Although the future appears bright for the Wisconsin Badgers under third-year bench boss Mike Hastings, the national title drought will hit 20 seasons without a crown this winter. So, it was fun to check in with 1990 National Champion and 2023 UW Athletic Hall-of-Fame netminder Duane “Duke” Derksen to remember some good times.
Here are five fun facts about Derksen and his time with the Badgers that I learned.
He First Committed to North Dakota
The year before joining the Badgers in 1988, Derksen was weighing joining the North Dakota
Fighting Sioux, then a WCHA rival of the Badgers, as a walk-on. He remembers it this way:
“It was about three days before I was supposed to go there (Grand Forks), and my dad’s like, ‘hey, you’re not even packed or anything.’ I said, Dad, you know, I’m just going to try and play another year to see if I can get a full ride.”
That full ride came the next fall, when he joined the Badgers. Worth the wait, I’d say.
He Played Through a Severe Injury Late in Wisconsin’s 1992 NCAA Runner-Up Season
Although you’ll never find Derksen complaining about it, he was forced to deal with a severe injury as the Badgers fought to take home another national title.
“I got a laceration on my wrist [late in the season], so my wrist was cut to the bone, and I had to make it back into the playoffs, so I was playing with a cast, Derksen said. “No excuse by any means, but it was a little bit of a challenge.”
Sadly, Wisconsin lost the title game 5-3 to Lake Superior State, which devolved into a bit of a debacle after referee Tim McConaghy decided to make the game about himself, calling a whopping 16 controversial and often damaging penalties on the Badgers.
He’s Bullish on Mike Hastings and the Future of the Wisconsin Program
After a highly successful season one in Madison, Hastings’ second winter was deeply frustrating, leading to some wondering if Chris McIntosh picked the right guy. Derksen isn’t one of them.
“He’s got a great background, a great track record at Minnesota State,” Derksen said of Hastings. “I think they should have a pretty good group this year to definitely improve on last year.”
He calls Hastings a very good recruiter and expects them to be a threat to win the Big Ten in 2025-26, but bemoans the uneven NIL playing field that might be hurting Wisconsin against some program with deeper pockets.
He Remembers Former Coach Jeff Sauer Fondly
Derksen was recruited by Sauer, who passed away in 2017, and played four seasons under him.
“Just miss that guy. He’s the one who allowed me to come to Wisconsin,” Derksen said about Sauer. “He was a manager of people, and the fans loved him and the media loved him. He was the mayor of Madison and the Mayor of the WCHA. Just a great, great human being.”
Sauer, a UW Athletics Hall-of-Famer, left the program with the most wins in program history and two national titles over his 20 seasons.
The 1990 NCAA Champion Badgers Were Very Close
That magical season, the Badgers got very hot in the latter half of the campaign and won the national title over Colgate, 7-3, finishing a robust 36-9-1. Derksen was a second-team All-American and remembers the squad as especially tight-knit.
“That team was something special,” Derksen said. “Everybody kind of knew their role. I remember I just got hot at the end of that year. There were a lot of talented players on that team, but it wasn’t a team full of NHL stars. Sometimes you just get the right mix of guys.”
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