The reframing of the outlook for the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team started in the first 10 games that coach Mike Hastings spent behind the bench.
The Badgers finished October with an eye-opening sweep of then-No. 1 Minnesota in Minneapolis, a season-building set of results. They opened November with a home sweep of Michigan in a series that featured a reawakening of the Kohl Center crowd.
Their 9-1 start got them to No. 1 in the national rankings by the middle of November, a stunning climb to prominence that changed expectations for the season.
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Hastings and Wisconsin players viewed the end of the season through a much harsher lens Friday night after they lost in overtime to Quinnipiac in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But goalie Kyle McClellan, a Hobey Baker Award finalist, offered some perspective on the six months of ups and downs that he and the Badgers experienced.
The Badgers brought excitement and passion back in 2023-24, forward Cruz Lucius said.
Wisconsin started the season outside the national top 20 and picked for fifth of seven teams in the Big Ten. It likely will finish in the top 10 nationally after playing for the league championship on the final weekend of the regular season.
“I’m proud of the group,” McClellan said outside the Badgers locker room Friday after the season finished with a 26-12-2 record, the program’s best by winning percentage in 10 years. “It’s kind of like my story, personally: No one expected us to even be close to where we are. That shows what our group can do.”
McClellan was critical to the Badgers’ 2023-24 story, serving as a calming presence when the team was building early in the season. He was “a rock for us from day one,” Hastings said, and McClellan was rewarded with one of three spots as a finalist for the Mike Richter Award as the nation’s top goalie.
“I know we left it out there,” McClellan said. “We’re going to be good for the next few years, but I thought this year was a huge step as far as showing what Wisconsin hockey is and putting us back on the map.”
Hastings took over from Tony Granato, who was fired in March 2023 at the end of his seventh season leading his alma mater. The new coach preached accountability and brought a structured defensive system that made a difference right away.
But the Badgers limped toward the finish line, going 7-8-2 beginning with a puzzling 3-3 home tie with Lindenwood — a team 57 places lower in the PairWise Rankings — on Jan. 13 that ended a winning streak after 10 games.
Their chance to win the Big Ten regular-season title on the final weekend fizzled when they couldn’t find a third-period breakthrough in a 2-2 game with Michigan State, which gained a 5-2 victory in the series opener to clinch the championship.
Wisconsin’s stay in the Big Ten Tournament was short after it lost to Ohio State in three games in the opening round, three weeks after the last-place Buckeyes swept the Badgers in Columbus.
The effects of sitting out from competition for two weeks ahead of the NCAA Tournament showed early against Quinnipiac before the Badgers got their footing. They just couldn’t find the goal that would extend their season.
Some of the team’s leading goal-scorers had their production slow toward the end of the season. First-line wings Cruz Lucius and Mathieu De St. Phalle each had only three goals over the last 14 games. Second-liner Simon Tassy went scoreless in the final 10 contests.
Second-half injuries impacted Lucius and top-line center David Silye, and the loss of center Owen Lindmark for the last seven games of the regular season because of a knee injury suffered Feb. 9 altered the composition of forward lines, the penalty kill and power play.
The result Friday was a first-round loss in the tournament, the same ending the Badgers have had in their last four appearances. They haven’t won an NCAA game since the 2010 Frozen Four semifinals.
But Hastings talked about setting a foundation when he took a big-picture view of the season.
“I don’t know if there were a lot of people that thought that this group would be able to attain the heights that they attained this year,” he said. “But as you can tell, they’re a very prideful group. They want it to continue.
“And so for myself, our staff and really our entire program, we’re excited about what our future is. But this is going to take some time to get over. These hurt because they leave some deep wounds. We’ll learn from them and we’ll be better for it.”
The reframing of expectations extended to beyond the season.
“This program is in great hands,” captain Mike Vorlicky said. “Wisconsin needs to be at the top, and this is the standard.”
Said freshman defenseman Joe Palodichuk: “To have the leadership group we had this year to put those rocks down and show us what leadership is like, and for Coach to come in and be the leader he has, there’s nothing but things to look forward to, really.”
That’s the impact a positive season has on a program seeking a return to long-term stability. The challenge for Hastings and his staff is to build upon the bright points of what happened while navigating personnel changes that will emerge.
There are decisions on whether players will use their fifth season of eligibility. McClellan and Silye said last week that they hadn’t decided either way.
There are decisions for draft picks like Charlie Stramel, a first-round selection of the Minnesota Wild who moved to right wing from center and saw his ice time decrease this season. Lucius, a fourth-round pick by Carolina in 2022, had his NHL rights traded to Pittsburgh in early March; the Penguins could be interested in getting him into their system after two years of college.
And there are decisions on entering the transfer portal that are likely to come in the first few days of the offseason. Badgers coaches could look for some new pieces, too, especially at forward.
The process of determining what the 2024-25 Badgers team will look like is underway but it’ll be using the success of 2023-24 as a starting point.
“Looking back last year and then to this year, it’s a huge step for the university and the hockey team as a whole,” Lucius said. “I think we this year brought a lot of excitement. More passion. What it means to be a Badger, we brought that back. That’s super exciting. I’m pretty grateful that we did that.”
Photos: Samantha Madar’s favorite Wisconsin men’s hockey photos from the regular season
Wisconsin’s Christian Fitzgerald walks out to the ice before a game against the Lindenwood Lions on Jan. 13, 2024, at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Wisconsin forward Quinn Finley celebrates after scoring during the unofficial shootout against Minnesota at the Kohl Center on Feb. 3, 2024.
Wisconsin forward Owen Mehlenbacher shoots the puck against Minnesota defenseman Carl Fish in the first period Feb. 2, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin’s David Silye breaks his stick as he shoots the puck in the second period against Lindenwood Jan. 13, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin forward Owen Lindmark celebrates after scoring against Minnesota in the third period Feb. 2, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin forward Tyson Dyck attempts to pass the puck against Notre Dame in the second period Feb. 10, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin goaltender Kyle McClellan stops the puck in the second period against Notre Dame on Feb. 9, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin forward Mathieu De St. Phalle, left, and forward Simon Tassy celebrate after defeating Michigan on Nov. 4, 2023, at the Kohl Center in Madison.
The Wisconsin student section sings in the third period of game against Notre Dame on Feb. 9, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin defenseman Joe Palodichuk slides to the puck against Minnesota forward Brody Lamb in the third period on Feb. 3, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin forward Carson Bantle, right, celebrates with forward David Silye after scoring a goal against Notre Dame in the third period Feb. 9, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin forward Mathieu De St. Phalle celebrates after scoring against Michigan in the first period at the Kohl Center on Nov. 4, 2023.
Wisconsin players Daniel Laatsch, from left, Kyle McClellan and Anthony Kehrer are introduced before a game against the Lindenwood Lions on Jan. 12, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin forward Quinn Finley prepares for the puck drop against Notre Dame in the first period Feb. 10, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin’s Ben Dexheimer heads out to the ice before a game against Lindenwood on Jan. 12, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Minnesota defenseman Ryan Chesley (71) grabs Wisconsin forward Sawyer Scholl and throws him onto the ice in the first period at the Kohl Center on Feb. 2, 2024.
Wisconsin forward William Whitelaw (8) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the unofficial shootout against Minnesota on Feb. 3, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Notre Dame’s Niko Jovanovic pushes Wisconsin forward Quinn Finley to the ice in the first period Feb. 9, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin forward Simon Tassy skates with the puck in the first period against Notre Dame on Feb. 9, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin forward Christian Fitzgerald celebrates with fans after scoring a goal against Notre Dame in the second period Feb. 9, 2024, at the Kohl Center in Madison.
The skate of Penn State defenseman Jimmy Dowd Jr. touches Wisconsin forward Simon Tassy in the second period Dec. 8, 2023, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin forward Carson Bantle smiles as Notre Dame forward Carter Slaggert (25) speaks to Bantle in the third period Feb. 9, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin defenseman Joe Palodichuk (14), forward Tyson Dyck (16) and defenseman Ben Dexheimer (4) celebrate with forward William Whitelaw (8) after Whitelaw scored a goal in the first period Feb. 10, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin forward Carson Bantle shoots the puck in the first period against Notre Dame on Feb. 10, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Notre Dame defenseman Michael Mastrodomenico hits Wisconsin forward Simon Tassy in the second period Feb. 10, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin’s Jack Horbach passes the puck to Owen Lindmark during a game against Alaska Anchorage on Nov. 24, 2023, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin defenseman Anthony Kehrer (24), forward Mathieu De St. Phalle (12), forward David Silye (15) and Carson Bantle (21) lean against the boards as the referees review a play against Minnesota Feb. 3, 2024, at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Wisconsin forward Simon Tassy shoots the puck against Michigan State goaltender Trey Augustine in the first period March 1, 2024, at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Wisconsin forward Owen Mehlenbacher passes the puck in the first period against the Michigan State Spartans March 1, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin players yell at Michigan State forward Reed Lebster after he flipped into the Badgers’ bench in the first period March 1, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Michigan State defenseman Patrick Geary hits Wisconsin forward Sawyer Scholl in the first period March 2, 2024, at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin goaltender Kyle McClellan blocks a Michigan State shot in the second period March 2, 2024, at the Kohl Center in Madison.
