Wisconsin Badgers
Penn State
Quick Six: No. 11 Wisconsin closes regular season at No. 6 Penn State
March 03, 2026 | Men's Hockey
Badgers need at least one point to clinch home ice for next week's Big Ten quarterfinal
MADISON, Wis. – The No. 11 Wisconsin men's hockey team hits the road to State College to visit No. 6 Penn State for its final regular-season series of the year on Thursday and Friday, March 5-6.
Both games start at 6 p.m. CT and stream on B1G+.
Here are six quick things to know before tuning in:
Rosters: Badgers || Nittany Lions
1 - HOME ICE CLINCHING SCENARIOS: The Badgers currently own a six-point lead for the fourth and final home Big Ten tournament quarterfinal spot over Ohio State with one week remaining in the regular season. UW could clinch home ice with at least one point this weekend, or if OSU, which plays Notre Dame at home, drops at least one point.
The regular season ends with games Thursday and Friday at Penn State
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) March 3, 2026
Looking for at least 1 point to clinch home ice and host a Big Ten quarterfinal on Wednesday, March 11 at the Kohl Center pic.twitter.com/0k2M7pEcX7
In all scenarios, Wisconsin's Big Ten quarterfinal game is set for Wednesday, March 11. Home ice ticket information will be available once the Badgers clinch, with tickets going on sale for the general public on either Friday or Monday, depending on if and when the Badgers secure home ice. Season ticket holders should stay tuned for more information about a special pre-sale window.
"They're all aware of what time of the year this is," said Head Coach Mike Hastings about getting ready for the postseason. "This is something that started back in June. They're excited about it right now."
UW also currently sits in 12th in the NCAA Percentage Index, or NPI, the official system for selecting and seeding teams for the NCAA tournament. Sixteen teams will make the national tournament, with all conference tournament winners receiving automatic bids, and the rest of the field will be determined by NPI placement.
"We've got to go out and earn our way to the tournament, just like everyone else does," Hastings said. "There's going to be some that get there, that, as it sits today, probably aren't in it, and some that are in it, that won't be in it. From our standpoint, our focus has been trying to continually build our book of business. With that, you've got to find a way to win on the road. That's what we've got to do right now."
2 - MORRISSEY MANIA: Sophomore forward Gavin Morrissey is one point away from posting two 30-point seasons to start his NCAA career. Morrissey collected nine goals and 32 points as a freshman and boasts six goals and 29 points so far this season as a sophomore.
MORRISSEY'S RIGHT ON THE MONEY 🤑
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 14, 2026
A breakaway BEAUTY and the sophomore's (@gavmorrissey7) got his second goal of the game! pic.twitter.com/qWXfQozYDH
The last Badger to record at least two 30-point seasons to open his career was Cruz Lucius, who posted 13 goals and 34 points as a freshman in 2022-23, then 11 goals and 34 points as a sophomore. Before Lucius, forward Cole Caufield was the most recent Badger to open a career with consecutive 30-point seasons with 19 goals and 36 points in 2019-20 and 30 goals and 52 points in his Hobey Baker-winning season of 2020-21.
Morrissey leads the Badgers with 29 points on six goals and 23 assists in 29 games played. His 23 assists tie him for 20th in the country in the category.
3 - BIG FITZ: Senior forward Christian Fitzgerald boasts a UW career-long, seven-game point streak with four goals, five assists and nine points during the span. He has points in nine of UW's last 10 contests.
FITZMAGIC SENIOR NIGHT GOAL!!! 🪄
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 22, 2026
Fifteenth tally of the year for the forward (@13Fitzgerald)
🍎: Simon Tassy & Gavin Morrissey pic.twitter.com/oS26nMNO6K
Fitzgerald sits three points away from 100 points for his NCAA career. The Coquitlam, British Columbia, native owns 68 points in his three-year Badger career to go along with 29 points from his one season at Minnesota State. The last Badger to reach 100 career NCAA points was 2021 Second-Team All-American Linus Weissbach (2017-21), who finished his UW career with 114 points in 127 career games (34g, 80a) in four seasons.
The senior leads the Badgers with 15 goals this season, including nine on the power play. His nine power-play goals share fourth in the nation, and his 11 goals in Big Ten play share fifth in the conference.
4 - LAST TIME OUT: Before its week off, Wisconsin most recently split a series against then-No. 2 Michigan for its final regular-season games at the Kohl Center on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21. UW won game one, 4-1, before dropping game two, 3-1.
In Friday's game, a three-goal second period powered Wisconsin to a 4-1 win. With UW trailing 1-0 after a late first-period, power-play goal by Michigan, Quinn Finley, Vasily Zelenov and Adam Pietila each scored at even strength in the second period to make it a 3-1 advantage. Jack Horbach sealed it with a late empty-net goal and freshman goaltender Eli Pulver finished the night with 22 stops for his third top-2 victory of the season.
Good night, Madtown pic.twitter.com/TBREeU7sqK
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 21, 2026
In game two in front of a Kohl Center hockey record crowd of 15,511, Wisconsin opened the scoring 4:33 into the first period with a power-play goal from Christian Fitzgerald, before Michigan evened the score at one at 7:03. UM took a 2-1 lead 14:11 into the second period before scoring an empty-net tally with 13 seconds left to earn a 3-1 victory.
"I've said it so many times, this is the best place to play in the country and it's because all of those fans who come to the games..." - captain Ben Dexheimer
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 25, 2026
- Home Big Ten and Kohl Center hockey attendance record
- School record 4th top-2 win pic.twitter.com/v1yXxlbFGm
5 - SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS: The Nittany Lions have a 20-10-2 overall record, going 12-8-2 in Big Ten play to sit third in the conference with 41 points. They enter the weekend after playing Notre Dame on the road in Indiana, earning a 3-3 tie and a 1-0 shootout win in game one before dropping game two, 4-3, in overtime.
Freshman forward Gavin McKenna leads the with 46 points on 13 goals and 33 assists, while junior forward Matt DiMarsico leads with 17 goals in 32 games. Sophomore goaltender Kevin Reidler has 11 wins in 17 games played, accumulating a .904 save percentage and 3.20 goals-allowed on average, while freshman goaltender Josha Fleming has nine wins in 15 starts with a .931 save percentage and 2.30 goals-allowed on average.
The Badgers and Nittany Lions met earlier this season on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 23-24, at the Kohl Center, with Penn State earning a 7-2 victory on Friday before taking a 3-1 win on Saturday to complete the sweep. UW trailed 3-2 heading into the third period in the first loss and led 1-0 after the second period in the second contest.
"We've got to emulate what we ask our guys to, which is to turn the page and go about your business," said Hastings about a fresh opportunity to play Penn State. "For us, there's enough with what's going on this time of year. We'll go out and put our best foot forward, put our chin over the dot when it drops and go play."
6 - HOW TO WATCH: Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. CT both nights, and both games 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.
