Wisconsin players took the Kohl Center ice tonight without coaches for a light skate, the significance of which was that there's still a reason for the Badgers to be getting together this season.

Some of them knew Saturday night that they were in the NCAA tournament. Some wanted to wait until they saw their school name come up on the TV screen this morning, just to be sure.

The Badgers will play Denver in the Midwest Regional semifinals around 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Kohl Center. That follows a North Dakota-Princeton semifinal scheduled for 2 p.m.

The ice has been repainted at the Kohl Center, by the way, so the giant Motion W is gone from center ice, replaced by the NCAA ice hockey logo. The W is in the neutral zone, symbolizing Wisconsin as the event's host.

Check Monday's TCT for more reaction.