# 2021–22 Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 Boston University Terriers Men's ice hockey season was the 100th season of play for the program. They represented Boston University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season and for the 38th season in the Hockey East conference. The Terriers were coached by Albie O'Connell, in his fourth season, and played their home games at Agganis Arena.

## Season

BU entered the season with a great deal of hope after making the NCAA tournament despite having to cancel several games as a result of COVID-19. The Terriers received a top 10 ranking in the preseason polls and were expected to compete for the Hockey East championship. When they hit the ice, however, Boston University got off to a terrible start. BU got off to a 3–7 record with their offense struggling mightily in the first month. Despite Drew Commesso playing well in goal, the Terriers scored more than two goals in just three of those contests. By mid-November the team appeared to be rounding into form but were still a middling team in their conference. Ordinarily that might not have been a terrible position to be in, however, Hockey East was having a bad season with a poor non-conference record.
While the first half of their season was disastrous to the Terrier's postseason hopes, their situation went from bad to worse in late December. During the winter break, Tyler Boucher left the team and signed a professional contract with the Ottawa Senators. In spite of losing their top prospect, however, BU came out guns blazing in the second half and won seven of their next eight games.
The winning streak was put in jeopardy when Commesso was selected to be a member of the United States national team at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The team rallied around backup Vinny Duplessis, however, and continued to pile up wins. Boston University went so far as to knock off Northeastern in the Beanpot championship, capturing their first title in seven years.
Commesso returned to campus at the end of February found his team with a top-15 ranking and a near-lock for the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, the team faltered at the very end of the season and lost two of their last three regular season games. The defeats pushed BU down to 5th-place in the standings and below the cutoff line for at-large bids. The Terriers still had a chance to win their way into the tournament but they would need a good showing in the Hockey East playoffs. In their quarterfinal match, BU took on Connecticut and were stymied by a stellar performance from Darion Hanson. The 1–3 loss ended the Terriers' once promising season.
After the year, head coach Albie O'Connell was fired after having made the NCAA tournament just once in his four years behind the bench.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Tyler Boucher | Forward | United States | Left mid-season (signed with Ottawa Senators) |
| Jack DeBoer | Forward | United States | Transferred to Niagara |
| David Farrance | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Nashville Predators) |
| Matthew Quercia | Forward | United States | Transferred to Michigan Tech |
| Jake Wise | Forward | United States | Transferred to Ohio State |
| Jake Witkowski | Forward | United States | Graduate transfer to Canisius |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Tristan Amonte | Forward | United States | 21 | Norwell, MA |
| Tyler Boucher | Forward | United States | 18 | Scottsdale, AZ; selected 10th overall in 2021 |
| Matt Brown | Forward | United States | 22 | Wood Ridge, NJ; transfer from Massachusetts Lowell |
| Brian Carrabes | Forward | United States | 20 | North Andover, MA |
| Braden Doyle | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Lynnfield, MA; selected 219th overall in 2019 |
| Ty Gallagher | Defenseman | United States | 18 | Clarkston, MI; selected 217th overall in 2021 |

## Roster

As of August 12, 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$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| October 2 | 7:30 PM | Holy Cross* | #10 | Walter Brown Arena • Boston, Massachusetts (Exhibition) | | | W 6–1 | 1,922 | |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 8 | 7:05 PM | at Connecticut | #10 | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut | | Commesso | W 2–1 | 3,084 | 1–0–0 (1–0–0) |
| October 9 | 7:00 PM | Connecticut | #10 | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Commesso | L 1–5 | 3,533 | 1–1–0 (1–1–0) |
| October 15 | 7:30 PM | Sacred Heart* | #12 | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Commesso | L 2–3 | 3,158 | 1–2–0 |
| October 16 | 7:00 PM | at Sacred Heart* | #12 | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Commesso | W 4–1 | 3,201 | 2–2–0 |
| October 22 | 7:00 PM | Merrimack | #16 | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Commesso | L 2–3 | 2,174 | 2–3–0 (1–2–0) |
| October 23 | 7:00 PM | Merrimack | #16 | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Commesso | W 8–6 | 5,339 | 3–3–0 (2–2–0) |
| October 29 | 7:30 PM | Massachusetts Lowell | #19 | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Commesso | L 0–3 | 2,941 | 3–4–0 (2–3–0) |
| October 30 | 7:30 PM | at Massachusetts Lowell | #19 | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | | Commesso | L 1–2 | 4,363 | 3–5–0 (2–4–0) |
| November 5 | 6:37 PM | at Northern Michigan* | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | Commesso | L 3–5 | 3,650 | 3–6–0 |
| November 6 | 6:37 PM | at Northern Michigan* | | Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan | | Duplessis | L 2–6 | 3,219 | 3–7–0 |
| November 12 | 7:30 PM | #8 Massachusetts | | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Commesso | T 2–2 $^{SOL}$ | 4,149 | 3–7–1 (2–4–1) |
| November 13 | 7:00 PM | at #8 Massachusetts | | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts | NESN | Commesso | W 4–3 $^{OT}$ | 5,741 | 4–7–1 (3–4–1) |
| November 19 | 7:30 PM | #18 Northeastern | | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Commesso | L 0–1 $^{OT}$ | 4,482 | 4–8–1 (3–5–1) |
| November 20 | 7:00 PM | at #18 Northeastern | | Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | NESN+ | Commesso | T 2–2 $^{SOL}$ | 4,703 | 4–8–2 (3–5–2) |
| November 27 | 8:00 PM | vs. #10 Cornell* | | Madison Square Garden • New York, New York (Red Hot Hockey) | | Commesso | L 4–6 | 0 | 4–9–2 |
| December 3 | 7:30 PM | New Hampshire | | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Commesso | W 3–1 | 3,123 | 5–9–2 (4–5–2) |
| December 4 | 7:00 PM | at New Hampshire | | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Commesso | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 5,021 | 6–9–2 (5–5–2) |
| December 10 | 7:30 PM | Boston College | | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts (Rivalry) | NESN | Commesso | T 3–3 $^{SOL}$ | 6,150 | 6–9–3 (5–5–3) |
| December 11 | | USNTDP | | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts (Exhibition) | | | L 3–4 | | |
| December 31 | 2:00 PM | at Brown* | | Meehan Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island | | Duplessis | W 5–1 | 473 | 7–9–3 |
| January 7 | 7:30 PM | Arizona State* | | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Commesso | W 7–1 | 2,539 | 8–9–3 |
| January 8 | 7:00 PM | Arizona State* | | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | NESN+ | Commesso | W 5–2 | 1,991 | 9–9–3 |
| January 14 | 7:05 PM | at Connecticut | | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut | | Commesso | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 3,596 | 10–9–3 (6–5–3) |
| January 21 | 7:00 PM | Vermont | | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | NESN+ | Commesso | L 1–2 $^{OT}$ | 3,191 | 10–10–3 (6–6–3) |
| January 22 | 4:00 PM | Vermont | | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Commesso | W 4–0 | 3,294 | 11–10–3 (7–6–3) |
| January 25 | 7:00 PM | at #9 Massachusetts | | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts | NESN | Commesso | W 6–4 | 6,269 | 12–10–3 (8–6–3) |
| January 30 | 3:00 PM | #17 Providence | | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | NESN | Commesso | W 5–2 | 2,228 | 13–10–3 (9–6–3) |
| February 4 | 7:30 PM | Maine | #19 | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts (Rivalry) | | Duplessis | W 4–0 | 2,343 | 14–10–3 (10–6–3) |
| Beanpot ||||||||||
| February 7 | 5:00 PM | vs. Harvard* | #20 | TD Garden • Boston, Massachusetts (Beanpot Semifinal) | NESN | Duplessis | W 4–3 | 0 | 15–10–3 |
| February 11 | 7:00 PM | at #17 Providence | #20 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | NESN+ | Duplessis | W 4–1 | 2,394 | 16–10–3 (11–6–3) |
| February 14 | 7:30 PM | vs. #13 Northeastern* | #17 | TD Garden • Boston, Massachusetts (Beanpot Championship) | NESN | Duplessis | W 1–0 | 17,850 | 17–10–3 (12–6–3) |
| February 25 | 7:00 PM | Boston College | #13 | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts (Rivalry) | NESN | Duplessis | W 6–3 | 6,007 | 18–10–3 (13–6–3) |
| February 27 | 4:00 PM | at Boston College | #13 | Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (Rivalry) | NESN | Commesso | L 1–3 | 5,208 | 18–11–3 (13–7–3) |
| March 4 | 7:30 PM | at Maine | #14 | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | | Commesso | W 5–1 | 3,226 | 19–11–3 (14–7–3) |
| March 5 | 7:30 PM | at Maine | #14 | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | | Commesso | L 1–8 | 3,651 | 19–12–3 (14–8–3) |
| Hockey East Tournament ||||||||||
| March 12 | 7:00 PM | at Connecticut* | #16 | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut (Quarterfinal) | | Commesso | L 1–3 | 3,416 | 19–13–3 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Domenick Fensore | D | 35 | 5 | 26 | 31 | 8 |
| Wilmer Skoog | C | 35 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 20 |
| Robert Mastrosimone | C/LW | 34 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 28 |
| Jay O'Brien | C | 24 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 38 |
| Matthew Brown | LW | 24 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 4 |
| Ethan Phillips | C/RW | 28 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 12 |
| Dylan Peterson | C | 29 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 18 |
| Ty Gallagher | D | 34 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 35 |
| Case McCarthy | D | 26 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 20 |
| Max Kaufman | F | 34 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 12 |
| Logan Cockerill | LW/RW | 30 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 8 |
| Luke Tuch | LW | 26 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 16 |
| Nicholas Zabaneh | C | 30 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 14 |
| Brian Carrabes | F | 24 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| Alex Vlasic | D | 32 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 31 |
| Sam Stevens | F | 31 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| Jamie Armstrong | LW | 26 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| Ty Amonte | RW | 22 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 18 |
| Joseph Campolieto | D | 29 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Tyler Boucher | LW/RW | 17 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 34 |
| Tristan Amonte | D | 17 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| Cade Webber | D | 31 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Braden Doyle | D | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| John Copeland | F/D | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jack Page | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ashton Abel | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sean Driscoll | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas Jarman | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Markus Boguslavsky | RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Vinny Duplessis | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Drew Commesso | G | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | | | 107 | 172 | 279 | 387 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Vinny Duplessis | 17 | 517 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 194 | 2 | .915 | 2.09 |
| Drew Commesso | 28 | 1595 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 67 | 715 | 1 | .914 | 2.52 |
| Empty Net | - | 14 | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 35 | 2126 | 19 | 13 | 3 | 89 | 909 | 3 | .911 | 2.51 |

## 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 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 19 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 19 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 18 | NR | - | NR |
| USA Today | 10 | 10 | 15 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 14 | 14 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award |
| Domenick Fensore | Hockey East Second Team |
| Wilmer Skoog | Hockey East Second Team |
| Ty Gallagher | Hockey East Rookie Team |

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

| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
| 2 | 57 | Ryan Greene$^†$ | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 2 | 62 | Lane Hutson$^†$ | Montreal Canadiens |
| 3 | 69 | Devin Kaplan$^†$ | Philadelphia Flyers |
† incoming freshman