Worcester, Mass. – Deadlocked at one after forty minutes, Wisconsin had every reason to drop their heads as nothing was going right on the offensive end but a physical game plan and high defensive intensity that limited Dartmouth to just 14 shots continued until the Badgers finally came alive in the third.
Wisconsin bench boss Mike Hastings shared the impact of former Badger Joe Pavelski’s message to the team before they departed for Massachusetts as the driving force behind the team’s effort in the opening round. “He talked to our group before we left, and he talked about commitment and what is your willingness to be committed to make sure everything goes your way. First as an individual, as a line, as a d-pair, goaltending, and the guys did tonight. And they stuck with it.” The commitment paid off with four third period goals to send the Badgers to the regional final and for the senior class the opportunity to wear the red and white at least one more time.
Just over two minutes into the first period, Dartmouth were caught with too many men on the ice, gifting Wisconsin the first power play of the contest. The man-up opportunity would last just 13 seconds before Simon Tassy put home a rebound from Quinn Finley’s attempt to open the scoring.
Another look at Tassy’s power-play goal 👊 pic.twitter.com/92AYjBOStD
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) March 26, 2026
The Big Green would respond midway through the period as Cam MacDonald left the puck behind for Colin Grable as Dartmouth entered the zone. Grable slid the puck towards the left side of the zone, where a waiting Hank Cleaves wasted no time blasting it towards the far post for his 18th goal and 40th point of the season.
The first Big Green goal in the @NCAAIceHockey Tournament belongs to Hank Cleaves!
Gameday Central ➡️ https://t.co/YrGFMXUsiB#GoBigGreen | #TheWoods🌲 pic.twitter.com/2Gfc55a4mi
— Dartmouth Men’s Hockey (@Dartmouth_MIH) March 26, 2026
Seven minutes into the middle frame, Dartmouth’s goaltender Emmett Croteau misread a bounce as he came out to play the puck. The puck nearly ricocheted into his net before settling on to the stick of Grady Deering. With a vacated net in front of him, the red-shirt freshman put too much on it, missing inches over the cross bar. Over the next five minutes of action, the Badgers would come close to breaking the deadlock, striking the post on three separate occasions but came away with nothing to show for it.
With frustration beginning to set in for the Badgers, head coach Mike Hastings credited his associate head coach Todd Knott for keeping his team engaged; “he kept messaging from the bench, next play, next shift. Because again it’s something the guys can control. We can’t control what didn’t happen.”
After knocking on the door for what felt like an eternity, the Badgers finally found the go-ahead goal midway through the third period. Vasily Zelenov entered the offensive zone before threading a pass through the Dartmouth defenses and onto the tape of Jack Horbach’s stick. The red-shirt senior handled the puck to his left as he approached the crease and opened enough space to put home the go-ahead goal. The goal was Horbach’s first goal in over a month and just his third goal of the season.
NIIIIIFTY HORBS 😮💨
The senior’s third goal of the year puts us in front!
🍎: Vasily Zelenov & Jack Phelan pic.twitter.com/m67Kz1t6eW
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) March 26, 2026
Wisconsin struck once again just over four minutes later to begin to put away Dartmouth as Simon Tassy added his second of the game. Christian Fitzgerald would put the contest to rest with an empty netter for his 100th career point before Quinn Finley added some extra insurance with the Badgers fourth goal of the third period.
MR. FAN-TASS-TIC! 🌟
The senior’s (@simontassy) second goal of the game!
🍎: Ryan Botterill & Oliver Tulk pic.twitter.com/4Llfp79dWX
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) March 27, 2026
Wisconsin will return to the DCU Center on Saturday to take on Michigan State, who prevailed 2-1 over Connecticut in the first game of the double header. It will be the fifth matchup between the two sides, each taking a pair on the road. The victor of the contest between the Big Ten schools will advance to the Frozen Four in Las Vegas, taking place starting April 9th.
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