The University of Wisconsin-Madison men’s hockey team finished No. 2 in Big Ten standings last season under first-year head coach Mike Hastings, with a major jump from a last-place finish the season prior.
The Badgers saw major improvements on both offense and defense and witnessed a historic run for last-season senior goaltender Kyle McClellan, who went on to win Wisconsin’s first Mike Richter Award since the award’s introduction to collegiate hockey in 2014.
Last year, the Badgers ended their season with a 26-12-2 overall record, finishing 16-7-1 in conference play and sitting just behind No. 1 Michigan State’s 16-6-2 finish.
Notable departures
A face that won’t be returning to the Kohl Center this year is forward Cruz Lucius, who led the Badgers last year in points and recorded 13 shots and 21 assists for a total of 34 points in 36 games played as a sophomore last season. You can see him at ASU’s National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) debut this year at Mullet Arena for the now-Sun Devil’s junior year.
As the star between the pipes last year, McClellan signed with the Minnesota Wild’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Iowa Wild, on a one-way contract.
Last year senior forward Mathieu De St. Phalle chose not to take a fifth year and instead went way of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. De St. Phalle, who combined 11 shots and 16 assists for 27 points in 38 games played, wore an A last year for the Badgers.
Faces of the ice, new and old
Seeing the Goals Per Game jump to 3.2 versus the 2.0 of Badgers opponents gives hope for this season, in addition to the 12 new incoming freshman and transfer players.
The team is looking older this year than in the past, with multiple players coming in from junior leagues and bringing more playing and leadership experience in the eight freshman additions to the team.
Wisconsin also brought in new players through the transfer portal, including 2022-23 CCHA Rookie of the Year Kyle Kukkonen from Michigan Tech and teammate graduate student Rylan Mosley.
Cody Laskosky is a new face along with his teammate Tony Scarfone — the goaltender suspected to be starting in net for the Badgers this year —, a six-foot-senior transfer from RIT who last year recorded a .925 save percentage and 2.26 average goals against.
Returning goaltender William Gramme recorded a .959 SV% and 1.13 GAA in six games last year as a freshman, so we’ll see how the departure of McClellan, the addition of Scarfone and the fresh face of freshman goaltender Anton Castro affects the starting positions.
Watching the upcoming schedule for the 2024-25 season
After a one-game exhibition trip to Omaha, the Badgers will face off against Lindenwood for the home opener at Kohl Center on Oct. 11 then welcome the OSU Buckeyes the next week.
Starting quickly during week four, the Badgers will play reigning Frozen Four Champion Denver University. The Pioneers just won their 10th championship in program history this past April.
The following week, the Badgers will play Big Ten rivals No. 6 Minnesota in early November for a border battle at home.
At the end of November, Alaska Anchorage comes back to Madison, continuing a 34 year playing streak that the Badgers lead 55-17-9.
The Badgers will face Ferris State just days before the new year in Milwaukee for the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off, where the winner will then play the winners of the UConn/Alaska match-up the following day.
The 2025 schedule starts in East Lansing before the Badgers travel to Chicago for the Frozen Confines, the Big Ten Hockey Series at Wrigley Field, where they’ll face Michigan State again. Tickets are available now for fans, but it will also be televised by Big Ten Network.
The season finishes with Long Island University and other Big Ten opponents that will determine rankings for the Big Ten Championship tournament, and eventually, rankings to advance to the NCAA Frozen Four where the Badgers hope to have another shot at bringing a national title home for the first time since 2006.
The regular season will finish at the Kohl Center on Feb. 22, where the Badgers hope to surpass their No. 10 placement in their season rankings.
