By: Connor Toomey
Madison, Wis. – The University of Notre Dame’s hockey team travels north this weekend to face off against Big Ten foe, the No. 13/11 ranked Badgers of Wisconsin. The second series meeting between the two programs this season will take place this Friday and Saturday at the Kohl Center (Feb. 6-7). Puck drop for both contests is slated for 8:00 PM ET.
This weekend will mark milestone games in the all-time series as they square off for the 100th and 101st times for Notre Dame and Wisconsin The Badgers and Irish will add another chapter to the storied rivalry after previously meeting in South Bend earlier this season to close out the 2025 calendar year. Wisconsin bested the Irish in the December showdown, taking the win both nights.
With the all-time series beginning in the 1921-22 season, the Irish currently trail in the record books with 35 wins, 55 losses, and nine ties. Notre Dame’s last visit to the Kohl Center resulted in a series split. With Wisconsin leading the series 27-15-3 in Madison, the Irish will look to improve that margin and even the 2025-26 series edition this weekend.
The Irish special teams unit was lights out the last time these squads took the ice, successfully killing off all five penalties, including a five-minute powerplay chance for the visitors in game two of the series. Additionally, the powerplay unit picked up two goals on four opportunities against the Badgers in the series. Notre Dame will look to keep the special teams unit working on all cylinders this weekend, with the powerplay continuing to rank among the nation’s best at a clip of .278.
The last time the two teams met junior Evan Werner led the Irish in points over the weekend, recording two goals in the Friday night back-and-forth tilt. In this contest, there were four lead changes before Wisconsin ultimately took the victory 7-4.
Notre Dame is coming off of a strong and heavily contested series with Bowling Green State University that resulted in a pair of ties. Nicholas Kempf led the nation in saves with numerous elite highlight level plays, totaling 76 stops on the weekend, not including his 10 saves throughout the two shootout sessions. Sutter Muzzatti also extended his point-streak, recording three points in this series with a goal and two assists. In his last three games, Muzzatti has recorded seven points and a second four-point game on the season that came against Ohio State.
As the Irish head north on I-90 to Madison, they look to carry their strong play and momentum from recent contests into the Kohl Center. As they close out their regular season series with the Badgers, Notre Dame enters the weekend primed to add another installment to this storied 104 year old rivalry with Wisconsin.
SERIES OVERVIEW
Opponent: #13/11 Wisconsin (Feb. 6-7)
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Schedule: Fri. 8:00 PM ET | Sat. 8:00 PM ET
TV/Streaming: B1G+
Live Stats: FightingIrish.com
Radio: fightingirish.com/radioaffiliates/
Game Notes: Notre Dame