Hear from Badgers men's hockey coach Mike Hastings, defenseman Mike Vorlicky and goalie Kyle McClellan as the team prepares to travel to Providence, Rhode Island, for an NCAA Tournament first-round game against Quinnipiac on Friday.
Two seasons, 11 years apart, at two schools have found an improbable link — more than just being the first year with Mike Hastings as coach.
Minnesota State made the NCAA Tournament in its first year under Hastings in 2012-13. The University of Wisconsin men's hockey team has done the same in 2023-24.
Only nine times in the last 25 years has a team improved from outside the tournament field the previous season to a participant in a coach's first campaign.
Men's hockey coaches who made NCAA Tournament in 1st year after team didn't in previous season, since 1999-2000
Coach
School
Season
Jeff Blashill
Western Michigan
2010-11
Tom Anastos
Michigan State
2011-12
Norm Bazin
UMass Lowell
2011-12
Mike Hastings
Minnesota State
2012-13
Mel Pearson
Michigan
2017-18 (made Frozen Four)
Jerry Keefe
Northeastern
2021-22
Pat Ferschweiler
Western Michigan
2021-22
Jay Pandolfo
Boston University
2022-23 (made Frozen Four)
Mike Hastings
Wisconsin
2023-24
Hastings is the only coach who appears on that list twice, and he has observed some comparables between his first Mavericks team and his first Badgers team as the latter prepares to play Quinnipiac in the NCAA first round on Friday in Providence, Rhode Island.
"We had good hockey players that wanted to have the program go in a direction that they'd feel better about," Hastings said. "The second thing was they were more than willing to do the work. I'm a better coach with better hockey players. I don't think there's a coach out there that says the most important piece isn't their players. So there's similarities there."
Both groups also took accountability, one of the pillars of a Hastings team. The best example, he said, was when players were willing to step up and have tough discussions at tough points of the season.
"That takes courage," Hastings said. "I think that takes a confidence. I think that takes a selflessness from a player, a group, to say I'll take the good and the bad."
The most critical part of the on-ice package, however, may have been that Hastings found with both teams a goalie who was capable of being the backbone. It was freshman Stephon Williams at Minnesota State, and it was Kyle McClellan with the Badgers.
"Without that, we don't get off to the start we got off to," Hastings said.
Minnesota State improved by 12 victories in Hastings' first season, from 12-24-2 to 24-14-3. The Badgers are 13 wins better than last year. The 13-23 season that led to the firing of Tony Granato last March has been followed by a 26-11-2 record entering the NCAA Tournament.
Both of those are among the biggest first-season turnarounds for an NCAA men's hockey coach in the last quarter century.
Wisconsin's season ranks second over that period by improvement in winning percentage. Only UMass Lowell's remarkable turnaround in 2011-12 under Norm Bazin (5-25-4 to 24-13-1) has been better.
Biggest gain in winning percentage in an NCAA men's hockey coach's first season, since 1999-2000
Improvement
School
Coach
Season
Previous season
First season
0.439
UMass Lowell
Norm Bazin
2011-12
5-25-4 .(206)
24-13-1 .(645)
0.331
Wisconsin
Mike Hastings
2023-24
13-23 .(361)
26-11-2 .(692)
0.318
Alaska Anchorage
Matt Thomas
2013-14
4-25-7 .(208)
18-16-4 .(526)
0.304
Michigan Tech
Mel Pearson
2011-12
4-30-4 .(158)
16-19-4 (.462)
0.285
Bentley
Ryan Soderquist
2002-03
4-26-2 (.156)
15-19 (.441)
The Badgers are third by the number of wins gained, not counting the 2021-22 campaign that followed one shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 19-win advance by UMass Lowell and a 14-win improvement in 2013-14 by Alaska Anchorage under Matt Thomas are ahead.
Most wins gained in an NCAA men's hockey coach's first season, since 1999-2000
First-year coaches in 2021-22 were not included because the 2020-21 season was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Improvement
School
Coach
Season
Previous season
First season
19
UMass Lowell
Norm Bazin
2011-12
5-25-4
24-13-1
14
Alaska Anchorage
Matt Thomas
2013-14
4-25-7
18-16-4
13
Wisconsin
Mike Hastings
2023-24
13-23
26-11-2
12
Michigan Tech
Mel Pearson
2011-12
4-30-4
16-19-4
12
Minnesota State
Mike Hastings
2012-13
12-24-2
24-14-3
12
Wisconsin
Tony Granato
2016-17
8-19-8
20-15-1
12
Northern Michigan
Grant Potulny
2017-18
13-22-4
25-15-3
Doubling the number of wins from one season to the next like the Badgers have done is a result of individual responsibility improving a team setting, captain Mike Vorlicky said.
"I think everyone's pretty comfortable being accountable to each other this year," he said. "And I think that's been a huge thing for us and made us more successful. When we have that team mindset that you can hold each guy accountable and they can hold you accountable, I think that goes a long way."
Seeing the coach that brought them to Wisconsin get shown the door last season had to be a sobering experience for Badgers players, Hastings said. But those who are back from that used it as a self-reflection point that has helped generate this season's turnaround.
"The reality of what life is can get to you in a hurry, and it did," Hastings said. "I liked the way that they reacted to that."
Photos: Samantha Madar's favorite Wisconsin men's hockey photos from the regular season