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2021–22 UConn Huskies men's ice hockey season

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2021–22 UConn Huskies
men's ice hockey season
ConferenceT–4th Hockey East
Home iceXL Center
Rankings
USCHO#19
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall20–16–0
Conference14–10–0
Home7–7–0
Road11–7–0
Neutral2–2–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachMike Cavanaugh
Assistant coachesJoe Pereira
Tyler Helton
Vince Stalletti
Joe Ferriss
Will Moran
Captain(s)Jáchym Kondelík
Carter Turnbull
Alternate captain(s)Marc Gatcomb
Roman Kinal
UConn Huskies men's ice hockey seasons
« 2020–21 2022–23 »

The 2021–22 UConn Huskies men's ice hockey season was the 62nd season of play for the program, the 24th at the Division I level, and the 8th season in the Hockey East conference. The Huskies represented the University of Connecticut and were coached by Mike Cavanaugh, in his 9th season.

This was expected to be UConn's final season playing home games at the XL Center in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. In May, 2021, UConn began construction on a new 2,600-seat arena on its Storrs campus that will be home to both the Huskies men's and women's hockey programs upon its opening, planned for the 2022–23 season.[1]

Season

[edit]

UConn entered the season looking to post their first winning record since 2013. Though they had been trending upwards in recent years, the Huskies were still picked to finish in the middle of the standings.[2] The biggest question early was which goaltender would take over for the departed Tomáš Vomáčka. Graduate Darion Hanson, who had transferred to UConn the year before, won the job and held the position for the duration of the season. Hanson proved to be a stabilizing force in goal, and kept Connecticut in contention for most of the season.

The biggest impediment to the Huskies was the poor non-conference record for their entire conference which downgraded the team's overall strength of schedule. While UConn won most of their games against unranked opponents, a middling record against ranked teams did the Huskies no favors and the team was a long shot to make the tournament at the end of January. A 4-game winning streak in February briefly put the team in the top-20, but the Huskies followed that by losing four out of five games near the end of the regular season.

Though UConn was guaranteed to finish with a winning record at the beginning of the playoff, they also knew that they had no chance to make the NCAA tournament without a conference championship. Hanson played masterfully in the quarterfinal game, stopping 38 shots from Boston University. In the semifinal the offense took over and triumphed over top-seeded Northeastern. Suddenly, the Huskies found themselves just 1 win away from the program's first NCAA tournament appearance. All they had to do now was defeat the defending national champions, Massachusetts. Hanson was again a brick wall in goal, turning aside all but one shot in regulation. The rest of the team, however, was outplayed by the Minutemen and could only hold on to force overtime. UMass ended the game on their first shot of overtime and ended the Huskies' season.

Despite the sour end, UConn recorded 20 wins for the first time in 24 years. Combined with their strong performances against the top teams in their conference, this was objectively the best season in the history of the program.

Departures

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Cause
Kale Howarth Forward  Canada Signed professional contract (Rockford IceHogs)
Adam Karashik Defenseman  United States Graduate transfer to Notre Dame
Yan Kuznetsov Defenseman  Russia Signed professional contract (Calgary Flames)
Eric Linell Forward  United States Transferred to Bentley
Brian Rigali Forward  United States Graduate transfer to American International
Zac Robbins Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Utah Grizzlies)
Bradley Stone Goaltender  United Kingdom Graduation (retired)
Tomáš Vomáčka Goaltender  Czech Republic Signed professional contract (Nashville Predators)

Recruiting

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Chase Bradley Forward  United States 19 St. Louis, MO; selected 203rd overall in 2020
Jarrod Gourley Defenseman  Canada 22 Calgary, AB; transfer from Arizona State
Aidan Metcalfe Defenseman  United States 21 Palos Verdes, CA
Kevin O'Neil Forward  United States 23 Latham, NY; graduate transfer from Yale
Sasha Teleguine Forward  United States 19 North Attleborough, MA
Logan Terness Goaltender  Canada 19 Burnaby, BC
Jake Veilleux Defenseman/Forward  United States 21 South Windsor, CT

Roster

[edit]

As of August 12, 2021.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Texas Ryan Keane Junior G 5' 9" (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1998-03-15 Lewisville, Texas Jamestown (NAHL)
4 Michigan Roman Kinal (A) Junior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-07-20 Waterford, Michigan Dubuque (USHL)
5 California Aidan Metcalfe Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 2000-01-24 Palos Verdes, California Shreveport (NAHL)
6 New York (state) Ryan Wheeler Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-08-24 Lancaster, New York New Jersey (NAHL)
7 British Columbia Jonny Evans Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1997-05-01 North Delta, British Columbia Powell River (BCHL)
8 British Columbia Carter Turnbull (C) Senior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-09-08 Nanaimo, British Columbia Powell River (BCHL)
9 Alberta Cassidy Bowes Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-02-17 Sturgeon County, Alberta Whitecourt (AJHL)
10 Russia Vladislav Firstov Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-06-19 Yaroslavl, Russia Waterloo (USHL) MIN, 42nd overall 2019
11 Czech Republic Jáchym Kondelík (C) Senior F 6' 5" (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1999-12-21 Budějovice, Czech Republic Muskegon (USHL) NSH, 111th overall 2018
12 Connecticut Gavin Puskar Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-06-21 Farmington, Connecticut Hotchkiss (USHS–CT)
13 New York (state) John Wojciechowski Senior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1998-02-18 Mamaroneck, New York Langley (BCHL)
16 Massachusetts Jake Flynn Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-05-26 Bridgewater, Massachusetts Thayer (USHS–MA)
17 Massachusetts Marc Gatcomb (A) Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-07-22 Woburn, Massachusetts The Gunnery (USHS–CT)
18 New Jersey John Spetz Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-12-01 Oak Ridge, New Jersey Chicago (USHL)
19 New York (state) Kevin O'Neil Graduate F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-02-23 Latham, New York Yale (ECAC)
20 Missouri Chase Bradley Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-01-09 St. Louis, Missouri Sioux City (USHL) DET, 203rd overall 2020
21 Connecticut Nick Capone Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-12-17 East Haven, Connecticut Tri-City (USHL) TBL, 157th overall 2020
22 British Columbia Hudson Schandor Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2000-09-29 North Vancouver, British Columbia Surrey (BCHL)
23 British Columbia Carter Berger Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-09-17 North Vancouver, British Columbia Victoria (BCHL) FLA, 106th overall 2019
24 Massachusetts Sasha Teleguine Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-09-17 North Attleborough, Massachusetts Chilliwack (BCHL)
27 Ontario Harrison Rees Junior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-03-19 Mississauga, Ontario North York (OJHL)
28 Ontario Ryan Tverberg Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-01-30 Richmond Hill, Ontario Toronto Jr. Canadiens (OJHL) TOR, 213th overall 2020
29 Connecticut Jake Veilleux Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-01-19 South Windsor, Connecticut Victoria (BCHL)
31 Massachusetts Matt Pasquale Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-10-06 North Reading, Massachusetts Northeast (NAHL)
32 Russia Artem Shlaine Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2002-03-17 Moscow, Russia Shattuck-St. Mary's (USHS–MN) NJD, 130th overall 2020
33 Minnesota Darion Hanson Graduate G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-05-19 East Bethel, Minnesota Union (ECAC)
35 British Columbia Logan Terness Freshman G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-09-18 Burnaby, British Columbia Trail (BCHL)
60 Alberta Jarrod Gourley Graduate D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 212 lb (96 kg) 1999-06-29 Calgary, Alberta Arizona State (NCAA)

Standings

[edit]
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SOW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#12 Northeastern 24 15 8 1 1 1 1 47 68 46 39 25 13 1 99 68
#10 Massachusetts * 24 14 8 2 2 3 1 46 77 54 37 22 13 2 117 88
#13 Massachusetts Lowell 24 15 8 1 1 0 1 46 62 48 35 21 11 3 102 74
#19 Connecticut 24 14 10 0 2 1 0 41 73 61 36 20 16 0 109 89
Boston University 24 13 8 3 3 2 0 41 69 58 35 19 13 3 107 89
Merrimack 24 13 11 0 1 3 0 41 70 70 35 19 15 1 109 99
#20 Providence 24 12 11 1 1 1 1 38 61 52 38 22 14 2 118 82
Boston College 24 9 12 3 0 1 1 32 67 77 38 15 18 5 114 123
New Hampshire 24 8 15 1 2 2 0 25 47 71 34 14 19 1 76 95
Vermont 24 6 16 2 3 1 2 20 41 72 35 8 25 2 59 101
Maine 24 5 17 2 2 3 1 19 54 80 33 7 22 4 74 111
Championship: March 19, 2022
† indicates regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 2 4:05 PM Sacred Heart* XL CenterHartford, Connecticut   Hanson W 6–3  2,417 1–0–0
October 8 7:05 PM #10 Boston University XL CenterHartford, Connecticut   Hanson L 1–2  3,084 1–1–0 (0–1–0)
October 9 7:00 PM at #10 Boston University Agganis ArenaBoston, Massachusetts   Hanson W 5–1  3,533 2–1–0 (1–1–0)
October 15 7:05 PM at Ohio State* Value City ArenaColumbus, Ohio   Hanson L 3–4 OT 2,775 2–2–0
October 16 3:05 PM at Ohio State* Value City ArenaColumbus, Ohio   Hanson L 0–3  2,446 2–3–0
October 26 7:00 PM at #20 Northeastern Matthews ArenaBoston, Massachusetts NESN Hanson W 5–3  2,006 3–3–0 (2–1–0)
October 30 6:00 PM at Dartmouth* Thompson ArenaHanover, New Hampshire   Hanson W 4–1  1,027 4–3–0
November 5 7:30 PM at Maine Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine   Hanson W 4–3  3,790 5–3–0 (3–1–0)
November 6 7:00 PM at Maine Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine   Hanson W 3–2 OT 3,781 6–3–0 (4–1–0)
November 12 7:05 PM #16 Boston College XL CenterHartford, Connecticut   Hanson L 1–2  5,694 6–4–0 (4–2–0)
November 13 7:00 PM at #12 Providence Schneider ArenaProvidence, Rhode Island   Hanson L 4–6  2,572 6–5–0 (4–3–0)
November 20 6:05 PM at #15 Massachusetts Lowell Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts NESN Hanson L 0–3  5,025 6–6–0 (4–4–0)
November 21 3:35 PM at #15 Massachusetts Lowell XL CenterHartford, Connecticut   Hanson W 2–1  3,066 7–6–0 (5–4–0)
November 27 7:00 PM Colgate* XL CenterHartford, Connecticut   Hanson W 6–1  3,134 8–6–0
January 2 7:00 PM at #19 Harvard* Bright-Landry Hockey CenterBoston, Massachusetts   Hanson L 6–3  250 8–7–0
January 8 4:00 PM at #18 Boston College Conte ForumChestnut Hill, Massachusetts NESN+ Hanson W 5–4  3,524 9–7–0 (6–4–0)
January 11 7:05 PM at American International* MassMutual CenterSpringfield, Massachusetts   Terness L 1–3  207 9–8–0
January 14 7:05 PM Boston University XL CenterHartford, Connecticut   Hanson L 1–2 OT 3,596 9–9–0 (6–5–0)
January 21 7:05 PM New Hampshire XL CenterHartford, Connecticut   Hanson L 1–3  2,928 9–10–0 (6–6–0)
January 22 4:05 PM New Hampshire XL CenterHartford, Connecticut NESN+ Hanson W 3–2 OT 3,855 10–10–0 (7–6–0)
January 25 7:05 PM #19 Merrimack XL CenterHartford, Connecticut   Hanson W 3–2  2,429 11–10–0 (8–6–0)
Connecticut Ice
January 29 3:30 PM vs. Yale* Webster Bank ArenaBridgeport, Connecticut (Connecticut Ice semifinal) SNY Hanson W 5–1  0 12–10–0
January 30 4:30 PM vs. #2 Quinnipiac* Webster Bank ArenaBridgeport, Connecticut (Connecticut Ice championship) SNY Hanson L 0–2  0 12–11–0
February 4 7:05 PM #17 Providence XL CenterHartford, Connecticut NESN+ Hanson W 2–1  3,647 13–11–0 (9–6–0)
February 5 7:30 PM at New Hampshire Whittemore CenterDurham, New Hampshire   Hanson W 6–1  5,574 14–11–0 (10–6–0)
February 8 7:00 PM at Merrimack J. Thom Lawler RinkNorth Andover, Massachusetts   Hanson W 6–2  1,953 15–11–0 (11–6–0)
February 11 7:05 PM at Boston College Conte ForumChestnut Hill, Massachusetts NESN+ Hanson W 6–4  3,024 16–11–0 (12–6–0)
February 18 7:05 PM #10 Massachusetts #20 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut   Hanson L 1–2  4,358 16–12–0 (12–7–0)
February 19 7:00 PM at #10 Massachusetts #20 Mullins CenterAmherst, Massachusetts NESN+ Hanson W 4–2  5,036 17–12–0 (13–7–0)
February 25 7:05 PM #15 Northeastern #19т XL CenterHartford, Connecticut NESN+ Hanson L 1–3  1,422 17–13–0 (13–8–0)
February 26 3:05 PM at #15 Northeastern #19т Matthews ArenaBoston, Massachusetts   Hanson L 2–5  3,942 17–14–0 (13–9–0)
March 4 7:05 PM Vermont XL CenterHartford, Connecticut   Hanson L 3–5  3,157 17–15–0 (13–10–0)
March 5 3:05 PM Vermont XL CenterHartford, Connecticut   Hanson W 4–0  3,182 18–15–0 (14–10–0)
Hockey East Tournament
March 12 7:00 PM #16 Boston University* XL CenterHartford, Connecticut (Quarterfinal)   Hanson W 3–1  3,416 19–15–0
March 18 4:00 PM vs. #10 Northeastern* #19 TD GardenBoston, Massachusetts (Semifinal) NESN Hanson W 4–1  13,106 20–15–0
March 19 7:00 PM vs. #11 Massachusetts* #19 TD GardenBoston, Massachusetts (Championship) NESN Hanson L 1–2 OT 12,049 20–16–0
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[4]

Scoring statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Jáchym Kondelík C 36 12 21 33 16
Ryan Tverberg C/RW 36 14 18 32 16
Vladislav Firstov LW 35 12 11 23 18
Marc Gatcomb F 36 8 13 21 14
Hudson Schandor C 28 5 13 18 12
John Spetz D 36 4 14 18 14
Artem Shlaine C 36 7 10 17 6
Kevin O'Neil RW 36 6 10 16 16
Carter Turnbull RW 36 11 4 15 22
Jonny Evans F 34 6 9 15 14
Harrison Rees D 36 3 10 13 10
Nick Capone RW 31 4 7 11 28
Jake Flynn D 31 2 8 10 12
Chase Bradley C/LW 29 4 5 9 14
Carter Berger D 35 1 7 8 16
Jarrod Gourley D 35 3 4 7 14
Roman Kinal D 36 3 4 7 24
Ryan Wheeler D 36 2 4 6 6
Jake Veilleux D/F 16 1 2 3 0
Sasha Teleguine F 20 1 2 3 4
Darion Hanson G 35 0 2 2 0
John Wojciechowski C 14 0 1 1 0
Aidan Metcalfe D 1 0 0 0 0
Logan Terness G 1 0 0 0 0
Cassidy Bowes LW 11 0 0 0 2
Bench - - - - - 6
Total 109 179 288 284

[5]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Darion Hanson 35 2092 20 15 0 78 932 1 .923 2.24
Logan Terness 1 58 0 1 0 3 28 0 .903 3.08
Empty Net - 24 - - - 8 - - - -
Total 36 2174 20 16 0 97 960 1 .915 2.46

Rankings

[edit]
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 20 19 NR NR 19 19 - 19
USA Today NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.[6]

Awards and honors

[edit]
Player Award Ref
Ryan Tverberg AHCA East Second Team All-American [7]
Jáchym Kondelík Hockey East Best Defensive Forward [8]
Ryan Tverberg Hockey East First Team [9]
Jáchym Kondelík Hockey East Second Team [9]
John Spetz Hockey East All-Tournament Team
Vladislav Firstov

Players drafted into the NHL

[edit]
Round Pick Player NHL team
6 170 Jake Richard Buffalo Sabres
6 172 Joey Muldowney San Jose Sharks

† incoming freshman [10]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "UConn Moving Forward to Build New On-Campus Ice Hockey Rink" (Press release). UConn Huskies. April 28, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "Massachusetts Picked to Top Hockey East Men's League". Hockey East. September 27, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  3. ^ "2020-21 Roster". University of Connecticut. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  4. ^ "UConn 2021-22 Team Schedule". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  5. ^ "Univ. of Connecticut 2021-2022 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "Four players return to 2021-22 Division I men's All-American teams, led by three-time pick Dryden McKay". USCHO.com. April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  8. ^ "Bobby Trivigno Named Hockey East Player of the Year". Hockey East. March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Hockey East Names 2021-22 Men's All-Star Teams". Hockey East. March 11, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  10. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2022 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 9, 2022.