Wisconsin Badgers
#3 Michigan State
Quick Six: Men’s hockey takes on Michigan State in NCAA Regional Final
March 27, 2026 | Men's Hockey
Badgers set to play Spartans on Saturday in Worcester, Massachusetts
WORCESTER, Mass.– The Wisconsin men's hockey team has advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament! The Badgers will face No. 1 seed Michigan State in the regional final on Saturday, March 28, at 3:30 p.m. CT at DCU Center. The game airs on ESPN2 and the ESPN app.
Here are six quick things to know before tuning in:
Rosters: Badgers || Spartans
1 - KEEP ON DANCING: To advance to the NCAA Regional Final, Wisconsin defeated the Dartmouth Big Green, 5-1, in the tournament regional semifinals on Thursday, March 26. The win sent UW to its first regional final since 2010, and it marks its first NCAA Tournament game win since the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four semifinals, snapping a five-game NCAA losing streak.
SEE YOU SATURDAY, BADGER FANS! 💥 pic.twitter.com/s4HFrcG9zP
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) March 27, 2026
Senior Simon Tassy scored early on the power play, before the Big Green found the back of the net to tie the game at one. It stayed 1-1 untill midway through the third period when senior Jack Horbach broke the tie to jump-start a four-goal third frame for the Badgers.
Tassy struck again with less than six minutes left in the game to make it 3-1, UW, before senior Christian Fitzgerald and junior Quinn Finley added empty-net goals to seal a 5-1 win for UW in its first meeting in school history against Dartmouth.
Good night, Badger fans pic.twitter.com/5O22zNqH1H
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) March 27, 2026
With the win, the Badgers improved to 38-24-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament action in their 28th official appearance.
2 - PREGAME FAN EVENT: Join fellow Badger fans at Off the Rails in Worcester before Wisconsin's 2026 NCAA Tournament Regional Final game on Saturday, March 28!
The event will take place from 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET at Off the Rails (90 Commercial St, Worcester, MA 01608), located just 0.2 miles from DCU Arena, where Wisconsin is set to play Michigan State at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Bucky Badger and the Badger Band will be in attendance, and giveaways will be available for fans while supplies last.
3 - SENIORS SHINE BRIGHT: Senior forwards Jack Horbach, Simon Tassy and Christian Fitzgerald stood out in UW's contest against Dartmouth.
Horbach scored the game-winning goal, breaking the 1-1 tie at 9:47 of the third period. This marked his second game-winning goal of the year on just his third tally of the season.
NIIIIIFTY HORBS 😮💨
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) March 26, 2026
The senior's third goal of the year puts us in front!
🍎: Vasily Zelenov & Jack Phelan pic.twitter.com/m67Kz1t6eW
Tassy recorded his first two-goal game of the year, opening the scoring on the power play, 2:52 into the game, before tallying his second goal at 14:17 of the third period, redirecting a Ryan Botterill shot home.
MR. FAN-TASS-TIC! 🌟
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) March 27, 2026
The senior's (@simontassy) second goal of the game!
🍎: Ryan Botterill & Oliver Tulk pic.twitter.com/4Llfp79dWX
With an empty net tally at 16:28 into the third, Fitzgerald notched his 100th career NCAA point, making him the first Badger since All-American Linus Weissbach (2017-21) reached the mark in 2021. The senior tallied his first 29 points as a freshman at Minnesota State.
Mr. 💯
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) March 27, 2026
Congrats, Fitzy (@13Fitzgerald)! pic.twitter.com/XKru9VKmK7
4 - GOALS GALORE: In Thursday's game, UW tallied four goals in the third period, giving it eight four-goal periods on the season and the 18th period with at least three goals.
HIGH FIVE, FINLEY! 🖐️ https://t.co/WVzDFf7FK8
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) March 27, 2026
It was also the 14th time this year the Badgers have scored at least five goals in a game, the most in a single season since the 2009-10 team tallied 18.
Wisconsin is currently tied for fifth in the NCAA in scoring offense with an average of 3.75 goals scored per game, finding the back of the net 135 times in 36 games played this season.
5 - SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE: Big Ten regular-season champion and regional first-seed Michigan State enters the regional final with a 26-8-2 record, defeating fourth-seed UConn, 2-1, in the semifinals to advance.
Freshman forward Porter Martone leads the roster with 25 goals and 49 points in 34 games played. Junior goaltender Trey Augustine, a 2026 Mike Richter Award top-3 finalist and a top-10 Hobey Baker finalist, has won 24 of 33 starts this season, accumulating a .931 save percentage and 2.05 goals-allowed on average. Senior forward Charlie Stramel is also a Hobey Baker top-10 finalist.
UW has played MSU twice in the NCAA tournament, posting a 5-3 win in the first round on March 24, 1995, in Madison before losing 5-1 in the second round on March 25, 2001, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Overall, UW has a 67-71-4 record against the Spartans, splitting four times in regular-season play during the 2025-26 season. UW began the season series by sweeping the then-top-ranked Spartans in East Lansing on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21-22, winning game one, 5-4, and game two, 2-1, in overtime.
6 - HOW TO WATCH: The Badgers will play Michigan State on Saturday, March 28, at 3:30 p.m. CT. The contest airs on ESPN2. Audio play-by-play for both games can be found on 1310 WIBA in the Madison area, as well as on the Badgers app and the Varsity Network App. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram @BadgerMHockey.
