2022–23 UConn Huskies men's ice hockey season

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2022–23 UConn Huskies
men's ice hockey season
Conference4th Hockey East
Home iceXL Center
Toscano Family Ice Forum
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall20–12–3
Conference13–9–2
Home13–4–2
Road6–6–1
Neutral1–2–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachMike Cavanaugh
Assistant coachesJoe Pereira
Tyler Helton
Vince Stalletti
Joe Ferriss
Will Moran
Captain(s)Roman Kinal
Alternate captain(s)Jake Flynn
Hudson Schandor
UConn Huskies men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

The 2022–23 UConn Huskies men's ice hockey season was the 63rd season of play for the program, the 25th at the Division I level, and the 9th in Hockey East. The Huskies represented the University of Connecticut and were coached by Mike Cavanaugh, in his 10th season.

Season[edit]

After one of the best seasons in the history of the program, Mike Cavanaugh knew he would have a difficult time getting Connecticut to match the same level of success in 2023. With nearly half of the roster changing, UConn would need to replace not only its starting goaltender but three of its top four scorers as well. Logan Terness, who had played in just a single last year, would have to battle with freshman Arsenii Sergeev for the starting job. Both played well enough to make coach Cavanaugh's decision difficult and, in the end, he couldn't choose. The two netminders ended up sharing the goal crease and posted nearly identical numbers for the year.

On offense, several transfers were brought in but the team would see the biggest benefit from the freshman class. While returning All-American Ryan Tverberg led the team in goals, newcomer Matthew Wood was the Huskies' top scorer. The defense was a little more settled with four players returning, but did receive a boon with the addition of Andrew Lucas.

Despite the lack of familiarity between the players, Connecticut got off to the best start in program history, going undefeated through its first 7 games. The goaltending rotation seemed to work perfectly and staked the program to a huge lead in both the rankings and the conference standings. UConn's streak was ended by Boston University in late November but the Huskies then went another 5 games without a loss to raise their record to 9–1–3.

Around mid-November, Connecticut had risen up to #3 in the national rankings and were firing on all cylinders. The team appeared destined to make the first NCAA tournament in program history and were averaging 3.5 goals for per game while allowing slightly more than 2 against. However, after Thanksgiving, the team's fortunes began to change. Heading into the winter break, the team's goal differential reversed and the Huskies backed into their vacation with a 2–4 stretch. Their postseason chances weren't impacted too badly, since all of their opponents in those games were ranked in or just outside the top-20, but the Huskied would have to play better in the second half if they wanted to keep their head above water.

In the meantime, the University had finished building the first on-campus facility for the program and team was able debut their new rink early in January. While they weren't able to provide the home crowd with a win, the match at the Toscano Family Ice Forum was played before a sellout crowd, as were the rest of the home games that year.[1]

Unfortunately, inconsistent play continued to plague the team in the second half of the season. UConn began alternating wins and losses and, though they finished the second half above .500, several factor caused their playoff hopes to diminish. UConn's schedule in the balk half of their season was far less arduous that the first part, playing just 1 game against a ranked opponent. Any losses to unranked teams were harmful to the Huskies' ranking but being swept by New Hampshire, who was in the bottom third nationally, was particularly damaging. Worse, Hockey East as a whole saw its ranking decrease as the season went on. This caused several teams to fall out of contention for the postseason and hurt Connecticut by lowering the quality of their early-season victories.

The end result was that, by the end of the regular season, UConn was outside of the NCAA tournament picture despite being 9 games above .500.[2] While the new wasn't good, Connecticut was close enough to the cutoff line that they could win their way back into contention. The Huskies entered postseason play at #18 in the PairWise rankings. They were within striking distance of the lowest possible at-large position (#15), and could conceivably make the NCAA tournament without winning a Hockey East championship. UConn received a bye into the quarterfinal round which was both a blessing and a curse. Because they didn't play in the opening round, the team wouldn't receive credit for a potential win there, however, they also didn't risk the possibility of losing early. In any event, Connecticut served as host to Massachusetts Lowell in the quarterfinals and found themselves down early. UConn allowed two goals in the first and entered the second trailing by a pair. The team attacked the Lowell cage for the rest of the game, outshooting the River Hawks 28–5 over the final 40 minutes, but they couldn't solve Grigals. It wasn't until the Huskies pulled Sergeev that they were finally able to get on the board. Unfortunately, UConn was unable to get the tying goal in the final 89 seconds and saw their once bright hopes extinguished.[3]

Departures[edit]

Player Position Nationality Cause
Carter Berger Defenseman  Canada Transferred to Western Michigan
Cassidy Bowes Forward  Canada Left program (retired)
Jonny Evans Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Vladislav Firstov Forward  Russia Signed professional contract (Minnesota Wild)
Marc Gatcomb Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Abbotsford Canucks)
Jarrod Gourley Defenseman  Canada Graduation (signed with Adirondack Thunder)
Darion Hanson Goaltender  United States Graduation (signed with Reading Royals)
Jáchym Kondelík Forward  Germany Graduation (signed with Nashville Predators)
Kevin O'Neil Forward  United States Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Gavin Puskar Forward  United States Transferred to Brown
Artem Shlaine Forward  Russia Transferred to Northern Michigan
Sasha Teleguine Forward  United States Returned to juniors (Chilliwack Chiefs)
Carter Turnbull Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Ryan Wheeler Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Iowa Heartlanders)
John Wojciechowski Forward  United States Graduation (retired)

Recruiting[edit]

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Ty Amonte Forward  Canada 24 Norwell, MA; graduate transfer from Boston University
Jake Black Forward  United States 20 Pomfret, CT
Mark D'Agostino Forward  United States 21 North Branford, CT
Adam Dawe Forward  Canada 23 Gander, NL; graduate transfer from Maine
Tristan Fraser Forward  Canada 20 West Vancouver, BC
Tabor Heaslip Forward  United States 20 Fort Worth, TX
Huston Karpman Forward  United States 21 Manhattan Beach, CA
Andrew Lucas Forward/Defenseman  United States 23 Alexandria, VA; transfer from Vermont
Thomas Messineo Defenseman  United States 20 Westwood, MA
Jack Pascucci Defenseman  United States 20 North Andover, MA
Justin Pearson Forward  Canada 24 Nashua, NH; graduate transfer from Yale
Jake Percival Forward  United States 20 Avon, CT
Samu Salminen Forward  Finland 19 Helsinki, FIN; selected 68th overall in 2021
Arsenii Sergeev Goaltender  Russia 19 Yaroslavl, RUS; selected 205th overall in 2021
Ryan Tattle Forward  Canada 21 Port Moody, BC
Matthew Wood Forward  Canada 17 Lethbridge, AB

Roster[edit]

As of September 12, 2022.[4]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Texas Ryan Keane Senior G 5' 9" (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1998-03-15 Lewisville, Texas Jamestown (NAHL)
2 Massachusetts Jack Pascucci Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-02-15 North Andover, Massachusetts Des Moines (USHL)
4 Michigan Roman Kinal (C) Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-07-20 Waterford, Michigan Dubuque (USHL)
5 California Aidan Metcalfe Sophomore D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 2000-01-24 Palos Verdes, California Shreveport (NAHL)
6 Virginia Andrew Lucas Junior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1999-02-05 Alexandria, Virginia Vermont (HEA)
7 California Huston Karpman Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-02-07 Manhattan Beach, California Minot (NAHL)
9 British Columbia Ryan Tattle Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-09-07 Port Moody, British Columbia Coquitlam (BCHL)
10 British Columbia Tristan Fraser Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-11-13 West Vancouver, British Columbia Nanaimo (BCHL)
11 Massachusetts Ty Amonte Graduate F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-01-11 Humarock, Massachusetts Boston University (HEA)
12 New Hampshire Justin Pearson Graduate F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1998-05-17 Nashua, New Hampshire Yale (ECAC)
13 Finland Samu Salminen Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-04-09 Helsinki, Finland Jokerit U20 (U20 SM-sarja) NJD, 68th overall 2021
15 Massachusetts Thomas Messineo Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-05-02 Westwood, Massachusetts Chilliwack (BCHL)
16 Massachusetts Jake Flynn (A) Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-05-26 Bridgewater, Massachusetts Thayer (USHS–MA)
17 Connecticut Jake Percival Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-02-11 Avon, Connecticut Cedar Rapids (USHL)
18 New Jersey John Spetz Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-12-01 Oak Ridge, New Jersey Chicago (USHL)
19 Connecticut Jake Black Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-03-05 Pomfret, Connecticut Johnstown (NAHL)
20 Missouri Chase Bradley Sophomore 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 Junior 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 (A) Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2000-09-29 North Vancouver, British Columbia Surrey (BCHL)
23 Texas Tabor Heaslip Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-12-17 Frisco, Texas Sioux City (USHL)
24 Connecticut Mark D'Agostino Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-05-06 North Branford, Connecticut Powell River (BCHL)
27 Ontario Harrison Rees Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-03-19 Mississauga, Ontario North York (OJHL)
28 Ontario Ryan Tverberg Junior 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 Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-01-19 South Windsor, Connecticut Victoria (BCHL)
30 Russia Arsenii Sergeev Freshman G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-12-16 Yaroslavl, Russia Tri-City (USHL) CGY, 205th overall 2021
31 Massachusetts Matt Pasquale Junior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-10-06 North Reading, Massachusetts Northeast (NAHL)
34 Newfoundland and Labrador Adam Dawe Graduate F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-01-18 Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador Maine (HEA)
35 British Columbia Logan Terness Sophomore G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-09-18 Burnaby, British Columbia Trail (BCHL)
71 Alberta Matthew Wood Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2005-02-06 Lethbridge, Alberta Victoria (BCHL)

Standings[edit]

Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#4 Boston University †* 24 18 6 0 2 2 0 54 99 62 40 29 11 0 154 106
#14 Merrimack 24 16 8 0 2 4 0 50 72 52 38 23 14 1 106 89
#16 Northeastern 24 14 7 3 0 2 2 49 78 45 35 17 13 5 107 82
Connecticut 24 13 9 2 4 2 2 41 78 71 35 20 12 3 113 96
Massachusetts Lowell 24 11 10 3 2 2 3 39 56 54 36 18 15 3 89 82
Maine 24 9 11 4 1 1 1 32 62 65 36 15 16 5 92 94
Providence 24 9 9 6 3 0 2 32 64 60 37 16 14 7 103 87
Boston College 24 8 11 5 0 0 1 30 70 73 36 14 16 6 104 104
Massachusetts 24 7 14 3 1 3 2 28 55 80 35 13 17 5 94 103
New Hampshire 24 6 15 3 2 2 2 23 44 76 35 11 20 3 74 105
Vermont 24 5 16 3 2 1 1 18 36 76 36 11 20 5 69 103
Championship: March 18, 2023
† 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 1 7:00 PM at Vermont Gutterson FieldhouseBurlington, Vermont ESPN+ Terness W 4–1  3,095 1–0–0 (1–0–0)
October 2 4:00 PM at Vermont Gutterson FieldhouseBurlington, Vermont ESPN+ Sergeev W 3–1  1,918 2–0–0 (2–0–0)
October 7 7:05 PM Union* #20 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Terness W 4–1  2,584 3–0–0
October 8 4:05 PM Union* #20 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Sergeev W 4–3 OT 2,442 4–0–0
October 14 7:05 PM #11 Ohio State* #17 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Terness T 0–0 OT 2,850 4–0–1
October 15 4:05 PM #11 Ohio State* #17 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Sergeev W 6–1  2,735 5–0–1
October 21 7:00 PM at #9 Boston University #14 Agganis ArenaBoston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Terness W 4–3 OT 2,735 6–0–1 (3–0–0)
October 22 7:00 PM at #9 Boston University #14 Agganis ArenaBoston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Sergeev L 2–5  4,864 6–1–1 (3–1–0)
October 27 7:05 PM Boston College #10 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Terness W 5–1  3,031 7–1–1 (4–1–0)
November 4 7:05 PM Maine #8 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Terness W 3–2 OT 3,020 8–1–1 (5–1–0)
November 5 4:05 PM Maine #8 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Sergeev W 3–2  2,993 9–1–1 (6–1–0)
November 11 7:00 PM at #9 Providence #7 Schneider ArenaProvidence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Terness T 1–1 SOW 3,310 9–1–2 (6–1–1)
November 12 3:05 PM #9 Providence #7 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Sergeev T 6–6 SOW - 9–1–3 (6–1–2)
November 18 7:15 PM at #13 Massachusetts Lowell #7 Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Terness L 2–3 OT 4,806 9–2–3 (6–2–2)
November 19 3:35 PM #13 Massachusetts Lowell #7 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Sergeev W 4–2  3,665 10–2–3 (7–2–2)
November 26 8:00 PM vs. Cornell* #6 Madison Square GardenManhattan, New York (The Frozen Apple) ESPN+ Terness L 0–6  12,247 10–3–3
November 29 7:00 PM at #12 Merrimack #8 J. Thom Lawler RinkNorth Andover, Massachusetts ESPN+ Sergeev W 3–1  2,857 11–3–3 (8–2–2)
December 2 7:05 PM #12 Merrimack #8 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Terness L 3–7  3,846 11–4–3 (8–3–2)
December 11 2:05 PM #7 Boston University #8 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Sergeev L 2–3  4,560 11–5–3 (8–4–2)
December 29 7:00 PM at Long Island* #10 Northwell Health Ice CenterEast Meadow, New York ESPN+ Sergeev W 2–1 OT 707 12–5–3
December 31 1:05 PM Long Island* #10 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Terness W 5–3  4,647 13–5–3
January 7 2:30 PM vs. Northeastern #9 Fenway ParkBoston, Massachusetts (Frozen Fenway) NESN, ESPN+ Sergeev L 1–4  - 13–6–3 (8–5–2)
January 14 7:05 PM Northeastern #11 Toscano Family Ice ForumStorrs, Connecticut ESPN+ Terness L 3–4  2,691 13–7–3 (8–6–2)
January 20 7:00 PM at Massachusetts #13 Mullins CenterAmherst, Massachusetts NESN+, ESPN+ Sergeev W 4–3 OT 3,411 14–7–3 (9–6–2)
January 21 4:35 PM Massachusetts #13 Toscano Family Ice ForumStorrs, Connecticut ESPN+ Terness W 3–1  2,691 15–7–3 (10–6–2)
Connecticut Hockey Tournament
January 27 4:00 PM vs. Yale* #12 M&T Bank ArenaHamden, Connecticut (Connecticut Ice Semifinal)   Sergeev W 6–1  3,625 16–7–3
January 28 7:30 PM at #3 Quinnipiac* #12 M&T Bank ArenaHamden, Connecticut (Connecticut Ice Championship)   Sergeev L 3–4  - 16–8–3
February 3 7:00 PM Northeastern #14 Matthews ArenaBoston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Terness W 4–3 OT 3,021 17–8–3 (11–6–2)
February 10 7:00 PM at New Hampshire #13 Whittemore CenterDurham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Terness L 1–4  4,528 17–9–3 (11–7–2)
February 11 4:00 PM at New Hampshire #13 Whittemore CenterDurham, New Hampshire NESN, ESPN+ Sergeev L 2–3 OT 4,845 17–10–3 (11–8–2)
February 23 7:05 PM Alaska Anchorage* #16 Toscano Family Ice ForumStorrs, Connecticut ESPN+ Terness W 4–3 OT 2,691 18–10–3
February 25 7:05 PM New Hampshire #16 Toscano Family Ice ForumStorrs, Connecticut ESPN+ Sergeev W 6–1  2,691 19–10–3 (12–8–2)
March 3 7:00 PM at Boston College #17 Conte ForumChestnut Hill, Massachusetts NESN, ESPN+ Terness L 3–5  4,559 19–11–3 (12–9–2)
March 4 4:05 PM Boston College #17 Toscano Family Ice ForumStorrs, Connecticut ESPN+ Sergeev W 6–5  2,691 20–11–3 (13–9–2)
Hockey East Tournament
March 11 4:00 PM Massachusetts Lowell* #19 Toscano Family Ice ForumStorrs, Connecticut (Quarterfinal) NESN+, ESPN+ Sergeev L 1–2  2,691 20–12–3
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[5]

Scoring statistics[edit]

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Matthew Wood C//LW 35 11 23 34 4
Hudson Schandor C 35 11 21 32 8
Ryan Tverberg C/RW 35 15 15 30 34
Justin Pearson F 35 13 14 27 29
Andrew Lucas D/F 35 2 22 24 6
Chase Bradley C/LW 35 10 10 20 61
Nick Capone RW 35 9 9 18 34
Samu Salminen C/LW 27 9 8 17 14
Jake Flynn D 35 4 10 14 12
Jake Percival F 34 6 6 12 9
John Spetz D 35 2 10 12 12
Ty Amonte RW 30 6 5 11 10
Tristan Fraser F 34 4 5 9 16
Harrison Rees D 35 2 7 9 14
Roman Kinal D 35 2 5 7 42
Tom Messineo D 35 0 7 7 6
Tabor Heaslip F 35 2 4 6 4
Jake Veilleux D/F 32 3 2 5 2
Jake Black F 9 1 2 3 0
Adam Dawe C/RW 16 1 0 1 8
Ryan Tattle F 13 0 1 1 10
Huston Karpman F 6 0 0 0 17
Jack Pascucci D 7 0 0 0 4
Logan Terness G 18 0 0 0 0
Arsenii Sergeev G 19 0 0 0 2
Total 113 185 298 358

[6]

Goaltending statistics[edit]

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Logan Terness 18 1018:45 9 6 1 43 451 1 .913 2.53
Arsenii Sergeev 19 1104:18 11 6 1 48 498 0 .912 2.61
Empty Net - 14:59 - - - 5 - - - -
Total 35 2138:02 20 16 0 96 949 1 .908 2.69

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 26 27 (Final)
USCHO.com NR - 20 17 14 10 8 (1) 7 (2) 7 6 8 8 10 - 9 11 13 12 14 13 14 16 17 19 NR NR - NR
USA Today NR NR NR 17 13 10 8 8 8 6 8 8 10 10 10 11 16 12 14 14 17 17 18 19 NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[7]

Awards and honors[edit]

Player Award Ref
Hudson Schandor Len Ceglarski Award [8]
Ryan Tverberg Hockey East First Team [9]
Matthew Wood Hockey East Rookie Team [10]

Players drafted into the NHL[edit]

2023 NHL Entry Draft[edit]

Round Pick Player NHL team
1 15 Matthew Wood Nashville Predators

† incoming freshman [11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "An inside look at UConn's new hockey arena". December 22, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  2. ^ "Men's Division I PairWise Rankings". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  3. ^ "SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 11, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "2022-23 Roster". University of Connecticut. Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  5. ^ "UConn 2022-23 Team Schedule". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  6. ^ "Univ. of Connecticut 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  7. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "Boston University's Hutson named to Hockey East all-rookie team, claims conference scoring crown, three stars award". USCHO. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  9. ^ "HOCKEY EAST NAMES 2022-23 MEN'S ALL-STAR TEAMS". Hockey East. March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  10. ^ "HOCKEY EAST NAMES 2022-23 PRO AMBITIONS ALL-ROOKIE TEAM". Hockey East. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  11. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 30, 2023.