The 2026 Big Ten Hockey Tournament kicks off on Wednesday, and the No. 10/12 Wisconsin Badgers are set to take on Ohio State in the quarterfinal for the third-consecutive season. The Badgers are hosting this year’s matchup at the Kohl Center, although the structure will be a bit different from past seasons.
Beginning this year, opening round quarterfinal matchups will no longer be played in a best-of-three format, opting instead to make each round single elimination and playing the semifinals just
three days after the opening round. Four teams will play this Saturday before the championship game next weekend.
While there are differing views on the shortened quarterfinal, head coach Mike Hastings says the locker room is buzzing about the new format, which means two fewer practices and a quicker return to action. Top-seeded Michigan State also benefits from the change to single elimination by avoiding an extended layoff before playing its first game.
One pitfall of the change is higher-seeded teams being vulnerable to an early exit, something that used to require an overmatched team to put together two strong performances. Two years ago, the Badgers became the first two-seed to be upset by a seven-seed, which happened to be the Ohio State Buckeyes. But, for the most part, the best-of-three series favored the higher seed. This new format has the potential to shake things up as the tournament progresses, including a better chance to host a semifinal game at the Kohl Center, depending on how things shake out.
When it comes to Wisconsin (21-11-2, 14-10 Big Ten), the new structure is not necessarily an advantage or a hindrance. Considering their struggles with the Buckeyes over the years, the ability to win a home game and be done with it is appealing; however, those same struggles are worrisome in a do-or-die game against Ohio State. Still, the advantage is with the Badgers after playing maybe their two best weeks of hockey to finish the regular season.
Despite finishing fourth in the final Big Ten standings, Wisconsin went 3-1 over its last four games with a win against current-No.1 Michigan and a road sweep of No. 10/11 Penn State. The six-game skid earlier in the season certainly cost the Badgers some positioning, but their recent play should go a long way toward quelling the uncertainty around missing the NCAA Tournament entirely.
Wisconsin is not quite a lock just yet, but there would have to be quite a few bid stealers in the conference championships for their seat to start heating up again. Rather than worry about results outside of their control, the Badgers can continue playing their way to a lock by winning the Big Ten Tournament – or at the very least making a bit of a run.
Ohio State (12-20-2, 8-15-1 Big Ten) is far from a wagon. They are a confusing bunch, capable of playing competent hockey against top teams at times while looking like the worst team in the conference at others. The Buckeyes took four of six points from first-place Michigan State on the road two weeks ago, then lost back-to-back home games against last-place Notre Dame.
The Badgers went 2-2 against Ohio State in the regular season, and if their re-sparked offense remains sharp, they will have a good chance to push that to 3-2 after Wednesday. Wisconsin ranks fifth in the country with nearly 3.8 goals per game, just above Ohio State’s average of 3.65 goals surrendered per game. The Buckeyes have given up four or more goals 16 times this season, so the Badgers will have to attack the next as they did against Penn State last weekend.
Another key for Wisconsin is not getting reduced to playing dump-and-chase for most of the game. Ohio State has played the Badgers well at the blue line for years, making it hard to gain a clean entry and nearly impossible to sustain an attack in the offensive zone. The entries will need to be more creative, and sophomore center Gavin Morrissey’s role as a facilitator will be crucial for Wisconsin to advance.
Continuing the production for junior Quinn Finley would also be a big help in this game. Finley has registered just two assists in the four games against Ohio State this season, but has tallied a point in six of his last eight games and been a consistent factor in Wisconsin’s late-season resurgence.
Freshman goaltender Daniel Hauser returned to start both games at Penn State after making a mid-game injury exit in the win over Ohio State on February 13. He appears in line to get the start on Wednesday and will likely be Wisconsin’s postseason goaltender. Hauser is having a statistically average season, which is honestly encouraging for a player starting in his first year of collegiate hockey while playing in the nation’s top conference.
The Badgers don’t often ask Hauser to put on his cape; an average game should be enough to win with Wisconsin’s firepower. The question is whether he can stop a few fifty-fifty chances and prevent Ohio State from scoring any cheap goals. The intensity of playoff hockey ramps up, and goals start to come at a premium, especially against a Buckeye team whose only hope of extending its season is by winning the Big Ten Tournament. If Ohio State wants to score, Hauser needs to make them earn it.
I mentioned earlier not getting too hung up about results outside of Wisconsin’s control, and a big reason for that is how the complexion of the NPI rankings will shift after each result. Teams you root for one day could easily be teams you wish would have lost instead just a day later.
If you want to apply a general rule throughout the next week and a half, we want teams sandwiched around the Badgers to lose unless it leads to a team ranked outside of the top 16 winning their conference. Wisconsin moving up would be nice, but the real battle is keeping teams that otherwise have no chance at an at-large bid from securing a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Of course, none of it matters if the Badgers go on a quick three-game run to remove all doubt. The first step in that process is getting even with the team that’s crushed Wisconsin’s dreams the last two years when Ohio State comes to town.
Game Info
Date: March 11
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Madison, Wis. | Kohl Center
TV: B1G+ | Radio: 1310 WIBA
