Wisconsin Badgers
Lake Superior State
Quick Six: 2025 Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off preview
December 24, 2025 | Men's Hockey
Badgers face Lake Superior State in first tournament matchup on Dec. 28 in Milwaukee
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MADISON, Wis. – After breaking for finals and the holidays, the No. 2 Wisconsin men's hockey team is back in action at the fifth annual Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off at Fiserv Forum on Sunday and Monday, Dec. 28-29 in Milwaukee.
UW will play at 4 p.m. CT on Sunday and 7:30 p.m. CT on Monday.
Here are six quick things to know before tuning in:
Rosters: Wisconsin || Lake Superior State || Western Michigan || Boston College
1 - KWIK TRIP HOLIDAY FACE-OFF: After posting an 8-0 win over Ferris State in the semifinals and a 4-3 victory over UConn in the final last year, No. 2 Wisconsin heads into the 2025 Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off ready to defend its tournament title for the second year in a row.
Kwik Trip @HolidayFaceoff starts Sunday
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) December 24, 2025
🎟️ https://t.co/M5ynY0EAeU pic.twitter.com/pZma2xUXEU
The Badgers also captured the inaugural trophy in 2021 with a shutout win over Providence, as well as the 2023 title with a pair of 3-0 wins over Air Force and Northeastern, and own three of four championships.
Wisconsin faces off with Lake Superior State in its first match of the tournament on Sunday, Dec. 28, at 4 p.m. A win would send UW to the championship game to face either defending NCAA champions and seventh-ranked Western Michigan or No. 12 Boston College on Monday. This year's field includes three ranked teams for the first time in tournament history.
The Badgers will play at 4 p.m. on Sunday and 7:30 p.m. on Monday, no matter the first-round results.
On both days, fans are invited to a pre-game event at The New Fashioned presented by UW Credit Union. Sunday's event runs from 1-3 p.m., and fans are encouraged to come back on Monday between 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Heading to this year's Kwik Trip@HolidayFaceoff on Dec. 28 and 29 in Milwaukee?
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) December 2, 2025
Pregame with fellow Badger fans this year at The New Fashioned, presented by @UWCreditUnion
More details to comehttps://t.co/9hBisskfBQ
2 - RED-HOT OFFENSE: Wisconsin enters the tournament with the number two offense in the nation, averaging 4.44 goals per game.
Goals on goals on goals on goals in the first half 😁
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) December 22, 2025
The Badgers' 4.44 average goals per game rank second in the country!
Watch some memorable tallies below 👇 pic.twitter.com/3u89ssn2Wn
Part of this offensive momentum has come from UW's strong power play. Wisconsin's 29.7 percent success rate on the man advantage ranks fifth nationally, and its 19 total power-play goals are tied for seventh. Of those 19 goals, seven have been scored by senior forward Christian Fitzgerald, who is tied for second in the country in power-play goals.
The Badgers' power play in the first half was on 🔥
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) December 16, 2025
- 29.7% success rate (5th nationally)
- 19 total power-play goals (T-7th nationally)
- 7 power-play goals for Fitzgerald (T-2nd nationally)
Watch some of our favorite PPGs so far 👇 pic.twitter.com/HkbQpA24Vm
The Badgers' offensive firepower has been a significant contributor to their first-semester success, as UW sits in first place in the Big Ten with 22 points and an 8-2-0 conference record, along with a 12-2-2 overall record.
3 - BADGERS ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE: Three Badgers – Luke Osburn, Logan Hensler and Quinn Finley – will miss the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off to represent for international competition.
Defensemen Luke Osburn and Logan Hensler are on the final 25-man roster for Team USA at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, which runs from Dec. 26, 2025, through Jan. 5, 2026, in Minnesota, at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul and 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis. Team USA begins tournament play on Dec. 26 with a contest against Germany at 1:30 p.m. CT. All games will be broadcast live on NHL Network.
Say hello to the 2026 #WorldJuniors roster 🇺🇸
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) December 24, 2025
Roster details: https://t.co/GZVa6amhMO pic.twitter.com/JKp0ztkTen
Freshman Osburn and sophomore Hensler making the team extends the streak to 10 consecutive years with at least one Badger competing at the World Juniors and the 39th-straight event with at least one Badger competitor or staff member taking part in the tournament dating back to 1988. All time, 62 Badgers have played in the World Junior Championship, and Osburn's participation will make him No. 63. Most recently, Hensler helped Team USA to a gold medal in the 2025 tournament.
Osburn was a standout in Team USA's two pre-tournament games, tallying three assists in its 8-0 win over Germany on Dec. 21 as well as an assist and an empty-net goal in its 3-1 victory over Finland on Dec. 23.
Team USA leads 2-0 after the first! 🇺🇸
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) December 21, 2025
🚨 Will Horcoff, Ryker Lee pic.twitter.com/W5TZU0HVSE
Junior forward Finley will be away as part of the United States Collegiate Selects Team that will compete at the 2025 Spengler Cup set to take place Dec. 26-31 in Davos, Switzerland. The 97th Spengler Cup will include the U.S. Collegiate Selects, Team Canada, IFK Helsinki, Sparta Prague, Fribourg-Gottéron, and HC Davos. This marks the first time in tournament history that a team of NCAA Division I college hockey players will take part in the event.
That's a wrap in Beantown!
— U.S. Collegiate Selects (@USCollegeSelect) December 23, 2025
Next up: Switzerland 🇨🇭#USCS x #ThePeakOfHockey pic.twitter.com/Fk1OOHY9Q5
Finley and the U.S. Collegiate Selects open tournament play with a game against Team Canada on Dec. 26 at 1:15 p.m. CT. Broadcast and live stream information can be found here.
4 - LAST TIME OUT: Before the holiday break, the Badgers ended the first half with a sweep of Notre Dame in Indiana on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5-6. UW won game one, 7-4, and game two, 9-2. Through 16 games, UW has a 12-2-2 record (8-2-0 Big Ten) and leads the conference with 22 points.
On Friday, a four-goal second period sparked UW's 7-4 comeback win over the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame opened the scoring early in the first period before adding another goal in the final minute of the frame to take a 2-0 lead into the second. Wisconsin responded fast, with Quinn Finley and Christian Fitzgerald each scoring a breakaway goal in the opening four minutes of the middle frame to tie the game. The Fighting Irish retook the lead a minute later with a power-play goal, but two tallies from Joe Palodichuk in the remaining nine minutes of the second made it a 4-3 game for UW. Less than 90 seconds into period three, ND tied the game at four. Wisconsin responded once again with a goal from Ryan Botterill just over a minute later. In the final 2:30 of the game, Finley and Simon Tassy each hit the empty net as UW won, 7-4.
Seventh heaven for the Badgers at Notre Dame on Friday
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) December 6, 2025
Palodichuk and Finley lead the way with 2 goals, 1 assist each pic.twitter.com/VNSuKyg1wa
Saturday's game ended as a dominant 9-2 win for Wisconsin. The onslaught began early with a Quinn Finley snipe just 3:37 into the game, kick-starting a four-goal first 12 minutes for the Badgers, with Grady Deering, Ben Dexheimer and Blake Montgomery also lighting the lamp. Notre Dame got on the board in the first minute of the second frame with a power-play goal. UW responded 3:43 into the middle frame with a goal from Aiden Dubinsky. The game stayed 5-1 until just before the midpoint of the third period, when Adam Pietila and Tyson Dyck scored to make it 7-1, Badgers. ND scored once more in the third period, but Finn Brink and Simon Tassy added to the UW total to give Wisconsin its second four-goal period of the game, third of the weekend and fourth in four games as the Badgers won, 9-2.
Badgers showed up in the first half
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) December 10, 2025
👀 Cinematic highlights from Notre Dame
- Overall Record: 12-2-0 (7-1-0 on the road)
- Big Ten: 1st Place (8-2-0)
- National Polls: No. 2
- Offense: No. 3
- Scoring Margin: No. 4
- Power Play: No. 5 pic.twitter.com/Fk5DmlFgz1
5 - SCOUTING THE TOURNAMENT: Lake Superior State has a 6-11-1 record through the first half of the season, including a 3-9-0 record in CCHA play. The Lakers head into the tournament after splitting a series at St. Thomas, winning game one, 5-3, before dropping game two, 4-1.
Sophomore forward William Ahlrik leads the roster with 16 points (4g, 12a), while freshman forward Calem Mangone ranks first with eight goals and second with 15 total points. Sophomore goaltender Rorke Applebee has five wins in 13 starts, accumulating a .921 save percentage and 2.73 goals-against average.
Wisconsin boasts a 9-3-2 record against LSSU, most recently posting a 4-0 win over the Lakers in the semifinals of the 2022 Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off. Lake Superior State went on to lose, 4-1, to then-No. 15 UMass in the tournament's consolation game.
No. 7 Western Michigan, the defending NCAA champions, currently owns a 10-6-0 record, including 6-4-0 in NCHC conference play. Junior forward and former Badger William Whitelaw leads the roster with nine goals and is tied for first place in scoring with 15 points, alongside junior forward Grant Slukynsky.
No. 12 Boston College has a 10-5-1 record, going 7-3-0 in Hockey East conference play. Sophomore forward James Hagens leads the team with 10 goals and 18 points in 16 games played.
While the tournament takes place at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, the Badgers do not serve as the host. The Gazelle Group is host. A sports marketing firm specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting, Gazelle produces numerous nationally recognized college sports events, such as the Empire Classic, Legends Classic, Gotham Classic, Sunshine Slam, College Basketball Invitational, Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off, Barstool Sports Invitational, Holiday Hoopfest, Jersey Jam as well as on-campus events at Duke, Kentucky, Nebraska, and other institutions across the country.
6 - HOW TO WATCH: The Badgers will play Lake Superior State on Sunday, Dec. 28, at 4 p.m., then either No. 7 Western Michigan or No. 12 Boston College on Monday, Dec. 29, at 7:30 p.m., depending on semifinal results. Both contests stream on B1G+. Audio play-by-play can be found on 1310 WIBA, as well as on the Badgers app and the Varsity Network app. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram at @BadgerMHockey.
