. Before last weekend, Pulver had been pulled in three of his four previous starts.

Against the Wolverines, however, the Vancouver native allowed only power-play goal, and came up with timely stops again and again. A key save by Pulver on a breakaway opportunity by Michigan's Garrett Schifsky late in the second-period to keep the Wolverines at bay just 35 seconds before Adam Pietila doubled UW's lead.

3rd Star: UW center Grady Deering

Wisconsin men's hockey defenseman Grady Deering's primary assist on Pietila's goal was also one of his career-high eight shots on goal. Deering twice recorded his previous career-high of five against the Lindenwood Lions and the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves.

The freshman added a secondary assist on Quinn Finley's goal that initially put the Badgers on the board in the second period. His two points tied Horbach for a game-high.

Deering's offensive effort, combined with a pair of blocked shots, earned the compliments of Hastings.

"He's a student of the game. He wants to get better every week," Hastings said of the Des Moines, Iowa native. "He critiques himself very well, and what I mean by that is he's a really good self-evaluator. He doesn't pat himself too much on the back when he does well. And when he doesn't, he takes it to heart and understands that he needs to look at some things to get better. He's getting better every week and we need that to continue."

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Kedrick Stumbris
KEDRICK STUMBRIS

Kedrick Stumbris has covered the Wisconsin Badgers since 2022 with a focus on the Badgers football, men's basketball, and women's hockey programs. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science.

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