# 2023–24 New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 New Hampshire Wildcats Men's ice hockey season was the 98th season of play for the program and the 40th in Hockey East. The Wildcats represented the University of New Hampshire, played their home games at the Whittemore Center and were coached by Mike Souza in his 6th season.

## Season

Hoping to continue their strong play from the end of the previous season, New Hampshire began the year with a tough slate by facing preseason #1 Boston University in the opener. Surprisingly, the Wildcats outscored the Terriers and planted their flag early in the year. UNH then earned a split with the defensing national champions, Quinnipiac, but not everything was looking good. Tyler Muszelik had been in goal for all three games and allowed 4 goals in each. Even so, the team was set to continue with the sophomore netminder in goal but he was knocked out of the lineup with a lower body injury in the third week of the season.
Transfer Jakob Hellsten took over in goal and the goaltending results improved immediately. Over the next four games, hardly allowed a goal, albeit against weaker opposition. Hellsten played so well that when Muszelik had recovered the two goalies had to share the crease. This situation only made the difference between the two more stark as Hellsten swiftly proved to be the better of the two. In the meantime, New Hampshire's offense continued to score at an impressive rate. The Wildcats scored at least 3 goals in eight of their first thirteen games and entered the break in a prime position to finally end their NCAA tournament drought.
After the winter break, Muszelik had the worst game of his career, allowing 5 goals on 13 shots against Army. While the Wildcats were good enough at the time to absorb the loss, it was the last real opportunity for Muszelik in goal and Hellsten would start all but one game for the rest of the season. The UNH defense did a good job insulating their goaltender as the Wildcats were the #3 team in the nation in shots allowed (23.5 per game). That assistance helped Hellsten's efforts to keep the puck out of the net, however, the Wildcats began experiencing other troubles.
The offense that had carried the team in the first half of the year suddenly found it difficult to score consistently. UNH squandered several chances to win games by failing to score and went .500 over their final 14 games. Though the team was not helped by that middling stretch, New Hampshire was saved due to the fact that the Hockey East was the top-ranked league in college hockey that year. Even with their up and down play, the Wildcats remained in the top-20 by season's end and still had a small chance at earning an at-large bid.
With UNH starting in the first round of the conference tournament, the team would need to at least make the semifinal round if not the conference championship game to make the tournament. As the 6th seed, the Wildcats opened against last-place Massachusetts Lowell. Hellsten set a new program record by posting his third consecutive shutout which, coincidentally, all came against the River Hawks. The offense was barely visible in the match but New Hampshire would have to hope that that was a one-off and the scoring would return in the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, the trend continued and their long-time rival Maine was more than happy to take advantage. The Wildcats only managed to muster 18 shots on goal and none of them found the back of the net. To make matters worse, UNH was whistled for five penalties in the game and the two power play goals from the Black Bears were more than enough to end New Hampshire's season.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Ryan Black | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Damien Carfagna | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Ohio State |
| Nico DeVita | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Ferris State |
| Jake Dunlap | Forward | United States | Transferred to Ohio State |
| Kalle Eriksson | Defenseman | Sweden | Graduation (signed with Almtuna IS) |
| David Fessenden | Goaltender | United States | Graduate transfer to Canisius |
| Joe Hankinson | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Will Margel | Forward | United States | Transferred to Mercyhurst |
| Cade Penney | Defenseman | Canada | Left program (retired) |
| Chase Stevenson | Forward | Canada | Graduation (retired) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Ryan Conmy | Forward | United States | 18 | Alexandria, VA; selected 182nd overall in 2023 |
| Brendan Fitzgerald | Defenseman | United States | 20 | North Reading, MA |
| Zach Hahn | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Huntington, NY |
| Jakob Hellsten | Goaltender | Sweden | 23 | Ljusdal, SWE; transfer from North Dakota |
| Marty Laviņš | Forward | Latvia | 20 | Riga, LAT |
| Luis Lindner | Defenseman/Forward | Austria | 22 | Spittal an der Drau, AUT; transfer from American International |
| Nick Ring | Forward | United States | 19 | Hingham, MA |
| Jason Siedem | Forward | United States | 20 | Madison, NJ |
| J. P. Turner | Forward | United States | 20 | East Falmouth, MA |
| Ronan Walsh | Forward | United States | 21 | Andover, NH |

## Roster

As of July 10, 2023.

## Standings

2023–24 Hockey East 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 | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #2 Boston College †* | 24 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 61 | 105 | 56 | 41 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 183 | 89 |
| #3 Boston University | 24 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 57 | 104 | 53 | 40 | 28 | 10 | 2 | 163 | 97 |
| #10 Maine | 24 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 76 | 67 | 37 | 23 | 12 | 2 | 119 | 94 |
| #16 Providence | 24 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 37 | 66 | 58 | 35 | 18 | 13 | 4 | 100 | 83 |
| #13 Massachusetts | 24 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 57 | 62 | 37 | 20 | 14 | 3 | 108 | 105 |
| #20 New Hampshire | 24 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 69 | 56 | 36 | 20 | 15 | 1 | 106 | 90 |
| Northeastern | 24 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 65 | 71 | 36 | 17 | 16 | 3 | 113 | 97 |
| Connecticut | 24 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 49 | 77 | 36 | 15 | 19 | 2 | 90 | 105 |
| Vermont | 24 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 26 | 52 | 81 | 35 | 13 | 19 | 3 | 87 | 106 |
| Merrimack | 24 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 62 | 85 | 35 | 13 | 21 | 1 | 98 | 114 |
| Massachusetts Lowell | 24 | 4 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 39 | 78 | 36 | 8 | 24 | 4 | 72 | 113 |
| Championship: March 23, 2024 † indicates regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy) Rankings: USCHO Division I Men's Poll ||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| October 7 | 5:00 pm | vs. Maine* | | Jack Kelley Rink • Waterville, Maine (Rivalry, Exhibition) | ESPN+ | Hellsten | L 2–3 | 1,452 | |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 13 | 7:00 pm | #1 Boston University | | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+, NESN | Muszelik | W 6–4 | 6,070 | 1–0–0 (1–0–0) |
| October 20 | 7:00 pm | #4 Quinnipiac* | | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+ | Muszelik | L 2–5 | 5,689 | 1–1–0 |
| October 21 | 7:00 pm | #4 Quinnipiac* | | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+, NESN | Muszelik | W 5–4 $^{OT}$ | 5,169 | 2–1–0 |
| October 26 | 7:00 pm | #18 Northeastern | | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+ | Hellsten | W 4–1 | 3,613 | 3–1–0 (2–0–0) |
| October 28 | 7:00 pm | Dartmouth* | | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire (Rivalry) | ESPN+ | Hellsten | W 3–1 | 4,258 | 4–1–0 |
| November 3 | 7:00 pm | #7 Providence | #15 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+ | Hellsten | T 1–1 $^{SOL}$ | 6,501 | 4–1–1 (2–0–1) |
| November 4 | 7:00 pm | at #7 Providence | #15 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | ESPN+ | Hellsten | L 0–2 | 2,850 | 4–2–1 (2–1–1) |
| November 17 | 7:00 pm | at Northeastern | #13 | Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Muszelik | W 4–2 | 2,612 | 5–2–1 (3–1–1) |
| November 18 | 7:00 pm | Northeastern | #13 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+ | Hellsten | W 4–0 | 6,010 | 6–2–1 (4–1–1) |
| November 24 | 7:00 pm | at #20 RIT* | #12 | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | FloHockey, NESN | Muszelik | L 4–5 | 2,365 | 6–3–1 |
| November 25 | 5:00 pm | at #20 RIT* | #12 | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | FloHockey, NESN | Hellsten | W 4–3 $^{OT}$ | 2,610 | 7–3–1 |
| December 1 | 7:00 pm | at #11 Maine | #15 | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine (Rivalry) | ESPN+ | Hellsten | L 2–5 | 5,043 | 7–4–1 (4–2–1) |
| December 9 | 4:00 pm | Rensselaer* | #16 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+ | Muszelik | W 1–0 | 5,299 | 8–4–1 |
| December 29 | 7:00 pm | at Army* | #16 | Tate Rink • West Point, New York | FloHockey | Muszelik | L 3–6 | 2,610 | 8–5–1 |
| December 30 | 7:00 pm | at Sacred Heart* | #16 | Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut | FloHockey | Hellsten | W 6–2 | 3,368 | 9–5–1 |
| January 5 | 7:00 pm | Princeton* | #17 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+ | Hellsten | W 5–2 | 4,190 | 10–5–1 |
| January 6 | 4:00 pm | Princeton* | #17 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+ | Hellsten | W 3–1 | 4,449 | 11–5–1 |
| January 13 | 6:00 pm | at #2 Boston University | #16 | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Hellsten | L 0–3 | 5,359 | 11–6–1 (4–3–1) |
| January 19 | 7:00 pm | at Connecticut | #17 | Toscano Family Ice Forum • Storrs, Connecticut | ESPN+, NESN | Hellsten | W 5–0 | 2,691 | 12–6–1 (5–3–1) |
| January 21 | 4:00 pm | Connecticut | #17 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+, NESN | Hellsten | L 1–2 | 5,482 | 12–7–1 (5–4–1) |
| January 26 | 7:00 pm | at Vermont | #17 | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | ESPN+ | Hellsten | L 1–2 | 2,604 | 12–8–1 (5–5–1) |
| January 27 | 7:00 pm | at Vermont | #17 | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | ESPN+ | Muszelik | W 6–3 | 3,150 | 13–8–1 (6–5–1) |
| February 2 | 7:00 pm | #3 Boston University | #18 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+ | Hellsten | L 3–6 | 6,501 | 13–9–1 (6–6–1) |
| February 3 | 7:00 pm | Merrimack | #18 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+ | Hellsten | W 3–1 | 5,080 | 14–9–1 (7–6–1) |
| February 9 | 7:00 pm | at #1 Boston College | #17 | Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Hellsten | L 1–6 | 6,608 | 14–10–1 (7–7–1) |
| February 10 | 7:00 pm | at Merrimack | #17 | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Hellsten | L 1–3 | 2,639 | 14–11–1 (7–8–1) |
| February 16 | 7:00 pm | #7 Maine | #19 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire (Rivalry) | ESPN+, NESN | Hellsten | W 6–2 | 6,501 | 15–11–1 (8–8–1) |
| February 17 | 7:00 pm | #7 Maine | #19 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire (Rivalry) | ESPN+ | Hellsten | W 5–2 | 6,501 | 16–11–1 (9–8–1) |
| February 23 | 7:00 pm | at #14 Massachusetts | #16 | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Hellsten | L 2–3 | 6,089 | 16–12–1 (9–9–1) |
| February 24 | 7:00 pm | #14 Massachusetts | #16 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+ | Hellsten | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 6,085 | 17–12–1 (10–9–1) |
| March 1 | 7:00 pm | #1 Boston College | #17 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+ | Hellsten | L 3–5 | 6,501 | 17–13–1 (10–10–1) |
| March 3 | 5:00 pm | at #1 Boston College | #17 | Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Hellsten | L 0–1 | 5,402 | 17–14–1 (10–11–1) |
| March 8 | 7:15 pm | at Massachusetts Lowell | #18 | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | ESPN+, NESN | Hellsten | W 4–0 | 4,986 | 18–14–1 (11–11–1) |
| March 9 | 7:00 pm | Massachusetts Lowell | #18 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | ESPN+, NESN | Hellsten | W 4–0 | 5,885 | 19–14–1 (12–11–1) |
| Hockey East Tournament ||||||||||
| March 13 | 7:00 pm | Massachusetts Lowell* | #17 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire (Opening Round) | ESPN+, NESN | Hellsten | W 1–0 | 4,032 | 20–14–1 |
| March 16 | 7:00 pm | at #8 Maine* | #17 | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine (Quarterfinal, Rivalry) | ESPN+ | Hellsten | L 0–5 | 5,043 | 20–15–1 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Ryan Conmy | RW | 34 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 14 |
| Cy LeClerc | F | 36 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 17 |
| Morgan Winters | F | 33 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 19 |
| Colton Huard | D | 36 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 16 |
| Liam Devlin | F | 28 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 37 |
| Robert Cronin | F | 33 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 14 |
| Luke Reid | D | 36 | 1 | 15 | 16 | 18 |
| Harrison Blaisdell | C | 32 | 11 | 3 | 14 | 24 |
| Stiven Sardarian | C/RW | 32 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 12 |
| Marty Laviņš | C | 35 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 6 |
| Alex Gagne | D | 36 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 24 |
| Kristaps Skrastiņš | C | 35 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 4 |
| Nick Cafarelli | F | 28 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 41 |
| J. P. Turner | C | 24 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 21 |
| Nick Ring | F | 34 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 6 |
| Luis Lindner | D/F | 36 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 2 |
| Nikolai Jenson | D | 35 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 |
| Jack Babbage | D | 15 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| Brendan Fitzgerald | D | 28 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 44 |
| Connor Sweeney | F | 32 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Cam Gendron | F | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Conor Lovett | F | 20 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Jason Siedem | F | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jeremy Forman | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Hahn | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyler Muszelik | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jakob Hellsten | G | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | | | 106 | 188 | 294 | 349 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Jakob Hellsten | 28 | 1675:11 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 57 | 570 | 5 | .909 | 2.04 |
| Tyler Muszelik | 8 | 478:27 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 187 | 1 | .874 | 3.38 |
| Empty Net | - | 21:04 | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 36 | 2174:57 | 20 | 15 | 1 | 90 | 757 | 6 | .894 | 2.48 |

## 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 | 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 | 26 (Final) |
| USCHO.com | NR | NR | NR | NR | 15 | 14т | 13 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 16 | – | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 19 | – | 20 |
| USA Hockey | NR | NR | NR | NR | 16 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | – | 16 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 or 25. Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| Alex Gagne | Hockey East Third Team | |