‘Being a part of this group is a privilege’ | Osburn, Zelenov prepare for Frozen Four with Wisconsin

Wisconsin was down by two with less than five minutes remaining against Big Ten rival Michigan State in the Worcester Regional Final when Luke Osburn catalyzed a comeback that will live on forever in Badgers lore.

Osburn crept down the offensive zone and was unmarked at the side of the goal before he wacked a rebound past the outstretched blocker of goaltender Trey Augustine. Osburn’s goal injected life into the Wisconsin bench, and the Badgers tied it 34 seconds later before Ben Dexheimer’s overtime winner sent them to their first Frozen Four since 2010.

Osburn (fourth round, 2024) and fellow Buffalo Sabres prospect Vasily Zelenov (seventh round, 2024) continue their quest for the national championship when they play No. 2 overall seed North Dakota in a rematch of the 1982 title game on Thursday at 5 p.m. EDT from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on ESPN2.

“All of us are most excited about just leaving our mark on the history of our program,” Zelenov said. “We know how big this game is for Wisconsin, for our school.”

Wisconsin is the lowest remaining seed in the Frozen Four that also includes a heavyweight clash between top seed Michigan and Denver.

Osburn’s goal ended a nine-game goal-scoring drought for the defenseman that spanned back to early February. Osburn said it’s been a season of “valleys” for himself and the Badgers, who reached as high as No. 2 in the USCHO national poll with a 16-3-2 mark until early January.

Wisconsin suffered six straight losses in January after being swept by Michigan State, Penn State and Minnesota. Ottawa Senators first-round pick Logan Hensler also tore his ACL and Wisconsin limped its way into the tournament with a 6-9 finish and a 7-1 loss to Ohio State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Wisconsin still found itself in the NCAA Tournament and advanced with wins over Dartmouth and Michigan State. Osburn said the key ingredient for the Wisconsin turnaround was having confidence in knowing that the first half of their season could be replicated. Zelenov said navigating the highs and lows of the season has them prepared for the emotional environment of the Frozen Four.

“It was just belief,” Osburn said. “We knew we had it in us. We knew how the first half went, the teams we beat, and we knew we could play with any team. Just belief in ourselves, we knew, just give us a chance. Obviously the Big Ten Tournament didn't go the way we wanted it to, those six games didn't go our way, but just belief in each other, belief in the work we put in.”

“The way we deal with ups and downs, being successful in the first part of the season and going through that stretch in January, just the way the guys got together and got even tighter in order to come back,” Zelenov added. “I don't think I've been a part of anything like this before. Being a part of this group is a privilege.”

It’s been a season immersed in adversity for both Osburn and Zelenov. Osburn missed nearly a month due to mono, then tallied 13 points in 12 games after returning. Osburn’s 21 points (6+15) in 31 games are the most by a Wisconsin freshman defenseman since K’Andre Miller had 22 points in 2018-19.

Osburn was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and is fourth in the country among freshmen defensemen in points. Osburn’s been exceptional quarterbacking the Wisconsin power play has been a workhorse playing over 21 minutes per game.

He logged a season-high 26:42 against Michigan State and his offensive production can be a difference maker against a balanced North Dakota team.

“When I got here in the summer, I knew it was gonna be a lot tougher,” Osburn said. “... I knew I had a lot of work to do. I tried to spend a lot of that time in the gym in the summer, getting bigger and stronger myself. As the games went, as we started to play the Big Ten games, I tried to take the experiences I had in the games and figure out how to make a difference.”

Zelenov had three points in his first 10 games and then missed eight games after suffering a lower body injury during a wall battle on Dec. 29. The Badgers went 2-6 without Zelenov in the lineup and the Austria product finished his last 14 regular -season games with 13 points (5+8).

Zelenov’s defensively responsible style has been paired with a heightened understanding of the pace of the collegiate game and the lack of time to make plays. He spent time away from the ice working on his shot – something Sabres development coach Tim Kennedy has encouraged the young talent to do – and Zelenov led the Badgers with a 20.8 shooting percentage.

The 6-foot-0, 193-pound forward has been an integral piece of the Badgers’ team with his 200-foot game, ability to win faceoffs and physical play in the defensive zone. Zelenov said he’s excited about the opportunity to test his talents on the biggest stage in college hockey.

“I came into college with zero expectations, not trying to put too much pressure on myself,” Zelenov said. “... I came here to compete and to win a national championship. I didn't necessarily expect it to be my freshman year where we make it this far in the tournament. The job is not finished, but from the beginning on, there was no question, no doubt, that we could play with anyone in the country. That’s what been going through us, and we're just taking it day by day, and that's what got us this far.”

Wisconsin will match up against a North Dakota team that’s scored the third most goals in the country this season. They're led by a talented young core including Calgary Flames first-round pick Cole Reschny, Will Zellers (Osburn’s Team USA teammate during the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship) and 2026 top projected pick Keaton Verhoeff.

Wisconsin has fared well against highly ranked teams this season with four wins over top 2 teams for the first time since the USCHO poll began in 1997 and 10 wins against top-20 teams.

Osburn will be tasked with shutting down the North Dakota offense and dealing with any adversity that comes their way. That’s been a prominent theme for this Wisconsin team, which will have to take down college hockey’s goliaths if they want to win the program’s first national championship since 2006.

“In my opinion, we match up well against these teams, because we are skilled,” Zelenov said. “We play very hard, and we stay together, we support all over the ice and make sure that when we play such teams, we give them as small time as possible to the most skilled players in the country, and that's been working for us very well. We can get under people's skin and really frustrate them by pressuring them all over the ice. I think the extra motivation that we have when we go out to play important games and the character we have in this room just proves that we can win against anyone.”

CHL Playoffs Tracker

Brantford Bulldogs goaltender Ryerson Leenders (seventh round, 2024) and Ottawa 67’s defenseman David Bedkowski (third round, 2025) both advanced to the OHL Eastern Conference semifinals. Leenders is facing the No. 5 seed North Bay Battalion while Bedkowski is playing the No. 3 seed Barrie Colts.

Noah Laberge (fifth round, 2025) advanced in the QMJHL playoffs with the Newfoundland Regiment in a six-game series win over the Cape Breton Eagles.

Goaltender Samuel Meloche (fourth round, 2025) and the QMJHL’s No. 1 seed Rouyn-Noranda Huskies were leading their first-round series against the Gatineau Olympiques 3-0 before dropping the next three games. The Huskies won Game 7, 5-0, for Meloche’s third shutout of the series. He recorded a .927 save percentage with a 1.67 goals-against average in the series.

The QMJHL now shifts into league-wide reseeding based on the regular-season standings. Rouyn-Noranda finished third overall in the league and will face the Shawinigan Cataractes, who placed seventh. Laberge helped guide the Regiment to sixth overall and they’ll face the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, who finished fourth overall in the regular season.

Radim Mrtka (first round, 2025) had his season end with the Seattle Thunderbirds after a five-game series loss to the Penticton Vees in the first round of the WHL playoffs. Mrtka tallied 34 points (1+33) in 43 regular season games with three assists in playoff action before being assigned to the Rochester Americans (AHL) on Wednesday.

USHL Playoffs Tracker

The 2026 Clark Cup Playoffs kick off on Thursday with the first two Sabres prospects playing on Friday in their best-of-three series.

Melvin Novotny (seventh round, 2025) and the No. 5 seed Muskegon Lumberjacks play the No. 4 seed Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. The Taby, Sweden, product has shined in his first North American season despite missing nearly eight weeks – and 13 games – due to an upper-body injury he sustained on Dec. 6.

Novotny finished the regular season 17th in the USHL in both assists (35) and points (57) and was fifth among active skaters in points per game (1.19). The University of Massachusetts commit has 22 goals in 48 games with a team-best plus-23 rating.

Ashton Schultz (sixth round, 2025) and the No. 3 seed Sioux City Musketeers play the No. 6 seed Tri-City Storm in the Western Conference. Schultz was traded to the Musketeers from the Chicago Steel in February and had 20 points in 17 games after joining his new team.

Schultz totaled a USHL career-high 42 points (17+25) in 49 games across the two teams, and he finished with 15 points in his last 11 games heading into the playoffs.

Ryan Rucinski (seventh round, 2025) and Matous Kucharcik (fourth round, 2025) helped the Youngstown Phantoms to a first-round bye and the best record in the USHL at 43-14-3-2 with 91 points. Rucinski finished first in the league in power-play goals (17) and game-winning goals (8) and tied for eighth in points (62) and 12th in total goals (27).

Kucharcik had his season derailed in early January and he missed 26 games until he returned to game action on April 3. The Miami (OH) commit scored in his first game back over three months after his previous tally and logged 16 points (9+7) in 35 regular season games.