# 2023–24 St. Lawrence Saints men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 St. Lawrence Saints Men's ice hockey season was the 84th season of play for the program and the 63rd in ECAC Hockey. The Saints represented St. Lawrence University, played their home games at the Appleton Arena and were coached by Brent Brekke in his 5th season.

## Season

St. Lawrence was well-positioned entering the 2023-24 season, as almost the entire team returned from the previous year. The only real question was in goal, where grad transfer Ben Kraws was expected to take over the starting role. However, once the season started, it became apparent that the Larries had lost something; the defense was unable to shield their goaltender. Kraws played credibly in goal but he came under siege from a barrage of opposing chances. The Saints were allowing an average of more than 32 shots against per game, more than 5 over what they had the year before and one of the worst marks in the nation. Kraws played about as well as could be expected but, with the offense not providing much support the Larries won just three times in their first fourteen games.
After a poor showing in the first two months, St. Lawrence began to turn things around in December. Several good defensive performances in December and January allowed the Saints to win some of their conference games and climb into the middle of the standings. The Larries had an outside chance at earning a bye into the conference quarterfinals but a minor slump from the back end caused that opportunity to slip by the wayside. St. Lawrence stumbled to the finish, winning only two of their final ten games.
Even with the slide down the home stretch, the Larries were able to earn a home stand for the opening round of the postseason and opened against Yale. The defense did Kraws no favors, allowing 39 shots in the game, but stopped enough to allow the offense to carry the day in the final home game of the season. The next week sent the Larries to meet Colgate and, at times, the team looked completely outclassed. The Raiders ran over the Saints in the first period, outshooting St. Lawrence 17–3 but Kraws stood his ground. A strong second period gave the team a 2-goal lead but a regressing in the third saw Colgate tie the game and force overtime. Kraws was absolutely key in extra time, stopping 16 shots in over 27 minutes of play. His stellar goaltending allowed Luc Salem to fire a bouncing puck from the blueline through a maze of bodies for the winning goal. The rematch saw Colgate come storming out of the gate and completely dominate the first period once more. This time, the Larries fell down by a goal but, once more, a solid middle period saw St. Lawrence take a lead into the third. A power play goal by the Raiders tied the score but, just a few minutes afterwards, a goal from Jan Olenginski on a breakaway restored the lead for the Larries and they rode Kraws the rest of the way to victory.
In the semifinals, St. Lawrence faced Quinnipiac, the defending NCAA national champions. The Larries' defense limited the Bobcats to just 22 shots, which were all stopped by Ben Kraws. For the third consecutive game, St. Lawrence scored two in the second and that was more than enough to carry them to victory. With the Saints now just one win from the NCAA tournament, St. Lawrence entered the game with Cornell looking for a major upset. However, with the Big Red also fighting for their season, the Larries knew they would not have an easy challenge. The Saints played well but they were stymied by one of the best defensive teams in the nation. While Cornell was able to score in each period, St. Lawrence could only get a single marker in the third and saw their miracle run end just shy of a league championship and their first NCAA appearance since 2007.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Francis Boisvert | Goaltender | Canada | Graduate transfer to Robert Morris |
| Ashton Fry | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Tim Makowski | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Aleksi Peltonen | Forward | Finland | Graduation (signed with HC Davos) |
| Jordan Steinmetz | Forward | United States | Graduate transfer to Minnesota State |
| Emil Zetterquist | Goaltender | Sweden | Graduation (signed with Västerviks IK) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Ben Kraws | Goaltender | United States | 23 | Cranbury, NJ; graduate transfer from Arizona State |
| Mason Kucenski | Goaltender | United States | 21 | Gill, MA |
| Jake Lammens | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Norwalk, CT |
| Evan Mitchell | Defenseman | Canada | 21 | Kanata, ON |
| Jan Olenginski | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Philadelphia, PA |
| Cameron Smith | Goaltender | United States | 21 | Westchester, NY |
| Gunnar Thoreson | Forward | United States | 21 | Andover, MN |

## Roster

As of September 19, 2023.

## Standings

2023–24 ECAC 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 | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #6 Quinnipiac † | 22 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 99 | 39 | 39 | 27 | 10 | 2 | 160 | 79 |
| #9 Cornell * | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 44 | 74 | 45 | 35 | 22 | 7 | 6 | 115 | 65 |
| Colgate | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 43 | 85 | 68 | 36 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 120 | 112 |
| Dartmouth | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 37 | 66 | 60 | 32 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 92 | 91 |
| Clarkson | 22 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 36 | 62 | 58 | 35 | 18 | 16 | 1 | 95 | 97 |
| Union | 22 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 75 | 75 | 37 | 16 | 18 | 3 | 123 | 121 |
| St. Lawrence | 22 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 49 | 64 | 39 | 14 | 19 | 6 | 90 | 118 |
| Harvard | 22 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 49 | 64 | 32 | 7 | 19 | 6 | 70 | 106 |
| Princeton | 22 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 70 | 90 | 30 | 10 | 16 | 4 | 89 | 114 |
| Yale | 22 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 46 | 57 | 30 | 10 | 18 | 2 | 63 | 91 |
| Brown | 22 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 43 | 69 | 30 | 8 | 19 | 3 | 61 | 98 |
| Rensselaer | 22 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 58 | 89 | 37 | 10 | 23 | 4 | 93 | 150 |
| Championship: March 23, 2024 † indicates conference regular season champion (Cleary Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Whitelaw Cup) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll |||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 7 | 6:00 pm | RIT* | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | W 4–3 | 2,053 | 1–0–0 |
| October 13 | 7:00 pm | Vermont* | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Adams | L 1–3 | 1,076 | 1–1–0 |
| October 14 | 7:00 pm | #18 Penn State* | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | L 1–4 | 1,223 | 1–2–0 |
| October 22 | 2:00 pm | at Merrimack* | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Kraws | L 2–5 | 2,087 | 1–3–0 |
| October 27 | 7:00 pm | Michigan Tech* | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 1,073 | 1–3–1 |
| October 28 | 7:00 pm | Lake Superior State* | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | L 2–5 | — | 1–4–1 |
| November 3 | 7:00 pm | at Ferris State* | | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan | FloHockey | Kraws | W 5–2 | 1,640 | 2–4–1 |
| November 4 | 7:00 pm | at Ferris State* | | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan | FloHockey | Kraws | L 1–2 $^{OT}$ | 1,712 | 2–5–1 |
| November 10 | 7:00 pm | Union | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | L 3–4 | 1,150 | 2–6–1 (0–1–0) |
| November 11 | 7:00 pm | Rensselaer | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | W 6–3 | 1,386 | 3–6–1 (1–1–0) |
| November 17 | 7:00 pm | at Yale | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | ESPN+ | Kraws | L 0–5 | 1,368 | 3–7–1 (1–2–0) |
| November 18 | 7:00 pm | at Brown | | Meehan Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island | ESPN+ | Kraws | L 1–2 | 673 | 3–8–1 (1–3–0) |
| November 24 | 7:00 pm | at #15 Western Michigan* | | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Kraws | L 1–5 | 2,340 | 3–9–1 |
| November 25 | 7:00 pm | at #15 Western Michigan* | | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Kraws | L 0–4 | 2,245 | 3–10–1 |
| December 1 | 7:00 pm | Dartmouth | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | W 3–1 | 1,012 | 4–10–1 (2–3–0) |
| December 2 | 7:00 pm | Harvard | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | W 2–0 | 1,110 | 5–10–1 (3–3–0) |
| December 8 | 7:00 pm | USNTDP | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York (Exhibition) | ESPN+ | Kucenski | L 4–8 | 1,154 | |
| December 30 | 7:00 pm | Ottawa* | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York (Exhibition) | ESPN+ | Kucenski | W 5–2 | 830 | |
| January 5 | 7:00 pm | at Canisius* | | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | FloHockey | Kraws | L 1–5 | 792 | 5–11–1 |
| January 6 | 5:05 pm | at #18 RIT* | | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | FloHockey | Kraws | T 1–1 $^{OT}$ | 2,816 | 5–11–2 |
| January 12 | 7:00 pm | at Rensselaer | | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | L 3–6 | 1,600 | 5–12–2 (3–4–0) |
| January 13 | 4:00 pm | at Union | | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | T 2–2 $^{SOL}$ | 1,684 | 5–12–3 (3–4–1) |
| January 19 | 7:00 pm | Brown | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | W 2–1 | 914 | 6–12–3 (4–4–1) |
| January 20 | 7:00 pm | Yale | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | W 4–2 | 1,230 | 7–12–3 (5–4–1) |
| January 26 | 7:00 pm | at Clarkson | | Cheel Arena • Potsdam, New York (Rivalry) | ESPN+ | Kraws | L 1–4 | 3,602 | 7–13–3 (5–5–1) |
| January 27 | 7:00 pm | Clarkson | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York (Rivalry) | ESPN+ | Kraws | W 2–1 | 2,826 | 8–13–3 (6–5–1) |
| February 2 | 7:00 pm | at #13 Cornell | | Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | L 1–5 | 3,726 | 8–14–3 (6–6–1) |
| February 3 | 7:00 pm | at Colgate | | Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | L 2–3 | 1,087 | 8–15–3 (6–7–1) |
| February 9 | 7:00 pm | #5 Quinnipiac | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | W 3–1 | 1,109 | 9–15–3 (7–7–1) |
| February 10 | 7:00 pm | Princeton | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | L 4–5 $^{OT}$ | 1,168 | 9–16–3 (7–8–1) |
| February 16 | 7:00 pm | at Harvard | | Bright-Landry Hockey Center • Boston, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Kraws | L 1–2 | 1,888 | 9–17–3 (7–9–1) |
| February 17 | 7:00 pm | at Dartmouth | | Thompson Arena • Hanover, New Hampshire | ESPN+ | Kraws | T 4–4 $^{SOL}$ | 2,253 | 9–17–4 (7–9–2) |
| February 23 | 7:00 pm | Colgate | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | W 4–3 $^{OT}$ | 1,328 | 10–17–4 (8–9–2) |
| February 24 | 7:00 pm | #11 Cornell | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Kraws | T 2–2 $^{SOL}$ | 1,579 | 10–17–5 (8–9–3) |
| March 1 | 7:00 pm | at Princeton | | Hobey Baker Memorial Rink • Princeton, New Jersey | ESPN+ | Kraws | T 4–4 $^{SOW}$ | 1,258 | 10–17–6 (8–9–4) |
| March 2 | 7:00 pm | at #7 Quinnipiac | | M&T Bank Arena • Hamden, Connecticut | ESPN+ | Kucenski | L 1–8 | 3,220 | 10–18–6 (8–10–4) |
| ECAC Hockey Tournament ||||||||||
| March 8 | 7:00 pm | Yale* | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York (First Round) | ESPN+ | Kraws | W 4–2 | 1,577 | 11–18–6 |
| March 15 | 7:00 pm | at Colgate* | | Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York (Quarterfinal Game 1) | ESPN+ | Kraws | W 3–2 $^{2OT}$ | 763 | 12–18–6 |
| March 16 | 7:00 pm | at Colgate* | | Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York (Quarterfinal Game 2) | ESPN+ | Kraws | W 3–2 | 834 | 13–18–6 |
| March 22 | 4:00 pm | vs. #6 Quinnipiac* | | Herb Brooks Arena • Lake Placid, New York (Semifinal) | ESPN+ | Kraws | W 3–0 | 4,015 | 14–18–6 |
| March 23 | 5:00 pm | vs. Cornell* | #14 | Herb Brooks Arena • Lake Placid, New York (Championship) | ESPN+ | Kraws | L 1–3 | 4,912 | 14–19–6 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Fēlikss Gavars | F | 39 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 14 |
| Drake Burgin | D | 39 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 16 |
| Tomáš Mazura | C | 34 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 12 |
| Mason Waite | D | 39 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 14 |
| Justin Paul | LW | 37 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 10 |
| Tyler Cristall | F | 39 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 12 |
| Philippe Chapleau | D | 39 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 8 |
| Ty Naaykens | F | 39 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 45 |
| Ján Lašák | RW | 35 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 2 |
| Josh Boyer | C | 37 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 23 |
| Reilly Moran | F | 34 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 19 |
| Luc Salem | D | 38 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 30 |
| Greg Lapointe | F | 25 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 6 |
| Nick Trela | F | 28 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| Max Dorrington | F | 35 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 29 |
| Cameron Buhl | F | 26 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Jan Olenginski | D | 23 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| Tucker McIntosh | D | 34 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 12 |
| Logan Ritchie | F | 28 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Gunnar Thoreson | C | 27 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Will Arquiett | F | 30 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| Anthony Mollica | D | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jake Lammens | F | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Luke Erickson | D | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Mason Kucenski | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grant Adams | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oak MacLeod | RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ben Kraws | G | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Evan Mitchell | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | | | 90 | 149 | 239 | 326 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Ben Kraws | 37 | 2239:41 | 14 | 17 | 6 | 93 | 1061 | 2 | .919 | 2.49 |
| Grant Adams | 2 | 72:50 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 27 | 0 | .844 | 4.12 |
| Mason Kucenski | 2 | 60:00 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 38 | 0 | .826 | 8.00 |
| Empty Net | - | 33:28 | - | - | - | 12 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 39 | 2405:59 | 14 | 19 | 6 | 118 | 1126 | 2 | .905 | 2.94 |

## 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 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | – | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | – | NR |
| USA Hockey | 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 weeks 11 and 25. Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| Ben Kraws | ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team | |
| Tomáš Mazura | ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team | |