Michigan
24-6-1, 15-5-1
Wisconsin
19-10-2, 12-9-0
Michigan Kept in Check by No. 13 Wisconsin in Setback in Madison
2/20/2026 11:18:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Will Horcoff scored his 22nd goal of the season, his 10th power-play tally.
» Michael Hage notched his team-leading 31st assist of the year on Horcoff's goal.
» Jack Ivankovic made 35 saves as Wisconsin outshot Michigan 39-23.
MADISON, Wis. -- A rare disappointment in a season of excitement saw the second-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team drop a 4-1 decision against No. 13-ranked Wisconsin inside the Kohl Center on Friday (Feb. 20).
Michigan (24-6-1, 15-5-1 Big Ten) nearly got the action started early when Nick Moldenhauer poked a puck away from a Badger in the neutral zone to create a breakaway chance less than four minutes into the contest. The junior rang shot off the crossbar from between the hash marks before the puck skittered up into the air and away from trouble.
Jack Ivankovic was sharp from the jump as Wisconsin (19-10-2, 12-9-0 Big Ten) built a lead in shots on goal, thanks to Michigan's best early chances hitting iron. U-M received the first power play at 13:08.
T.J. Hughes looked to have opened the scoring with a power-play tally from the net-front area at 14:11, until a swift offside challenge from Wisconsin's coaching staff dulled the excitement and wiped the captain's goal off the board. Malcolm Spence set up the play with a great feed to the top of the crease, but the effort went for naught following the official review.
As Michigan began to gain its legs, the team earned a second chance on the power play with 2:27 left in the opening frame. Moldenhauer had a grade-A opportunity from a few feet outside the top of the crease, but his attempt was pushed wide of the post.
Late in the period, Will Horcoff netted his team-leading 22nd goal of the season at 19:02 by dragging the puck into the perfect position to capitalize on a Badger who was trapped in the shooting lane between Horcoff's blade and the UW netminder. He zipped a shot through a tight window into the top shelf from the right circle to give Michigan a lead that would stick. Fellow sophomores Michael Hage and Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen assisted on Horcoff's 10th power-play goal.
Wisconsin embarked on its first power play of the night with 43 seconds left in the first period after a Wolverine was sent off for tripping, but the period came to an end without an equalizer.
After 20 minutes, Michigan owned a 1-0 lead despite finding itself on the wrong side of a 12-6 deficit in shots on goal. UW also held a narrow 10-8 edge in the faceoff dot through one period.
The Wolverines started the second by killing off the remainder of their late tripping infraction to push the action back to full strength.
Additional ice was opened up at 3:05 when each squad sent one skater to the box. Luca Fantilli created the most dangerous chance of the 4-on-4 stint by walking into the slot to force a low shot on goal that bounced off the netminder for a second kick at the can in the form of a juicy rebound.
Wisconsin evened the score at 7:25 to make it 1-1 by burying a second-chance opportunity after an initial shot caught the post next to Ivankovic and settled in the blue paint for UW to finish off.
The Badgers doubled up at 9:15 to claim a 2-1 lead with a perfect shot in transition.
U-M continued to threaten offensively, but it was Wisconsin that scored its third straight tally to surge ahead 3-1 with a bit over three minutes left in the period of the long change.
UW used a three-goal period to jump the Wolverines and carry a two-goal lead into the dressing room for the second intermission. Michigan failed to find its footing through 40 minutes, as it trailed in shots on goal (27-18) and faceoffs (23-14).
After a frustrating period for U-M that saw the team fail to produce offensively, the Badgers added one more to their tally with an empty-net goal to ice the game at 4-1 with 1:31 remaining.
Ivankovic made 35 saves on the 38 shots that he faced, as Wisconsin dominated the stats to finish the night with a 39-23 advantage in shots on goal and a 34-19 gulf in the faceoff dot.
On Saturday night (Feb. 21), Michigan will finish off the regular-season series against Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be streamed live on B1G+.
