MADISON, Wis. — Thousands of Wisconsin hockey fans traded the stands for the Kohl Center ice Monday evening, competing for free season tickets by trying to slide a puck from center ice into an open net. Each participant had as many as three attempts. The first 800 people to score earned season tickets for Wisconsin men’s hockey’s upcoming winter campaign. Wisconsin players watched the attempts and offered encouragement as supporters took their shots. Goaltender Adam Pietila said the event revealed plenty of unexpected scoring talent among the fan base. “There's a lot of goals being scored and yeah, everybody's hitting the net this year,” Pietila said. For some fans, the challenge was also an introduction to the sport’s basic equipment. Wisconsin women’s hockey forward Charlotte Pieckenhagen helped attendees who had never held a hockey stick before, offering tips on generating enough power to reach the net. Pieckenhagen said the newcomers’ enthusiasm — and the support from friends watching nearby — stood out as much as their technique. Men’s hockey coach Mike Hastings also observed the competition from rinkside. He joked that some participants might have been auditioning for a walk-on opportunity, while emphasizing the value of seeing athletes connect with fans and with players from Wisconsin’s men’s and women’s teams outside the usual game-day setting. Fans who did not score during Monday’s event had another opportunity to secure seats. Wisconsin men’s hockey season tickets went on sale at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.