2022–23 UMass Minutemen ice hockey season

In the offseason, Garrett Wait suffered a potentially career-ending knee injury during a workout. He was medically disqualified from playing during the 2022–23 season.[1] Beside Wait, the Minumemen would have to deal with the loss of several key players as their leaders on offense (Bobby Trivigno), defense (Matthew Kessel) and in goal (Matt Murray) all had to be replaced. Coach Carvel brought in a talent-laden recruiting class to do just that with 4 freshmen who were already NHL draft picks as well as two drafted transfers. UMass was ranked highly entering the season, making the top 10 in both polls and was picked to finish 3rd in Hockey East.[2]

Early on, everything looked to be going well for the Minutemen. After an iffy start, the team swept the defending national champions, Denver, and were undefeated through their first 6 games. An overtime loss to Merrimack dented their record slightly but by the beginning of November, UMass was in the top-5 and seemingly well on their way to another NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, once the team got into conference play, the defense began to falter. Massachusetts was unable to provide its netminders with much support, allowing more than 34 shots against per game. The increased opportunities turned into goals and, despite having a nearly identical save percentage, the Minutemen allowed 15 more goals against in 2 fewer games. While those numbers weren't disastrous by themselves, the team had also declined on the offensive side. None of the team's players were able to make up for the loss of its top three forwards and just one player was able to get into double-digit goal totals. The team scored 23 fewer goals than the year before, putting them at a -38 goal differential.

Despite the trouble, UMass recovered during the holidays and held a winning record in early January. At the Frozen Fenway, the team began a 6-game losing streak and dropped out of the polls for the first time in years. They were able to recover to finish out the final 8 games at a .500 clip. The Minutemen had done so poorly in their conference games that the team finished 9th in the standings and were forced to start in the first round. They faced Boston College in a battle between two disappointing teams. UMass hardly put up a fight, getting outshot 18–42 and ending its season with a 2–5 loss.

As of August 6, 2022.[3]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Luke Pavicich	Sophomore	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2002-03-21	Clarence Center, New York	Kenai River (NAHL)	—
3		Mikey Adamson	Freshman	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-08-16	Quincy, Massachusetts	Sioux City (USHL)	—
4		Kennedy O'Connor	Freshman	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2001-05-10	Springfield, Massachusetts	Omaha (USHL)	—
5		Linden Alger	Junior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2000-04-09	Centerville, Massachusetts	Youngstown (USHL)	—
6		Ryan Ufko	Sophomore	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2003-05-07	Smithtown, New York	Chicago (USHL)	NSH, 115th overall 2021
7		Cal Kiefiuk	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-02-28	Macomb, Michigan	Central Illinois (USHL)	—
9		Matt Koopman	Graduate	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1998-05-01	Marblehead, Massachusetts	Providence (HEA)	—
10		Cole O'Hara	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	2002-06-20	Richmond Hill, Ontario	Tri-City (USHL)	NSH, 114th overall 2022
11		Lucas Mercuri	Sophomore	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2002-03-07	Montreal, Quebec	Des Moines (USHL)	CAR, 159th overall 2020
12		Garrett Wait	Graduate	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1998-06-13	Edina, Minnesota	Minnesota (Big Ten)	—
13		Reed Lebster (A)	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	1999-03-04	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Des Moines (USHL)	—
14		Ryan Lautenbach	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-02-27	Brighton, Michigan	Omaha (USHL)	—
17		Kenny Connors	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2003-03-10	Glen Mills, Pennsylvania	Dubuque (USHL)	LAK, 103rd overall 2022
18		Taylor Makar	Sophomore	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2001-03-13	Calgary, Alberta	Brooks (AJHL)	COL, 220th overall 2021
19		Ryan Sullivan	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-03-07	Grosse Pointe, Michigan	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
20		Josh Nodler	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-04-27	Oak Park, Michigan	Michigan State (Big Ten)	CGY, 150th overall 2019
21		Noah Ellis	Freshman	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2002-02-01	Urbandale, Iowa	Muskegon (USHL)	VGK, 184th overall 2020
22		Jerry Harding (A)	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1999-03-22	Canton, Massachusetts	Providence (HEA)	—
23		Scott Morrow	Sophomore	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2002-11-01	Darien, Connecticut	Shattuck-St. Mary's (Midget AAA)	CAR, 40th overall 2021
24		Elliott McDermott	Junior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	1999-02-03	Kingston, Ontario	Colgate (ECAC)	—
25		Aaron Bohlinger	Junior	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2000-08-25	Walden, New York	Waterloo (USHL)	—
26		Owen Murray	Freshman	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2002-12-01	Decker, Manitoba	Green Bay (USHL)	—
27		Michael Cameron	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	2002-07-24	Berwyn, Pennsylvania	Omaha (USHL)	—
28		Eric Faith (C)	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	1998-04-18	Carp, Ontario	Brockville (CCHL)	—
29		Eric DeDobbelaer	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2000-06-15	Brantford, Ontario	Brantford (OJHL)	—
32		Henry Graham	Junior	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2000-07-25	Manhattan, New York	P. A. L. (NCDC)	—
34		Cole Brady	Junior	G	6' 5" (1.96 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2001-02-12	Pickering, Ontario	Arizona State (NCAA)	NJD, 127th overall 2019
40		Tyson Dyck	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2004-02-06	Abbotsford, British Columbia	Cranbrook (BCHL)	OTT, 206th overall 2022

[5]

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[6]