At a time of upheaval for Wisconsin and college campuses across the country, there was another big change afoot in Badger hockey, one that would take it from a club sport to a nationally renowned program within a few short years.
In the decades since the team joined the WCHA in 1969, the Wisconsin men's hockey team has become a powerhouse thanks to a tradition started by one legendary head coach and a strong group of players.
In the late 1960s, head coach ""Badger"" Bob Johnson brought the team up from the club level to varsity and later orchestrated Wisconsin's move into the WCHA, its home for the past 40 years. Current head coach Mike Eaves credited Johnson with helping establish the Badgers as a hockey institution.
""To get a program up and starting is a huge endeavor, and I think coach Johnson was the perfect guy, because he was a great salesman of the game,"" Eaves said. ""You've got to sell the game, and he was a perfect ambassador, salesman [and] coach. He embodied all of those.""
After moving to the varsity level, Wisconsin faced a slate of Big Ten and WCHA opponents in the 1968-'69 season. Although it took some convincing from a number of players, Johnson then brought the Badgers to the WCHA for the 1969-'70 season, where Wisconsin went 23-11, shocking conference powerhouse Denver and earning a trip to the Frozen Four.
The odds were stacked against Wisconsin when the season began, but especially when it faced the Pioneers on the road for a spot in the NCAA semifinals. The fledgling Badger program was going up against the defending back-to-back national champions, whose head coach, Murray Armstrong, already had five titles to his name.
But the Badgers jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held on through a late Denver rally to earn a spot in the Frozen Four.
The path didn't get easier from there, as the Badgers had to face undefeated Cornell at the 1970 Frozen Four in Lake Placid, N.Y.
A pair of Cornell goals in the third period sealed the game, and the Big Red capped off their 29-0 season with a win over Clarkson in the NCAA finals, and Wisconsin was left with a consolation game victory over Michigan Tech and third place nationally in its first season as a WCHA team. The Badgers' starting goaltender from the 1969-'70 season, Wayne Thomas, said the semifinal loss was frustrating, but the team's run was important in creating UW's hockey tradition.
""[Losing to Cornell] was a disappointment, but it was a blast to make it that far and to put Wisconsin on the map,"" Thomas said. ""The guys who were on that team in '69 and '70 are really proud of what they did in establishing that program.""
