The Wisconsin Badgers looked dead midway through the season when they dropped six consecutive games. Wisconsin did not look like a team headed for the playoffs, much less the Frozen Four or the National Championship, and yet, that's exactly what happened. Mike Hastings spoke with Mike Jocko Jacques ahead of the championship game and described two moments the Badgers had to look in the mirror and face the adversity head-on.
One was what Hastings just talked about, but that moment comes with excuses, and Hastings even acknowledges this, saying, "the bus got a lot more full after that." The Badgers were dealing with mostly World Juniors call-ups, but injuries and illness played a role, too.
The second moment was in the Big Ten Tournament when the Badgers didn't even get a second game because Ohio State absolutely throttled Wisconsin. 1-7 was the final score, and it felt like a million to zero. Another moment, the Badgers looked like a team that didn't even deserve to play in the playoff bracket.
On the eve of the National Championship Game my one on one with @BadgerMHockey Head Coach Mike Hastings #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/hTlBMDcS7h
— Mike Jocko Jacques (@jockosports) April 11, 2026
Mike Hastings describes the loss to Ohio State as a low point that cause this title run
Related: Vegas doubts Wisconsin once again in heavyweight national title clash with Denver
Hastings, though, looks back and sees that loss as a defining moment for the team. "They had to look at each other and in the mirror, as we all did as a staff, and figure out what we weren't doing to make ourselves successful. Give them all the credit in the world because they turned to each other and they were okay being held accountable, not just to the staff but to each other. That's where we've grown the most. Through that six-game losing streak and what happened against Ohio State toughened us up to be in this situation."
Those moments in a season either crush a team or push a team forward. For Hastings and his Badger team, those two rock-bottom moments really gelled them into a place where losing wasn't an option. Playing the best hockey, physical hockey, aggressive hockey, was the only option.
The Badgers take on Denver tonight in an old WCHA matchup for the National Championship on ESPN at 4:30 CT.