Wisconsin's Mike Hastings earns National Championship revenge game

A double overtime thriller kept Wisconsin Badgers fans up late on Thursday, April 9, in anticipation of who they would be playing in the national title game.

Michigan, the No. 1 seed, blew an early 2-1 first-period lead to Denver. The Pioneers lead the way with 10 National Championships, and one of those just so happened to come against Mike Hastings.

Hastings came to Madison in the 2023 season after a lengthy stint at Minnesota State. The 60-year-old head coach is no stranger to Denver as he eyes redemption from what happened in 2022.

Denver's 2022 National Championship win was a 5-1 rout of Minnesota State at the TD Garden. The Mavericks may have gotten on the board first, but Hastings' squad later gave up five unanswered in a four-goal defeat.

To make matters worse, all five goals came in the third period. Minnesota State jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period before the Pioneers scored five third-period goals in less than 14 minutes. Keep in mind, Denver had just eight combined shots in the first two periods.

Wisconsin has had to run through a gauntlet to get to this point, but the job isn't finished. Hastings may only have a career .539 winning percentage with the Badgers, but this is his chance to prove the doubters wrong and get a bit of revenge on Denver for what happned four years ago.

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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin Mike Hastings National Championship revenge game vs. Denver