Hauser shuts down North Dakota to lead Badgers to championship game

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 09: Daniel Hauser #31 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates with Aiden Dubinsky #28 after a win against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks during the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Frozen Four semifinal at the T-Mobile Arena on April 9, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Badgers won 2-1. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images) | Getty Images January was a lifetime ago, and is now just a distant memory for the national championship-bound Wisconsin Badgers.

The season was on thin ice following a six-game skid to Michigan State, Penn State, and Minnesota, but the Badgers bounced back with a new sense of purpose to make their first Frozen Four and title game appearance since 2010. North Dakota brought plenty of size and skill into the Frozen Four matchup on Thursday, but Wisconsin jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period and never looked back, thanks largely to the play of freshman Daniel Hauser in goal. Senior Simon Tassy and sophomore Ryan Botterill scored 27 seconds apart just past the midway point of the first period, and that’s all Wisconsin would need.

Hauser put together far and away his best game in a Badger uniform, making 20 saves and keeping a clean sheet until North Dakota scored in the game’s last minute with the extra attacker. Hauser was phenomenal with the glove, making a ton of high-traffic saves and limiting North Dakota’s rebound opportunities. No save loomed larger than Hauser snaring the puck out of the air with a North Dakota skater falling into his lap, a highly difficult save that preserved the two-goal lead as the Fighting Hawks were in desperation mode.

He deserved the shutout, but something tells me he’s okay with the consolation prize being a berth in the national championship game. DANIEL HAUSER WHAT IN THE WORLD #Badgers pic. twitter.