RECAP: Season Ends One Game Short; North Dakota Falls 2-1 to Wisconsin in Frozen Four Semifinal

LAS VEGAS (KVRR) – North Dakota’s most successful hockey season in nearly a decade came to a heartbreaking end Thursday night, falling just short of a national title appearance with a 2–1 loss to Wisconsin in the Frozen Four semifinals.

It marked the program’s deepest run since 2016 — a season that ended with a national championship. This time, however, the journey stopped one game earlier.

Wisconsin struck quickly in the opening period, setting the tone early. Simon Tassy opened the scoring, and less than 30 seconds later, Ryan Botterill doubled the Badgers’ lead, putting North Dakota on its heels almost immediately.

Senior forward Ellis Rickwood said the early deficit proved difficult to overcome.

“We didn’t really come out hot and they were ready to play,” Rickwood said. “Their second goal was unfortunate. The guy jumped our F3 and kind of had a mini breakaway there and scored. It’s just hard in these games to go down like that early.”

North Dakota had a prime opportunity to respond in the second period with a full two-minute five-on-three power play, but failed to capitalize — a turning point in the game.

Head coach Dane Jackson pointed to that sequence as a critical missed chance.

“When you get the full two minutes, that was kind of a moment in the game that we had to get one,” Jackson said. “It seemed like goals were hard to come by. That was a critical juncture. Our power play’s been good all year… but we just didn’t execute at a high enough level.”

Despite entering the game with a top-10 power play unit, North Dakota went 0-for-5 against a Wisconsin penalty kill that ranked near the bottom nationally.

Junior defenseman Jake Livanavage didn’t mince words.

“We just weren’t good enough,” he said. “The amount of power plays we had, we should capitalize. That can turn the momentum… and we didn’t get the job done.”

The Fighting Hawks avoided their first shutout of the season when Rickwood scored with under a minute remaining, but the late goal wasn’t enough to spark a comeback.

As the final horn sounded, the weight of the season’s abrupt ending set in.

“It’s disappointing, obviously, to not play your best in the last game of the year,” senior forward Ben Strinden said. “It’s hard to process… we’re just super sorry to all the fans… it’s really hard on us.”

For senior captain Bennett Zmolek, the loss marked the end of his collegiate career — and a moment filled with emotion.

“It definitely hurts. Hurts a lot, actually,” Zmolek said. “Didn’t want this year to end… probably the toughest thing is just never being able to put that jersey back on.”

Still, the season represented a major step forward under first-year head coach Dane Jackson. North Dakota finished 29-10-1, captured the Penrose Cup and returned to the Frozen Four — reestablishing itself among the nation’s elite.

“I know Coach Jackson is going to win a national championship soon,” Strinden said. “The program is back on track… the tradition is back.”

Players echoed that belief, emphasizing a renewed identity built on physicality, simplicity and team-first play.

“What we built this year — the tradition is back,” Livanavage said. “We want North Dakota hockey to be at the top every single year.”

Jackson agreed, pointing to culture as the foundation moving forward.

“I know our program’s in a great spot because that’s where everything starts,” he said. “It starts with culture… and our guys definitely played with that all year.”

Wisconsin will face Denver in the national championship game Saturday, while North Dakota is left looking ahead — chasing what would be its ninth national title.

For a team that took a major step back into contention, the message is clear: this may not have been the ending they wanted, but it could be the beginning of something bigger.