# 2021–22 Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey season was the 46th season of play for the program and the 24th season in the CCHA conference. The Wildcats represented Northern Michigan University and were coached by Grant Potulny, in his 5th season.

## Season

Northern Michigan joined with six other members of the WCHA to restart the CCHA for the 2021–22 season. They opened their season with a weekend sweep but then ran into trouble with a 5-game losing skid. While the offense was able to produce, the Wildcats did not receive adequate goaltending from Rico DiMatteo. Come November, however, the results began to improve and Northern Michigan rose a high-octane offense to a winning record. The team's attack was led by Hank Crone and A. J. Vanderbeck, both of whom would finish among the national scoring leaders. The best performance on the season came in early December when NMU took on then-#1 Minnesota Duluth and swept both games. While the Bulldogs were forced to use their third string goalie due to illness and injury, putting up 5 goals in both games against one of the nation's top defenses was still impressive. The victories also garnered Northern Michigan with their first ranking of the season and set the team up as a possible surprise for the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, the Wildcats ended the first half of their year getting swept by Lake Superior State and immediately dropping out of the polls.
The second half of the season began well for the Wildcats and when the team split a weekend with Minnesota State they reentered the top-20. After a week off, the team was again stymied by the Lakers and kicked out of the rankings. More importantly, however, was that DiMatteo's play in net had become so inconsistent that the team turned to freshman Charlie Glockner. The new starter immediately provided a boost in goal and the team tried to make a bid for a home site in the postseason, but their 1–3 record versus Lake Superior ultimately left them in the 5th position.
The Wildcats had to travel to Sault Ste. Marie to take on their long-time rival but their powerful offense, which had carried them to victory so often during the season, gave Northern Michigan the edge. After splitting the first two games, NMU found itself down 1–3 mid-way through the deciding game but then went on a rampage in the Lakers' zone. In exactly 8 minutes of game time, Northern Michigan scored four goals and took a commanding 5–3 lead. Glockner was able to hold off Lake Superior for most of the third and give the Wildcats a date in the conference semifinal. There they found Minnesota State waiting for them but the Mavericks were looking for revenge. NMU had downed Minnesota State in the semis the year before and MSU was going to make sure there was no repeat. Northern Michigan was completely swamped, getting outshot 21–34 and outscored 1–8. While the end of their season wasn't pretty, the team had been able to provide some stunning highlights during the year.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Noah Ganske | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Wisconsin–River Falls |
| John Hawthorne | Goaltender | United States | Transferred to Canisius |
| Grant Johnson | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Griffin Loughran | Forward | United States | Transferred to Michigan State |
| James Miller | Defenseman | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Mason Palmer | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Augsburg |
| Ty Readman | Forward | Canada | Transferred to Wisconsin–Eau Claire |
| John Roberts | Goaltender | United States | Transferred to St. Norbert |
| Connor Ryckman | Goaltender | Canada | Graduation (retired) |
| Brandon Schultz | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Toledo Walleye) |
| Hank Sorensen | Defenseman | United States | Signed professional contract (South Carolina Stingrays) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Trevor Cosgrove | Defenseman | United States | 24 | Exeter, NH; graduate transfer from Colgate |
| Hank Crone | Forward | United States | 23 | Dallas, TX; transfer from Denver |
| Hampus Eriksson | Forward | Sweden | 25 | Gävle, SWE; graduate transfer from Lake Superior State |
| Reilly Funk | Forward | Canada | 20 | Portage, MB |
| Charlie Glockner | Goaltender | United States | 21 | Minnetonka, MN |
| Oscar Geschwind | Forward | Sweden | 20 | Karlstad, SWE |
| Bo Hanson | Defenseman | United States | 23 | Boise, ID; graduate transfer from Denver |
| Jakob Peterson | Forward | United States | 19 | Marquette, MI; joined mid-season |

## Roster

As of September 6, 2021.

## Standings

2021–22 Central Collegiate Hockey Association 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 |
| #2 Minnesota State †* | 26 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 115 | 28 | 44 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 178 | 60 |
| #14 Michigan Tech | 26 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 54 | 93 | 53 | 37 | 21 | 13 | 3 | 118 | 75 |
| Bemidji State | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 83 | 81 | 39 | 19 | 20 | 0 | 118 | 121 |
| Lake Superior State | 26 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 69 | 64 | 37 | 18 | 18 | 1 | 107 | 104 |
| Northern Michigan | 26 | 12 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 86 | 99 | 37 | 20 | 16 | 1 | 132 | 136 |
| Bowling Green | 26 | 11 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 67 | 87 | 37 | 15 | 19 | 3 | 94 | 119 |
| Ferris State | 26 | 9 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 66 | 99 | 36 | 11 | 24 | 1 | 90 | 135 |
| St. Thomas | 26 | 3 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 45 | 112 | 36 | 3 | 32 | 1 | 61 | 168 |
| Championship: March 19, 2022 † indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll ||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| October 2 | 3:04 PM | at Michigan Tech* | | MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, Michigan (Exhibition) | | | T 4–4 | | |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 8 | 6:37 PM | St. Thomas | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | W 4–1 | 2,532 | 1–0–0 (1–0–0) |
| October 9 | 6:37 PM | St. Thomas | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | W 8–3 | 3,080 | 2–0–0 (2–0–0) |
| October 15 | 6:37 PM | USNTDP* | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan (Exhibition) | | | L 3–5 | | |
| October 16 | 6:37 PM | #17 Notre Dame* | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | L 2–5 | 3,754 | 2–1–0 |
| October 22 | 6:37 PM | #19 Bemidji State | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | Kent | L 4–5 | 2,684 | 2–2–0 (2–1–0) |
| October 23 | 6:37 PM | #19 Bemidji State | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | L 3–4 | 2,975 | 2–3–0 (2–2–0) |
| October 29 | 8:07 PM | at #3 Minnesota State | | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota | | DiMatteo | L 2–4 | 3,952 | 2–4–0 (2–3–0) |
| October 30 | 7:07 PM | at #3 Minnesota State | | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota | | DiMatteo | L 0–7 | 4,004 | 2–5–0 (2–4–0) |
| November 5 | 6:37 PM | Boston University* | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | W 5–3 | 3,650 | 3–5–0 |
| November 6 | 6:37 PM | Boston University* | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | W 6–2 | 3,219 | 4–5–0 |
| November 12 | 7:07 PM | at Michigan Tech | | MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, Michigan (Rivalry) | Fox UP | DiMatteo | L 2–5 | 4,460 | 4–6–0 (2–5–0) |
| November 13 | 6:37 PM | Michigan Tech | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan (Rivalry) | Fox UP | DiMatteo | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 3,847 | 5–6–0 (3–5–0) |
| November 19 | 7:07 PM | at Ferris State | | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan | | DiMatteo | W 6–3 | 1,097 | 6–6–0 (4–5–0) |
| November 20 | 6:07 PM | at Ferris State | | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan | | DiMatteo | W 7–6 $^{OT}$ | 1,589 | 7–6–0 (5–5–0) |
| November 26 | 6:37 PM | Bowling Green | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | W 6–3 | 2,053 | 8–6–0 (6–5–0) |
| November 27 | 6:37 PM | Bowling Green | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | T 3–3 $^{SOW}$ | 2,107 | 8–6–1 (6–5–1) |
| December 3 | 6:37 PM | #1 Minnesota Duluth* | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | W 5–4 | 2,960 | 9–6–1 |
| December 4 | 6:37 PM | #1 Minnesota Duluth* | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | W 5–2 | 3,414 | 10–6–1 |
| December 10 | 7:07 PM | at Lake Superior State | #19 | Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan | | DiMatteo | L 2–7 | 500 | 10–7–1 (6–6–1) |
| December 11 | 6:07 PM | at Lake Superior State | #19 | Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan | | DiMatteo | L 1–4 | 790 | 10–8–1 (6–7–1) |
| January 7 | 6:37 PM | Colgate* | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | W 4–2 | 1,832 | 11–8–1 |
| January 8 | 6:37 PM | Colgate* | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | W 6–3 | 2,227 | 12–8–1 |
| January 14 | 6:37 PM | #1 Minnesota State | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | W 4–2 | 2,284 | 13–8–1 (7–7–1) |
| January 15 | 6:37 PM | #1 Minnesota State | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | Glockner | L 1–4 | 2,897 | 13–9–1 (7–8–1) |
| January 28 | 7:07 PM | Lake Superior State | #20 | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | DiMatteo | L 1–6 | 2,288 | 13–10–1 (7–9–1) |
| January 29 | 6:07 PM | Lake Superior State | #20 | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | Glockner | W 2–1 | 2,564 | 14–10–1 (8–9–1) |
| February 1 | 6:07 PM | at #15 Michigan Tech | | MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, Michigan (Rivalry) | Fox UP | Glockner | L 1–5 | 2,744 | 14–11–1 (8–10–1) |
| February 4 | 8:07 PM | at Bemidji State | | Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota | | Glockner | W 2–1 | 2,557 | 15–11–1 (9–10–1) |
| February 5 | 7:07 PM | at Bemidji State | | Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota | | Kent | L 3–5 | 2,120 | 15–12–1 (9–11–1) |
| February 8 | 6:37 PM | #14 Michigan Tech | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan (Rivalry) | Fox UP | Kent | L 1–8 | 3,964 | 15–13–1 (9–12–1) |
| February 18 | 7:07 PM | at Bowling Green | | Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio | | Glockner | W 6–3 | 2,611 | 16–13–1 (10–12–1) |
| February 19 | 7:07 PM | at Bowling Green | | Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio | | Glockner | W 4–2 | 3,734 | 17–13–1 (11–12–1) |
| February 25 | 6:37 PM | Ferris State | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | Glockner | W 7–1 | 2,114 | 18–13–1 (12–12–1) |
| February 26 | 6:37 PM | Ferris State | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | Glockner | L 2–4 | 2,556 | 18–14–1 (12–13–1) |
| CCHA Tournament ||||||||||
| March 4 | 6:07 PM | at Lake Superior State* | | Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (Quarterfinal game 1) | | Glockner | W 5–1 | 1,050 | 19–14–1 |
| March 5 | 6:07 PM | at Lake Superior State* | | Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (Quarterfinal game 2) | | Glockner | L 2–3 | 1,100 | 19–15–1 |
| March 6 | 6:07 PM | at Lake Superior State* | | Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (Quarterfinal game 3) | | Glockner | W 5–4 | 850 | 20–15–1 |
| Northern Michigan Won Series 2–1 ||||||||||
| March 12 | 5:07 PM | at #1 Minnesota State* | | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota (Semifinal) | | Glockner | L 1–8 | 4,492 | 20–16–1 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Hank Crone | LW | 32 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 22 |
| A. J. Vanderbeck | F | 36 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 18 |
| André Ghantous | RW | 37 | 10 | 26 | 36 | 57 |
| Trevor Cosgrove | D | 37 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 26 |
| Mikey Colella | F | 37 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 10 |
| Ben Newhouse | D | 37 | 5 | 22 | 27 | 4 |
| David Keefer | RW | 36 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 18 |
| Hampus Eriksson | C/W | 33 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 18 |
| Alex Frye | C | 33 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 31 |
| Vincent De Mey | F | 35 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 12 |
| Joseph Nardi | LW | 21 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 2 |
| Bo Hanson | D | 36 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 29 |
| Mack Byers | LW | 26 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 17 |
| Rylan Van Unen | F | 18 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 31 |
| Oscar Geschwind | C | 15 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Garrett Klee | F | 33 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
| Tanner Vescio | D | 35 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 26 |
| Connor Marritt | F | 29 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Mike Van Unen | D | 32 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 49 |
| Brett Willits | C | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Tim Erkkila | D | 19 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Rico DiMatteo | G | 22 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Jett Jungels | F | 25 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 17 |
| Tyrell Boucher | D | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Reilly Funk | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Colby Enns | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nolan Kent | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ian Malcolmson | F | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jakob Peterson | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Charlie Glockner | G | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | | | 131 | 221 | 352 | 423 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Charlie Glockner | 18 | 862 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 45 | 388 | 0 | .896 | 3.13 |
| Rico DiMatteo | 22 | 1172 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 68 | 536 | 0 | .887 | 3.48 |
| Nolan Kent | 6 | 179 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 64 | 0 | .790 | 5.68 |
| Empty Net | - | 17 | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 37 | 2230 | 20 | 16 | 1 | 136 | 988 | 0 | .879 | 3.66 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 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 | 19 | NR | NR | NR | 19 | 20 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | - | NR |
| 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.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| AJ Vanderbeck | CCHA Second Team | |
| Charlie Glockner | CCHA Rookie Team | |