Freshmen class provides boost during Wisconsin hockey's bounce-back season
Coach Mike Hastings expected his freshmen to make an impact in Year 1 and the class delivered to help Wisconsin reach the Frozen Four.
MADISON – Make no mistake, the drivers of Wisconsin ’s Frozen Four run are its veterans. Junior Quinn Finley has posted back-to-back multi-point games in the NCAA Tournament . Senior Simon Tassy's first two-goal game of the season fueled the regional semifinal win over Dartmouth.
Senior Ben Dexheimer’s overtime game-winner in the regional final was set up by Finley and Gavin Morrissey, a sophomore with maturity beyond his years. That said the influx of new blood in the program this season, particularly its freshmen, has played a huge role in how it has come back from a losing season in 2024-25 to reach its first national semifinal in 16 years. That was the plan all along.
“That freshmen class, we recruited them to come in and make an impact,” Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings said. “Those were discussions that we had with those guys well before they got here and they've held up their end of the bargain. We gave opportunity, and they have taken advantage of that.
” Wisconsin signed eight freshmen to its 2025 class. Seven will likely see the ice when the third-seeded Badgers (23-12-2) face No. 1 seed North Dakota (29-9-1) in a national semifinal at 4 p.
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