Wisconsin vs North Dakota Frozen Four Preview & How to Watch
Wisconsin Badgers hockey renews its rivalry against North Dakota with its biggest matchup against UND in 40 years. Time, TV, radio, streaming, and injury news.
Las Vegas, NV — A six-game losing streak, a disastrous loss in the Big Ten Tournament, and a two-goal deficit in the third period of the NCAA Tournament regional final gave Wisconsin men’s hockey plenty of opportunities to cut its losses and walk away. Yet, despite Wisconsin Badgers head coach Mike Hastings’ doubts, his team is playing on the final weekend, renewing a historic rivalry in the blue-bloodiest Frozen Four possible and playing with house money.
“As early as four weeks ago, I didn’t know if we would be here,” Hastings said. “But we found a way to get here.”
First, it is Wisconsin and the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. In the opposite semifinal sit the only two programs that boast more national titles than UW or UND: the Denver Pioneers and Michigan Wolverines. As a foursome, the college hockey powerhouses boast a combined 33 national titles. As teams put the finishing touches on game plans, injury reports, and conversations about rivalry games played forty years ago, fans, players, and coaches alike dream of walking away with the jackpot.
“We’re here with three of the premier programs in college hockey. We’re excited to be here,” said Hastings. “All four teams have earned it, which you have to do at this time of the year.”
Frozen Four: How to Watch & Game Info
Matchup: #4 Wisconsin (23-12-2, 14-10-0 Big Ten) vs. #2 North Dakota (29-9-1, 17-6-1 NCHC)
Puck Drop: Thursday, April 9 | 4:00 PM CT
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV
TV Channel: ESPN2
Live Stream: ESPN
Radio: 1310 AM WIBA / Varsity App
Injury Update: Zach Schulz (Game-time decision) / Ollie Josephson (Available)
Who to watch: Ollie Josephson
While Wisconsin fans anxiously await the potential return of an NHL Draft pick from injury, North Dakota fans already know the fate of an NHL prospect of their own. On Wednesday, Fighting Hawks head coach Dane Jackson confirmed the return of Ollie Josephson to his lineup.
The four-year veteran of the Western Hockey League centers UND’s third line and contributes as a penalty killer. The college freshman suffered a lower-body injury in the Fighting Hawks’ eventual 5-1 loss in the NCHC tournament semifinal. He did not play in either game during the NCAA Tournament regionals, but is “good to play” today.
“He’s healthy. He’s ready to go. So he’ll be in,” North Dakota head coach Dane Jackson said Wednesday. “It’s a huge benefit for us. Ollie brings a ton of two-way game, he’s one of our best penalty killers. A reliable centerman. Plays with a lot of pace and tenacity.”
What the Seattle Kraken prospect lacks in eye-popping scoring numbers, he makes up for in physicality. He has tallied six goals and 14 assists for UND, but the 6-foot-1, 191-pound British Columbia native is excellent on the forecheck.
What to watch: Freshmen goaltenders go to battle
For the first time, four college freshmen will start for their respective squads in the men’s Frozen Four. The history-making group would not be here, however, if not for a late offseason change to NCAA eligibility rules that allowed collegiate teams to add former Canadian Hockey League players to their rosters.
Coming from major juniors, “freshman” is something of a misnomer for this group of goaltenders, however. Michigan Wolverines netminder Jack Ivankovic is only 18, but the other three standing between the pipes are all at least 20 years old. Wisconsin’s Daniel Hauser is the elder statesman of the bunch, having turned 22 in January.
North Dakota goalie Jan Špunar, who turns 22 next month, split time with Gibson Homer (who at 6-foot-6 is the tallest goaltender in UND history) throughout the regular season. After Homer started for the Fighting Hawks in their first five games of the season, Špunar “earned everything he’s got.”
“When he went in, he was outstanding right from the start,” Jackson said of the first freshman to win NCHC Goaltender of the Year. “He gives our team a lot of kind of belief and confidence to play our game.”
The Olomouc, Czechia native has enjoyed an outstanding season thus far, allowing 1.90 goals per game with a .917 save percentage.
Hauser “came out of the gates hot,” helping Wisconsin to its best start in 44 years, Hastings said, before “a little bump in the road” gave the Chestermere, Alberta native the least-impressive numbers among the remaining goaltenders. He has posted a .899 save percentage and 2.56 goals against average this season. Hastings has, however, credited the 2025 WHL Goaltender of the Year finalist for giving his team a chance to pull off a miraculous comeback in the NCAA Tournament regional final.
“That’s a winner,” the third-year head coach of the Badgers added. “He’s done that over time. We feel comfortable with him being the guy leading us out tomorrow.”
Why to watch: Rivalry renewed
Former WCHA conference foes meet when Wisconsin and North Dakota take to the ice. With the Badgers holding a 73-87-13 record over the Fighting Hawks, Jackson pointed out that UW is among the few programs that hold a winning record against UND. Lately, and at the NCAA Tournament, however, it has been a different story.
Since November 7, 2015, the rivals have met six times. North Dakota won five of the six matchups and played the other to a draw. UW is 1-11-2 in its last 14 contests against UND dating back to January 27, 2012.
In the NCAA Tournament, Wisconsin is winless in three tries against North Dakota. UW lost the 1982 national title game, dropped a first-round matchup in 2014, and fell in the 2008 regional final to UND.
Along with some footage of the infamous Water Bottle Game, Jackson (a North Dakota alum and longtime assistant) showed his team that regional final matchup in which UND erased a two-goal third-period deficit before winning in overtime inside the Kohl Center in an effort to familiarize his players with the days of the old WCHA.
Hastings added his own appreciation for the rivalry’s history before renewing it on its biggest stage in over four decades.
“There is a genuine, let’s just say—I don’t want to say hatred, but—I’m going to say one that—when you play somebody that many times, that many meaningful games, it’s the same thing that’s going to happen tomorrow,” Hastings said. “We’ll keep the water bottles on the bench. I know both teams are going to try and represent their university so they can be proud. Maybe that game gets played all over again tomorrow. I don’t know.”
How, when, where to watch Wisconsin Badgers hockey in Frozen Four against North Dakota: TV, radio, streaming
Where: T-Mobile Arena — Las Vegas, Nevada
When: Thursday, April 9, 2026 — 4:00 p.m. Central
Watch/TV/Streaming: ESPN2 (Play-by-play: John Buccigross; Analyst: Colby Cohen; Reporter: Quint Kessenich)
Radio: Badger Sports Network — 1310 AM WIBA — The Varsity App (Play-by-play: Brian Posick; Analyst: Paul Capobianco)
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