# 2021–22 Big Ten Conference ice hockey season

The 2021–22 Big Ten Conference ice hockey season was the 32nd season of play for the Big Ten Conference's men's ice hockey division and will take place during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The regular season is set to begin on October 2, 2021, and conclude on February 26, 2022. The conference tournament is scheduled to begin in early March, 2022.

## Coaches
### Records

| Team | Head coach | Season at school | Record at school | Big Ten record |
| Michigan | Mel Pearson | 5 | 68–55–15 | 41–39–10 |
| Michigan State | Danton Cole | 5 | 46–78–11 | 30–55–9 |
| Minnesota | Bob Motzko | 4 | 58–37–11 | 36–24–10 |
| Notre Dame | Jeff Jackson | 17 | 348–219–66 | 49–36–9 |
| Ohio State | Steve Rohlik | 9 | 140–114–34 | 66–67–17 |
| Penn State | Guy Gadowsky | 11 | 155–132–23 | 72–83–14 |
| Wisconsin | Tony Granato | 6 | 82–82–13 | 53–52–11 |

## Standings

2021–22 Big Ten ice hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | 3/SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #5 Minnesota † | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 90 | 50 | 39 | 26 | 13 | 0 | 138 | 91 |
| #2 Michigan * | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 51 | 91 | 59 | 42 | 31 | 10 | 1 | 167 | 94 |
| #9 Notre Dame | 24 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 74 | 55 | 40 | 28 | 12 | 0 | 122 | 75 |
| #16 Ohio State | 24 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 76 | 59 | 37 | 22 | 13 | 2 | 125 | 87 |
| Penn State | 24 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 63 | 92 | 38 | 17 | 20 | 1 | 117 | 122 |
| Wisconsin | 24 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 53 | 96 | 37 | 10 | 24 | 3 | 76 | 132 |
| Michigan State | 24 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 51 | 87 | 36 | 12 | 23 | 1 | 76 | 119 |
| Championship: March 19, 2022 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated April 7, 2022 |||||||||||||||||||

## Non-Conference record

Of the sixteen teams that are selected to participate in the NCAA tournament, ten will be via at-large bids. Those 10 teams are determined based upon the PairWise rankings. The rankings take into account all games played but are heavily affected by intra-conference results. The result is that teams from leagues which perform better in non-conference are much more likely to receive at-large bids even if they possess inferior records overall.
As a conference, the Big Ten had a tremendous non-conference season. Only one of the seven league members (Wisconsin) had a losing record in non-league games. Four teams had at least an 80% winning percentage. On the whole, only one conference possessed a winning record against the Big Ten (NCHC), however, they did so by only one victory.

### Regular season record

| Team | Atlantic Hockey | CCHA | ECAC Hockey | Hockey East | Independent | NCHC | Total |
| Michigan | 2–0–0 | 3–0–1 | 0–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 2–1–0 | 9–1–1 |
| Michigan State | 1–1–0 | 3–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–1 | 0–0–0 | 2–1–0 | 6–3–1 |
| Minnesota | 2–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 2–4–0 | 5–5–0 |
| Notre Dame | 4–2–0 | 2–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 8–2–0 |
| Ohio State | 2–2–0 | 2–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 8–2–0 |
| Penn State | 3–1–0 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 9–1–0 |
| Wisconsin | 2–0–0 | 0–2–0 | 1–1–1 | 0–0–1 | 0–0–0 | 0–2–0 | 3–5–1 |
| Overall | 16–6–0 | 12–2–1 | 2–1–1 | 5–1–2 | 6–1–0 | 7–8–0 | 48–19–4 |

## Statistics
### Leading scorers

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Class | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Matty Beniers | Sophomore | Michigan | 20 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 10 |
| Ben Meyers | Junior | Minnesota | 19 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 4 |
| Luke Hughes | Freshman | Michigan | 24 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 10 |
| Jackson LaCombe | Junior | Minnesota | 24 | 1 | 21 | 22 | 6 |
| Matthew Knies | Freshman | Minnesota | 18 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 4 |
| Georgii Merkulov | Freshman | Ohio State | 23 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 8 |
| Mackie Samoskevich | Freshman | Michigan | 24 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 6 |
| Jake Wise | Senior | Ohio State | 24 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 0 |
| Owen Power | Sophomore | Michigan | 16 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 4 |
| Thomas Bordeleau | Sophomore | Michigan | 22 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 14 |

### Leading goaltenders

Minimum 1/3 of team's minutes played in conference games.
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Class | Team | GP | Min | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| Justen Close | Junior | Minnesota | 15 | 750 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 2 | .938 | 1.68 |
| Matthew Galajda | Graduate | Notre Dame | 14 | 728 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 1 | .926 | 2.06 |
| Erik Portillo | Sophomore | Michigan | 24 | 1403 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 54 | 2 | .924 | 2.31 |
| Ryan Bischel | Junior | Notre Dame | 16 | 716 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 1 | .921 | 2.34 |
| Jakub Dobeš | Freshman | Ohio State | 24 | 1299 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 53 | 1 | .928 | 2.45 |

## Conference tournament

| Quarterfinals March 4–6 | Quarterfinals March 4–6 | Quarterfinals March 4–6 | Quarterfinals March 4–6 | Quarterfinals March 4–6 | Semifinals March 12 | Semifinals March 12 | Semifinals March 12 | Championship March 19 | Championship March 19 | Championship March 19 |
| | | | | | 1 | Minnesota | 3 | | | |
| | | | | | 5 | Penn State | 2 | | | |
| 2 | Michigan | 4 | 8 | — | 5 | Penn State | 2 | | | |
| 7 | Michigan State | 1 | 0 | — | | | | | | |
| 7 | Michigan State | 1 | 0 | — | | | | 1 | Minnesota | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | 2 | Michigan | 4 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | 2 | Michigan | 4 |
| 6 | Wisconsin | 3 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Wisconsin | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Michigan | 2 | | | |
| | | | | | 3 | Notre Dame | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Ohio State | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | Notre Dame | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Penn State | 3 | 3 | 2 | | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime periods. Note: * denotes overtime periods.

## Ranking
### USCHO

| Team | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Final |
| Michigan | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Michigan State | 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 |
| Minnesota | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Notre Dame | 18 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Ohio State | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Penn State | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 16 | 19 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Wisconsin | 11 | 13 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |

### USA Today

| Team | 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 | Final |
| Michigan | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Michigan State | 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 |
| Minnesota | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Notre Dame | NR | NR | NR | 12 | NR | NR | 15 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Ohio State | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 14 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 15 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 15 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Penn State | 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 |
| Wisconsin | 12 | 14 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |

### Pairwise

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | Final |
| Michigan | 14 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Michigan State | 14 | 37 | 5 | 25 | 16 | 21 | 23 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 24 | 29 | 31 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 35 | 33 | 37 | 37 | 35 |
| Minnesota | 14 | 25 | 22 | 23 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Notre Dame | 14 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 20 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 8 |
| Ohio State | 14 | 30 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Penn State | 4 | 7 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 23 | 28 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Wisconsin | 14 | 49 | 9 | 37 | 23 | 23 | 31 | 36 | 41 | 40 | 38 | 37 | 38 | 33 | 37 | 39 | 35 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 34 | 35 | 37 |
Note: teams ranked in the top-10 automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament. Teams ranked 11-16 can qualify based upon conference tournament results.

## Awards
### NCAA

AHCA All-American Teams :
| West First Team | Position | Team |
| Matty Beniers | F | Michigan |
| West Second Team | Position | Team |
| Luke Hughes | D | Michigan |
| Owen Power | D | Michigan |
| Ben Meyers | F | Minnesota |

### Big Ten

| Award | Award | Recipient |
| Player of the Year | Player of the Year | Ben Meyers, Minnesota |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Brock Faber, Minnesota |
| Goaltender of the Year | Goaltender of the Year | Jakub Dobeš, Ohio State |
| Freshman of the Year | Jakub Dobeš, Ohio State |
| Freshman of the Year | Luke Hughes, Michigan |
| Scoring Champion | Scoring Champion | Matty Beniers, Michigan |
| Coach of the Year | Coach of the Year | Bob Motzko, Minnesota |
| Tournament Most Outstanding Player | Tournament Most Outstanding Player | Erik Portillo, Michigan |
| All-Big Ten Teams |||
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
| Jakub Dobeš, Ohio State | G | Erik Portillo, Michigan |
| Owen Power, Michigan | D | Luke Hughes, Michigan |
| Brock Faber, Minnesota | D | Jackson LaCombe, Minnesota |
| Matty Beniers, Michigan | F | Brendan Brisson, Michigan |
| Ben Meyers, Minnesota | F | Matthew Knies, Minnesota |
| Georgii Merkulov, Ohio State | F | Max Ellis, Notre Dame |
| Freshman Team | Position | |
| Jakub Dobeš, Ohio State | G | |
| Luke Hughes, Michigan | D | |
| Mason Lohrei, Ohio State | D | |
| Matthew Knies, Minnesota | F | |
| Georgii Merkulov, Ohio State | F | |
| Mackie Samoskevich, Michigan | F | |

### Big Ten tournament

Tournament MOP :
| Erik Portillo | Erik Portillo | Michigan |
| All-Tournament Team |||
| Player | Pos | Team |
| Erik Portillo | G | Michigan |
| Jackson LaCombe | D | Minnesota |
| Luke Hughes | D | Michigan |
| Mackie Samoskevich | F | Michigan |
| Brendan Brisson | F | Michigan |
| Matty Beniers | F | Michigan |

## 2022 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | College | NHL team |
| 1 | 3 | Logan Cooley$^†$ | Minnesota | Arizona Coyotes |
| 1 | 13 | Frank Nazar$^†$ | Michigan | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 1 | 14 | Rutger McGroarty$^†$ | Michigan | Winnipeg Jets |
| 1 | 23 | Jimmy Snuggerud$^†$ | Minnesota | St. Louis Blues |
| 1 | 25 | Sam Rinzel$^†$ | Minnesota | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 2 | 37 | Ryan Chesley$^†$ | Minnesota | Washington Capitals |
| 2 | 46 | Seamus Casey$^†$ | Michigan | New Jersey Devils |
| 3 | 78 | Quinn Finley$^†$ | Wisconsin | New York Islanders |
| 4 | 100 | Tyson Jugnauth$^†$ | Wisconsin | Seattle Kraken |
| 4 | 104 | Stephen Halliday$^†$ | Ohio State | Ottawa Senators |
| 4 | 124 | Cruz Lucius$^†$ | Wisconsin | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 6 | 180 | Jack Sparkes$^†$ | Michigan State | Los Angeles Kings |
| 6 | 192 | Connor Kurth$^†$ | Minnesota | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 7 | 201 | Owen Mehlenbacher$^†$ | Wisconsin | Detroit Red Wings |
| 7 | 212 | Brennan Ali$^†$ | Notre Dame | Detroit Red Wings |
| 7 | 213 | David Gucciardi | Michigan State | Washington Capitals |
† incoming freshman