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College hockey comes to Fiserv Forum over the winter break again with the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off showcase. Here’s a look at the teams, details, broadcasts and some players to watch.
The Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off is a two-day, four-team men’s college hockey tournament featuring the Wisconsin Badgers held annually since 2021 during college winter break at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
Sixty-two players who have played in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off have been selected in the NHL draft.
The event is organized by the Gazelle Group, a New Jersey-based marketing agency and promoter of college sports showcases and games around the country.
Fiserv Forum will host the event Sunday, Dec. 28, and Monday, Dec. 29.
Tickets for each day are available in every section in the lower bowl of Fiserv Forum through the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off website, ranging in price from about $27 to $77.
Two-day tickets are available in some sections, ranging from $67-$129.
Buy-one-get-one offers have been shared by Fiserv Forum via social media but are subject to change.
No. 2-ranked Wisconsin (12-2-2, 8-2-0 Big Ten), No. 7 Western Michigan (10-6-0, 6-4-0 NCAC), No. 12 Boston College (10-5-1, 7-3-0 Hockey East) and Lake Superior State (6-11-1, 3-9-0 CCHA), are the teams competing this year.
Western Michigan and Boston College are first-time participants in the event. Lake Superior State played at Fiserv Forum in 2022, going 0-2.
Wisconsin and Lake Superior State open play at 4 p.m. Dec. 28, followed by Western Michigan vs. Boston College at 7:30 p.m.
The winners from Dec. 28 will play for the title the final day, but the time is to be determined. Wisconsin will play at 7:30 regardless of whether it’s in the championship or consolation game.
Fans can watch all games on the B1G+ streaming service. Wisconsin games are on the Badger Radio Network, which includes FM-95.7 in Milwaukee.
Wisconsin has won the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off three of four years. The Badgers beat 16th-ranked Providence in a shootout in 2021, fell to Clarkson in the title game in 2022, shut out Northeastern in 2023 and edged Connecticut in 2024.
Sophomore center Gavin Morrissey was the Badgers’ leading scorer in the first half (18 points on three goals and 15 assists). Christian Fitzgerald, a senior in his third season at UW, leads goal scorers with 10, and has seven on the power play, tied for second most in the country. Morrissey's linemate Quinn Finley, the team's leading goal scorer last season, will miss the tournament to play with a team of elite collegians in the Spengler Cup, an invitational in Europe.
Senior captain Ben Dexheimer is the top scoring defenseman with 14 points (tied for third overall) with three goals and 11 assists. Junior defenseman Joe Padolichuk is coming off a four-point weekend in the Badgers’ sweep of Notre Dame.
Wisconsin took a hit to its defensive corps and leadership group when Dexheimer’s partner Zach Schultz suffered a broken left leg in the most recent game.
UW came in with three untested goalies and settled on Daniel Hauser, a freshman with considerable experience in Canadian juniors. He has started 13 of 16 games (2.17 goals-against average, .915 save percentage).
Two of the Lakers’ three top goal scorers are freshmen, Calem Mangone with eight and Hunter Ramos with four.
William Ahlrik, a sophomore from Sweden, is the leading scorer with 16 (four goals, 12 assists) but has been held to three points over the past six games.
Sophomore Rorke Applebee, who has started 13 of the Lakers’ 18 games in goal and played in 15, has a 2.73 goals-against average and .921 save percentage.
Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick William Whitelaw’s two goals in a victory over Minnesota Duluth in the final game of the first half gave him nine, tying him for the team lead. Whitelaw, a junior who started at Wisconsin in 2023-24 before transferring to Michigan and then Western Michigan, also has six assists.
Junior forward Grant Sluskynsky also has 15 points (three goals, 12 assists), and 6-5 sophomore Ty Henricks has scored seven goals with six of those coming in two-goal games.
Sophomore Hampton Sluskynsky, Grant’s younger brother and a Los Angeles Kings draft pick, set the program single-season mark for goals-against average a season ago (1.90) but has been hit for four (twice), five (twice) and six goals in games this season, leading to a 2.83 GAA and .887 save percentage.
Sophomores lead the scoring for the Eagles, who have won eight of their past nine games. James Hagens has 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) with at least one point in all but three games. Boston Bruins 2024 first-round pick Dean Letourneau (nine goals, eight assists) and Jake Sondreal (six goals, 11 assists) each have 17.
Freshman goaltender Louka Cloutier, a 2024 draft pick by the Colorado Avalanche, has played 14 of 16 games, compiling a 10-3-1-2 record with two shutouts, a 2.01 goals-against average and .918 save percentage.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 2025 Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off college hockey at Fiserv Forum preview
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What is the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off?
The Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off is a two-day, four-team men’s college hockey tournament featuring the Wisconsin Badgers held annually since 2021 during college winter break at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
Sixty-two players who have played in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off have been selected in the NHL draft.
The event is organized by the Gazelle Group, a New Jersey-based marketing agency and promoter of college sports showcases and games around the country.
When is the 2025 Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off?
Fiserv Forum will host the event Sunday, Dec. 28, and Monday, Dec. 29.
What do tickets cost for college hockey at Fiserv Forum?
Tickets for each day are available in every section in the lower bowl of Fiserv Forum through the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off website, ranging in price from about $27 to $77.
Two-day tickets are available in some sections, ranging from $67-$129.
Buy-one-get-one offers have been shared by Fiserv Forum via social media but are subject to change.
What teams are playing in the 2025 Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off?
No. 2-ranked Wisconsin (12-2-2, 8-2-0 Big Ten), No. 7 Western Michigan (10-6-0, 6-4-0 NCAC), No. 12 Boston College (10-5-1, 7-3-0 Hockey East) and Lake Superior State (6-11-1, 3-9-0 CCHA), are the teams competing this year.
Western Michigan and Boston College are first-time participants in the event. Lake Superior State played at Fiserv Forum in 2022, going 0-2.
What is the schedule for the college hockey holiday tournament at Fiserv Forum?
Wisconsin and Lake Superior State open play at 4 p.m. Dec. 28, followed by Western Michigan vs. Boston College at 7:30 p.m.
The winners from Dec. 28 will play for the title the final day, but the time is to be determined. Wisconsin will play at 7:30 regardless of whether it’s in the championship or consolation game.
Is the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off broadcast on TV or radio?
Fans can watch all games on the B1G+ streaming service. Wisconsin games are on the Badger Radio Network, which includes FM-95.7 in Milwaukee.
What is Wisconsin’s hockey history at Fiserv Forum?
Wisconsin has won the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off three of four years. The Badgers beat 16th-ranked Providence in a shootout in 2021, fell to Clarkson in the title game in 2022, shut out Northeastern in 2023 and edged Connecticut in 2024.
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Who are Wisconsin players to watch in the 2025 Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off?
Sophomore center Gavin Morrissey was the Badgers’ leading scorer in the first half (18 points on three goals and 15 assists). Christian Fitzgerald, a senior in his third season at UW, leads goal scorers with 10, and has seven on the power play, tied for second most in the country. Morrissey's linemate Quinn Finley, the team's leading goal scorer last season, will miss the tournament to play with a team of elite collegians in the Spengler Cup, an invitational in Europe.
Senior captain Ben Dexheimer is the top scoring defenseman with 14 points (tied for third overall) with three goals and 11 assists. Junior defenseman Joe Padolichuk is coming off a four-point weekend in the Badgers’ sweep of Notre Dame.
Wisconsin took a hit to its defensive corps and leadership group when Dexheimer’s partner Zach Schultz suffered a broken left leg in the most recent game.
UW came in with three untested goalies and settled on Daniel Hauser, a freshman with considerable experience in Canadian juniors. He has started 13 of 16 games (2.17 goals-against average, .915 save percentage).
Who are Lake Superior State players to watch?
Two of the Lakers’ three top goal scorers are freshmen, Calem Mangone with eight and Hunter Ramos with four.
William Ahlrik, a sophomore from Sweden, is the leading scorer with 16 (four goals, 12 assists) but has been held to three points over the past six games.
Sophomore Rorke Applebee, who has started 13 of the Lakers’ 18 games in goal and played in 15, has a 2.73 goals-against average and .921 save percentage.
Who are Western Michigan players to watch?
Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick William Whitelaw’s two goals in a victory over Minnesota Duluth in the final game of the first half gave him nine, tying him for the team lead. Whitelaw, a junior who started at Wisconsin in 2023-24 before transferring to Michigan and then Western Michigan, also has six assists.
Junior forward Grant Sluskynsky also has 15 points (three goals, 12 assists), and 6-5 sophomore Ty Henricks has scored seven goals with six of those coming in two-goal games.
Sophomore Hampton Sluskynsky, Grant’s younger brother and a Los Angeles Kings draft pick, set the program single-season mark for goals-against average a season ago (1.90) but has been hit for four (twice), five (twice) and six goals in games this season, leading to a 2.83 GAA and .887 save percentage.
Who are Boston College players to watch?
Sophomores lead the scoring for the Eagles, who have won eight of their past nine games. James Hagens has 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) with at least one point in all but three games. Boston Bruins 2024 first-round pick Dean Letourneau (nine goals, eight assists) and Jake Sondreal (six goals, 11 assists) each have 17.
Freshman goaltender Louka Cloutier, a 2024 draft pick by the Colorado Avalanche, has played 14 of 16 games, compiling a 10-3-1-2 record with two shutouts, a 2.01 goals-against average and .918 save percentage.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 2025 Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off college hockey at Fiserv Forum preview
Continue reading...
