2021–22 UConn Huskies men's ice hockey season

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.

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 »

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

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

Player Position Nationality Cause
Kale HowarthForward CanadaSigned professional contract (Rockford IceHogs)
Adam KarashikDefenseman United StatesGraduate transfer to Notre Dame
Yan KuznetsovDefenseman RussiaSigned professional contract (Calgary Flames)
Eric LinellForward United StatesTransferred to Bentley
Brian RigaliForward United StatesGraduate transfer to American International
Zac RobbinsForward United StatesGraduation (signed with Utah Grizzlies)
Bradley StoneGoaltender United KingdomGraduation (retired)
Tomáš VomáčkaGoaltender Czech RepublicSigned professional contract (Nashville Predators)

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Chase BradleyForward United States19St. Louis, MO; selected 203rd overall in 2020
Jarrod GourleyDefenseman Canada22Calgary, AB; transfer from Arizona State
Aidan MetcalfeDefenseman United States21Palos Verdes, CA
Kevin O'NeilForward United States23Latham, NY; graduate transfer from Yale
Sasha TeleguineForward United States19North Attleborough, MA
Logan TernessGoaltender Canada19Burnaby, BC
Jake VeilleuxDefenseman/Forward United States21South Windsor, CT

Roster

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

Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SOW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#12 Northeastern24158111147684639251319968
#10 Massachusetts *241482231467754372213211788
#13 Massachusetts Lowell241581101466248352111310274
#19 Connecticut2414100210417361362016010989
Boston University241383320416958351913310789
Merrimack2413110130417070351915110999
#20 Providence2412111111386152382214211882
Boston College2491230113267773815185114123
New Hampshire24815122025477134141917695
Vermont24616231220417235825259101
Maine24517223119548033722474111
Championship: March 19, 2022
† indicates regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

DateTimeOpponent#Rank#SiteTVDecisionResultAttendanceRecord
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, MassachusettsNESN 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, MassachusettsNESN 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, MassachusettsNESN+ 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, ConnecticutNESN+ 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, ConnecticutNESN+ 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, MassachusettsNESN+ 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, MassachusettsNESN+ Hanson W 4–2  5,036 17–12–0 (13–7–0)
February 25 7:05 PM #15 Northeastern #19т XL CenterHartford, ConnecticutNESN+ 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

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Jáchym KondelíkC3612213316
Ryan TverbergC/RW3614183216
Vladislav FirstovLW3512112318
Marc GatcombF368132114
Hudson SchandorC285131812
John SpetzD364141814
Artem ShlaineC36710176
Kevin O'NeilRW366101616
Carter TurnbullRW361141522
Jonny EvansF34691514
Harrison ReesD363101310
Nick CaponeRW31471128
Jake FlynnD31281012
Chase BradleyC/LW2945914
Carter BergerD3517816
Jarrod GourleyD3534714
Roman KinalD3634724
Ryan WheelerD362466
Jake VeilleuxD/F161230
Sasha TeleguineF201234
Darion HansonG350220
John WojciechowskiC140110
Aidan MetcalfeD10000
Logan TernessG10000
Cassidy BowesLW110002
Bench-----6
Total109179288284

[5]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Darion Hanson35209220150789321.9232.24
Logan Terness1580103280.9033.08
Empty Net-24---8----
Total36217420160979601.9152.46

Rankings

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

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

2022 NHL Entry Draft

Round Pick Player NHL team
6170Jake RichardBuffalo Sabres
6172Joey MuldowneySan Jose Sharks

† incoming freshman [10]

References

  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. "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.
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