The Wisconsin Badgers are just one win away from having both their men's and women's hockey programs win the National Championship in the same season.

That's a feat that's only happened once before, and it just so happened to be the Badgers who accomplished it. Exactly 20 years ago, Wisconsin's men's and women's hockey teams won it all in 2006, an honor they're looking to repeat here in 2026.

The only team standing in Wisconsin's way is Denver. It's a team they have an all-time winning record against, though recent history favors the Pioneers over Wisconsin. Nonetheless, this is a Badgers team that's defied the odds so far, and there seems to be nothing that can get in their way of winning their seventh National Championship.

Here are three keys to a Wisconsin victory on Saturday.

Wisconsin enjoyed a 2-0 lead over North Dakota for nearly the full 60 minutes. The Fighting Hawks were left stunned at an early attack from the Badgers, but not even a two-man advantage was enough to give North Dakota the edge.

The Badgers had to kill nearly a full two-minute five-on-three power play, something they made look easy. By the end of the night, they had successfully killed five penalties. For reference, Denver is coming off a 0-of-5 power play effort against No. 1 Michigan.

This key to victory seems like a no-brainer, but Wisconsin enjoyed a healthy +15 shot differential against North Dakota. The Badgers fired off 37 shots in that game, a number that was far superior to Denver's 26, a number that took two overtimes to reach against the Wolverines.

Sure, Johnny Hicks stole the show with his 49 saves, but that's a number that Wisconsin is ready to exploit. Denver found a way to make the National Championship game with a -26 shot differential, and that's simply not a number the Badgers will let beat them.

North Dakota ended up winning the faceoff battle, 34-29, but that's a department where the Badgers dominated in the first two periods. Wisconsin's 19 shots turned out to be nine more than the Fighting Hawks, and that's a rather large discrepancy to have on the defensive side of things.

The Fighting Hawks had a breakaway attempt in the game that was stopped due to tremendous defense from the Badgers. In a 2-1 game, Wisconsin heavily relied on its defense to get the job done when they were no longer on the attack. The Badgers would've loved to get more shots off late in that game, but they were stuck playing six-on-five for nearly four minutes.

Longtime head coach Mike Hastings knows there will be nerves involved, but the Badgers have to be more careful. They had five penalties against them in the Frozen Four, and that's far too many to have at this stage in the tournament. In order for this team to win its first National Championship in 16 years, it's going to take a near-perfect effort for the entire 60 minutes.

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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey Frozen Four vs. Denver keys to victory