Things may be thawing a bit outside right now, but here's some cool news: The Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off will return to Fiserv Forum next winter for the annual NCAA hockey showdown, complete with the Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team defending its crown.

The fourth Milwaukee-set hockey mini-tournament will hit the ice on Dec. 28-29 at Fiserv Forum, with the defending champion Badgers battling against the UConn Huskies, the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks and the Ferris State Bulldogs. The semfinal games will take place on Saturday, Dec. 28, while the championship match and third place game will drop the puck on Sunday, Dec. 29.

The Wisconsin Badgers have won two of the three Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Offs, coming away victorious in the inaugural tournament in 2021 as well as last year's edition. The Badgers finished in second place in the 2022 tournament, losing in the finale to the Clarkson Golden Knights.

Tickets – both single-day and discounted two-day varieties – will go on sale beginning Thursday, March 7 at 2 p.m. at Fiserv Forum's website, where fans can also find later updates and announcements concerning game times and specific matchups. 

And as for more hockey action around Milwaukee, be sure to check out the Milwaukee Admirals now playing the final stretch of their postseason push at the UWM Panther Arena. For more details on the Central-leading Ads, click here.