# 2021–22 Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey season was the 66th season of play for the program, the 49th at the Division I level, and the 17th season in the Hockey East conference. The Catamounts represented the University of Vermont and were coached by Todd Woodcroft, in his 2nd season.

## Season

After a mercifully abbreviated season the year before, Vermont's rebuild under Woodcroft continued with a slow start. The Catamounts' offense was woefully inadequate for most of the season with the team able to score more than 3 goals on only three occasions. Surprisingly, the first of those happened against #9 Boston College. While time would later diminish that achievement due to a poor season from the Eagles, it was still Vermont's first victory over their conference rivals in six years. Unfortunately, the Catamounts had to wait almost a month for their second win. It was only a winning weekend against Maine that kept Vermont out of the conference cellar, though only by a hair's breadth.
During the winter break, Dovar Tinling left the team and signed with the Des Moines Buccaneers. Because it was a junior club, Tinling remained eligible for Division I college hockey.
The Catamounts did only marginally better in the second half of the season, recording five more wins to bring their season's total up to eight. The defense played admirably in front of both Gabe Carriere and Tyler Harmon, limiting the opposition to less than 30 shots per game. The offense, however, didn't improve and neither goaltender received much help in that respect.
When Vermont entered the postseason, they were a severe underdog against Providence. Though they did well to keep the score close against the Friars, the Catamounts were more than doubled in shots and scored their only marker of the game on the power play after Carriere had been pulled for an extra attacker.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Matt Beck | Goaltender | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Simon Boyko | Forward | Canada | Transferred to Aurora |
| Mickey Burns | Forward | United States | Transferred to Mercyhurst |
| Ace Cowans | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Kalix UHC) |
| Vladislav Dzhioshvili | Forward | Russia | Graduation (signed with HK 36 Skalica) |
| Alex Esposito | Forward | United States | Graduate transfer to Providence |
| Christian Evers | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Rapid City Rush) |
| Owen Grant | Defenseman | Canada | Graduation (retired) |
| Conner Hutchison | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Sacred Heart |
| Jordan Kaplan | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Utica Comets) |
| Bryce Misley | Forward | Canada | Graduation (signed with Iowa Wild) |
| Tristan Mullin | Forward | Canada | Graduation (signed with Cleveland Monsters) |
| Whim Stålberg | Forward | Sweden | Transferred to Plymouth State |
| Cory Thomas | Defenseman | Canada | Graduate transfer to Canisius |
| Dovar Tinling | Forward | Canada | Returned to juniors mid-season (Des Moines Buccaneers) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Cory Babichuk | Defenseman | Canada | 23 | Edmonton, AB; transfer from Rensselaer |
| Andrei Buyalsky | Forward | Kazakhstan | 21 | Karaganda, KAZ; selected 92nd overall in 2021 |
| Cole Hudson | Goaltender | United States | 21 | Tonawanda, NY |
| Simon Jellúš | Forward | Slovakia | 20 | Ilava, SVK |
| Philip Lagunov | Forward | Canada | 22 | Hamilton, ON; graduate transfer from Massachusetts |
| Joe Leahy | Defenseman | Canada | 24 | Waterloo, ON; transfer from Cornell |
| Joel Määttä | Forward | Finland | 19 | Helsinki, FIN |
| Luke Mountain | Forward | United States | 21 | Woodbury, MN |
| Luca Münzenberger | Defenseman | Germany | 18 | Düsseldorf, GER; selected 90th overall in 2021 |
| Porter Schachle | Forward | United States | 20 | Wasilla, AK |
| Timofei Spitserov | Forward | Russia | 19 | St. Petersburg, RUS |
| Robbie Stucker | Defenseman | United States | 23 | Saint Paul, MN; transfer from Minnesota; selected 210th overall in 2017 |
| Jesper Tarkiainen | Forward | Finland | 20 | Naperville, IL |
| Isak Walther | Forward | Sweden | 20 | Södertälje, SWE; selected 179th overall in 2019 |

## Roster

As of September 28, 2021.

## Standings

2021–22 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 | SOW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #12 Northeastern † | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 47 | 68 | 46 | 39 | 25 | 13 | 1 | 99 | 68 |
| #10 Massachusetts * | 24 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 46 | 77 | 54 | 37 | 22 | 13 | 2 | 117 | 88 |
| #13 Massachusetts Lowell | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 62 | 48 | 35 | 21 | 11 | 3 | 102 | 74 |
| #19 Connecticut | 24 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 73 | 61 | 36 | 20 | 16 | 0 | 109 | 89 |
| Boston University | 24 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 69 | 58 | 35 | 19 | 13 | 3 | 107 | 89 |
| Merrimack | 24 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 70 | 70 | 35 | 19 | 15 | 1 | 109 | 99 |
| #20 Providence | 24 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 61 | 52 | 38 | 22 | 14 | 2 | 118 | 82 |
| Boston College | 24 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 67 | 77 | 38 | 15 | 18 | 5 | 114 | 123 |
| New Hampshire | 24 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 47 | 71 | 34 | 14 | 19 | 1 | 76 | 95 |
| Vermont | 24 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 41 | 72 | 35 | 8 | 25 | 2 | 59 | 101 |
| Maine | 24 | 5 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 54 | 80 | 33 | 7 | 22 | 4 | 74 | 111 |
| Championship: March 19, 2022 † indicates regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll ||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| October 2 | 7:35 PM | Mercyhurst* | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont (Exhibition) | | | W 4–2 | 0 | |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 8 | 7:00 PM | Colgate* | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Carriere | L 3–5 | 2,705 | 0–1–0 |
| October 9 | 7:00 PM | Colgate* | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Harmon | L 1–2 | 2,728 | 0–2–0 |
| October 16 | 7:00 PM | #8 Quinnipiac* | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Harmon | L 0–2 | 3,037 | 0–3–0 |
| October 23 | 7:00 PM | Rensselaer* | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Harmon | L 1–2 | 2,882 | 0–4–0 |
| October 29 | 7:05 PM | #9 Boston College | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Carriere | W 5–4 $^{OT}$ | 2,770 | 1–4–0 (1–0–0) |
| October 30 | 7:05 PM | #9 Boston College | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Harmon | L 2–3 | 2,928 | 1–5–0 (1–1–0) |
| November 12 | 7:00 PM | at New Hampshire | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | NESN | Harmon | L 1–2 | 3,537 | 1–6–0 (1–2–0) |
| November 13 | 7:00 PM | at New Hampshire | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Carriere | T 3–3 $^{SOW}$ | 3,606 | 1–6–1 (1–2–1) |
| November 19 | 7:35 PM | #12 Providence | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Harmon | L 3–4 | 2,421 | 1–7–1 (1–3–1) |
| November 20 | 7:05 PM | #12 Providence | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Carriere | L 0–2 | 2,421 | 1–8–1 (1–4–1) |
| November 24 | 7:00 PM | at Yale* | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Carriere | L 2–4 | 1,100 | 1–9–1 |
| November 28 | 4:00 PM | at Dartmouth* | Thompson Arena • Hanover, New Hampshire | NESN+ | Carriere | W 3–2 | 1,551 | 2–9–1 |
| December 3 | 7:30 PM | at Maine | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | NESN+ | Carriere | W 1–0 | 3,059 | 3–9–1 (2–4–1) |
| December 4 | 7:00 PM | at Maine | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | | Carriere | T 1–1 $^{SOW}$ | 3,435 | 3–9–2 (2–4–2) |
| December 10 | 7:05 PM | #15 Massachusetts Lowell | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Carriere | L 0–3 | 2,796 | 3–10–2 (2–5–2) |
| December 11 | 7:05 PM | #15 Massachusetts Lowell | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Harmon | L 1–2 | 2,862 | 3–11–2 (2–6–2) |
| December 30 | 2:00 PM | at Rensselaer* | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Carriere | L 2–3 | 2,195 | 3–12–2 |
| January 4 | 7:05 PM | at Holy Cross* | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | | Harmon | L 3–4 | 483 | 3–13–2 |
| January 18 | 5:30 PM | at #12 Northeastern | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Carriere | L 0–4 | 2,307 | 3–14–2 (2–7–2) |
| January 21 | 7:00 PM | at Boston University | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | NESN+ | Carriere | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 3,191 | 4–14–2 (3–7–2) |
| January 22 | 4:00 PM | at Boston University | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Carriere | L 0–4 | 3,294 | 4–15–2 (3–8–2) |
| January 28 | 7:05 PM | Alaska* | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Carriere | W 2–0 | 2,810 | 5–15–2 |
| January 29 | 7:05 PM | Alaska* | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Carriere | L 0–3 | 2,827 | 5–16–2 |
| February 4 | 7:00 PM | at #16 Northeastern | Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | NESN | Carriere | L 4–5 | 1,339 | 5–17–2 (3–9–2) |
| February 5 | 7:00 PM | at #17 Providence | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | NESN | Harmon | L 1–4 | 2,834 | 5–18–2 (3–10–2) |
| February 11 | 7:00 PM | New Hampshire | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Harmon | W 3–0 | 2,672 | 6–18–2 (4–10–2) |
| February 13 | 1:00 PM | Merrimack | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Harmon | L 1–4 | 2,158 | 6–19–2 (4–11–2) |
| February 18 | 7:00 PM | at Merrimack | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Carriere | L 2–3 | 1,873 | 6–20–2 (4–12–2) |
| February 19 | 7:30 PM | at Merrimack | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Carriere | L 2–3 | 1,689 | 6–21–2 (4–13–2) |
| February 25 | 7:00 PM | #10 Massachusetts | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Carriere | L 1–5 | 2,304 | 6–22–2 (4–14–2) |
| February 26 | 7:00 PM | #10 Massachusetts | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Carriere | L 2–8 | 2,380 | 6–23–2 (4–15–2) |
| March 1 | 5:30 PM | at #13 Northeastern | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Harmon | W 1–0 | 2,295 | 7–23–2 (5–15–2) |
| March 4 | 7:05 PM | at Connecticut | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut | | Harmon | W 5–3 | 3,157 | 8–23–2 (6–15–2) |
| March 5 | 3:05 PM | at Connecticut | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut | | Carriere | L 0–4 | 3,182 | 8–24–2 (6–16–2) |
| Hockey East Tournament ||||||||||
| March 10 | 7:00 PM | at #20 Providence* | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island (Opening Round) | NESN | Carriere | L 1–2 | 1,095 | 8–25–2 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Philip Lagunov | C | 35 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 10 |
| Jacques Bouquot | C/LW | 35 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 12 |
| Robbie Stucker | D | 34 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 12 |
| Andrew Lucas | D/F | 34 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 8 |
| William Lemay | F | 35 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 2 |
| Will Zapernick | C/RW | 32 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 12 |
| Simon Jellus | C/LW | 32 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 14 |
| Joseph Leahy | D | 27 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Cory Babichuk | D | 22 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| Isak Walther | C/W | 35 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Carter Long | D | 29 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 |
| Porter Schachle | F | 27 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| Joel Määttä | C | 32 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 16 |
| Raimonds Vitolins | F | 32 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 23 |
| Cody Schiavon | D | 27 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Timofey Spitserov | RW | 22 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Dallas Comeau | F | 21 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Luca Münzenberger | D | 32 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 45 |
| Nic Hamre | LW | 31 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Luke Mountain | F | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Dovar Tinling | C//LW | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Jesper Tarkiainen | RW | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Noah Jordan | RW | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Cole Hudson | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrei Buyalsky | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Andrew Petrillo | D | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Azzaro Tinling | RW | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Tyler Harmon | G | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Gabe Carriere | G | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | | | 58 | 102 | 160 | 251 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Tyler Harmon | 16 | 781 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 34 | 333 | 1 | .903 | 2.61 |
| Gabe Carriere | 24 | 1251 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 60 | 572 | 3 | .909 | 2.88 |
| Cole Hudson | 2 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | .905 | 3.47 |
| Empty Net | - | 36 | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 35 | 2121 | 8 | 25 | 2 | 101 | 919 | 4 | .901 | 2.86 |

## 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 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 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.

## Players drafted into the NHL
### 2022 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
| 5 | 133 | Alex Bump$^†$ | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 7 | 195 | Eli Barnett$^†$ | San Jose Sharks |
| 7 | 222 | Joel Määttä | Edmonton Oilers |
† incoming freshman