‘Being a part of this group is a privilege’ | Osburn, Zelenov to compete for national championship 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 whacked 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) continued their quest for the national championship with a 2-1 win over No. 2 overall seed North Dakota on Thursday. They now match up against Denver in the national title game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN.

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, Michigan State and North Dakota in the national semifinal. 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 prepared them 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.  

“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 Denver team that’s won a record 10 national championships, including two in the last five years under head coach David Carle. The Pioneers have a top-3 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award with defenseman Eric Pohlkamp who leads Denver with 18 goals.  

Carle’s veteran-led group is balanced by freshman goaltender Johnny Hicks who made a career-high 49 saves in Denver’s double-overtime win over Michigan on Thursday.  

Wisconsin has fared well against highly ranked teams this season with five wins over top 2 teams for the first time since the USCHO poll began in 1997 and 11 wins against top-20 teams.  

With a talented Denver defensive group, Zelenov will have to continue his strong forechecking effort which led to Wisconsin’s first goal against North Dakota. Zelenov and Osburn will be tasked with taking down a modern college hockey dynasty 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.”