After starting the season with a road sweep of Lindenwood and playing an exhibition against the Team USA Under-18 team at home last week, the No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers (2-0 overall) officially welcome fans
back to the Kohl Center to kick off a Thursday-Friday series against No. 20 Minnesota State (1-1 overall).
This is a revenge series for head coach Mike Hastings and his coaching staff, taking on the program he led for 11 years for the first time since joining the Badgers—okay, well, maybe “revenge” isn’t the right word, but we like to say it every time someone sees their old team. In reality, Hastings had a tremendous tenure at Minnesota State and left for a unique opportunity at Wisconsin, bringing with him Associate Head Coach Todd Knott, Strength Coach Tom Inkrott, and Director of Hockey Operations/Video Coordinator Luke Regner.
That also makes this a series of revenge games for senior forwards Simon Tassy and Christian Fitzgerald, who both made the move to Madison when Hastings took the helm.
While leading the Mavericks, Hastings was a three-time winner of the Spencer Penrose Award, which goes to the top NCAA Division I men’s hockey coach. They went to the Frozen Four twice in his last three seasons, including an NCAA runner-up finish in 2022. Minnesota State made the switch from the WCHA to the CCHA in the 2021-22 season, but between both leagues, Hastings amassed eight regular-season conference titles, five conference tournament titles, and four different conference Coach of the Year selections.
The Mavericks have fared just fine under Hastings’ replacement, former Ohio State assistant Luke Strand. Strand was also the Badger associate head coach in 2015-16, just to add to the ties between these two programs. They finished above .500 in year one and made the CCHA semifinals, but really excelled in year two with a 27-9-3 record and an appearance in the NCAA Regional Semifinals. The 2025-26 Maverick season began last weekend with a road split against Omaha.
Minnesota State’s strength lies between the pipes with senior goaltender Alex Tracy. Tracy was a Richter Award finalist last season, giving up only 1.42 goals per game and stopping nearly 95 percent of shots faced. He also started 38 out of 39 possible games, the lone exception being a start for current Badger backup Eli Pulver.
Offensively, the Mavericks have their struggles. Last year’s team averaged just 2.9 goals per game and boasted a lukewarm power play, converting about one in five opportunities. They also lost their top two point producers from last season, making defenseman Evan Murr their top returning scorer after posting 27 points in 2024-25.
There will be another familiar face returning to the Kohl Center on Thursday night when Sawyer Scholl laces up the skates for a couple of revenge games of his own. Scholl may not have been the biggest impact player in Madison, but he did appear in 67 games over two years. He accounted for more penalties than points over that span, and now fills out the left wing on Minnesota State’s fourth line.
This series will be an interesting opportunity for Wisconsin’s young new crop of goal scorers, as well as rookie netminder Daniel Hauser. Minnesota State hasn’t put too much pressure on opposing goaltenders, but Hauser will still need to keep them at bay while the attackers look to solve Alex Tracy and the Maverick defense.
I’m not sure the Lindenwood series tells us too much about the Badgers just yet, but outscoring your opponent 10-2 over two games is never a bad thing. A larger cause for optimism might be the 6-0 rout over the Team USA Under-18s last week, especially after getting pummeled by the red, white, and blue last year. The freshmen had a field day with goals from Blake Montgomery and Vasily Zelenov, while Bruno Idžan lit the lamp twice.
Fans enjoying the home opener will be treated to some “Bucky’s Pucktoberfest” shenanigans, so if you’re big on Oktoberfest, you’ll want to make sure you arrive early—especially if you’re a student looking for some new suspenders. Both games will begin at 7 p.m. and air on B1G+, with local radio coverage on 1310 WIBA.
Game Info
Date: October 16-17
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Madison, WI | Kohl Center
TV: B1G+ | Radio: 1310 WIBA
