Wisconsin hockey beats Seawolves 5-0; plays 'connected'
Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey got some help from its returning stars, opening a six-game homestand with a win
Madison, WI — It may have taken longer than Wisconsin Badgers fans had hoped, but Wisconsin men’s hockey managed to build a comfortable lead and earn a 5-0 victory over the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves on Friday. Playing inside the Kohl Center for the first time since before Thanksgiving, Wisconsin reached 14 wins on the season, eclipsing its 13 total wins from UW’s 2024-25 campaign.
With an additional 15 games remaining, including 13 more over the next seven weeks, Wisconsin (14-3-2, 8-2-0 Big Ten) is full steam ahead for its longest uninterrupted stretch of play this season. After missing a trio of contributors during the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off, the Badgers were back to full strength (save for injuries to defenseman Zach Schulz and forward Vasily Zelenov).
Defenseman Luke Osburn and Logan Hensler returned to the Wisconsin lineup after competing with Team USA at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships in Minnesota. In their return, Hensler assisted Osburn on the final goal of the night.
UW’s head coach emphasized the importance of having those blue-liners back in Madison, especially with Schulz already out with an injury.
“We really need those guys, and I thought they made an impact on the game tonight,” Badgers head coach Mike Hastings said in a post-game interview. “They made an impact on us all over from when they got back here this week. It was nice to have everybody back for practice.
“There’s a lot of juice during our week and hopefully we can continue that tomorrow.”
The Badgers and Seawolves drop the puck tonight (Saturday, January 10th) inside the Kohl Center at 5:00 p.m. Central.
Quinn Finley hits both posts in one period
Quinn Finley, UW’s second-leading scorer, also returned to the ice for Wisconsin on Friday following a trip to the championship game in the Spengler Cup, playing for the U.S. Collegiate Selects in Switzerland. The forward returned with an exciting yet agonizing second period.
Soon after Ben Dexheimer went to the penalty box for boarding in the middle frame, Finley brought fans inside the Kohl Center to their feet. On a breakaway, the junior nearly scored shorthanded. With an off-speed backhanded flip of the puck, Finley hit the pipe trying to score blocker side on Seawolves goaltender Tyler Krivstov.
Just five minutes later, Finley repeated with another breakaway opportunity. Skating up the same left side of the ice in the neutral zone, Finley received a quick breakout pass from Dexheimer after Alaska Anchorage defenseman Logan Acheson failed to gain possession of the loose puck while trying to pinch from the blue line. This time, Finley shot from his forehand, trying to beat Krivstov glove side, but struck iron once again.
“I think Fin could have had three or four points tonight, right?” Hastings said of the Suamico native’s close calls. “That’s a good sign because he was successful over in Davos.”
Finely tallied five points during the USA’s Spengler Cup run, the fourth-most of any player in the tournament.
Although Finley was not rewarded with a goal for his efforts inside the Kohl Center on Friday, he earned the primary assist on Dexheimer’s tally that broke the scoreless tie.
The Badgers failed to generate a shot on goal with their first power play opportunity, but struck gold on their second chance in the middle frame. Center Gavin Morrissey won a battle for a loose puck along the half board of the Seawolves’ zone before chipping it to Finley. Finley passed the puck along to Dexheimer, waiting near the blue, who then skated in uncontested to the high slot before firing a wrist shot glove side, giving UW a 1-0 lead with 3:36 before the second intermission.
Hastings noted that although Morrissey and Finley earned assists on the score sheet, forward Simon Tassy “did a lot of the dirty work there,” screening the goaltender in front of the net.
“That’s something that he’s been doing for us this year,” Hastings added. “And it’s had a great impact on our power play.”
UW boasts the fourth most effective PP unit in the country.
“He’s been unbelievable,” Dexheimer said of Tassy’s efforts in front of the net. “We gave him a ton of credit after the game. Basically, all I see is the white net. He’s taking the goalie away; the goalie can’t see much. And that’s how I’ve gotten some of those to go in this year, so he’s been unbelievable in front of the net.”
Dexheimer has scored five goals this season, three of them on the power play.
Wisconsin hockey turns defense into offense
It was not only Wisconsin’s stars that contributed to the shutout victory. UW displayed its penchant for what has made this season feel like something of a renaissance: a full-team effort.
“A lot of different guys did things for us to get through and extend that lead, and Daniel [Hauser] was there when he needed to be.”
If it was not Finley scoring, it was Dexheimer setting a new career high for goals in a season. If not Dexheimer, it was sophomore Ryan Botterill peppering the net with seven shots and earning his seventh goal of the year, more than doubling his total as a freshman.
Five different Badgers scored goals, and 12 earned at least one point.
“I thought we were connected tonight, and I know that helps us offensively,” Hastings said. “But you know, there were very few looks in our defensive zone where somebody was alone, and the couple times that it did happen, Daniel [Hauser] made the save.
But I thought we played connected tonight; we were tight in our defensive zone. I thought we got back to pucks a lot more in the neutral zone.”
Wisconsin took much of the game to gain a lead. That lead did not grow until the Badgers scored four times within eight minutes in the third period. The effort that contributed to the final score, however, was present throughout as Wisconsin outshot Alaska Anchorage 48-16.
“We talked about trying to get back to being a puck possession type team,” said Hastings. “I thought we got away from that a little bit, especially in the first two games coming back from Christmas. And, so, to see the group have the game that they had tonight, we need that to continue.”
“We stress the D-zone so much, and that’s how we generate our offense is trying to spend as little time in the D-zone as we can,” Dexheimer added. “So the harder we work down there, the more chances we’re going to get on the offensive side and I think that was kind of the difference tonight.”
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