# 2021–22 American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey season was the 74th season of play for the program. They represented American International College in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season and for the 19th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Yellow Jackets were coached by Eric Lang, in his sixth season, and played their home games at MassMutual Center.

## Season

AIC entered the season looking to continue its run as the Atlantic Hockey champion but didn't get off to a good start. While due in part to the difficulty of their schedule, the Yellow Jackets began with just 3 wins in their first 13 games. While they got solid, if unspectacular, goaltending from both grad transfer Alec Calvaruso and nominal starter Jake Kucharski, American International was let down by its offense. In just 4 of those 13 games, the team managed to score more than 2 goals.
In late-November, the offense finally got going and the team went on an extended winning streak as a result. AIC won 11 consecutive games, including a defeat of Connecticut, who ended the season in the top-20. The run shot the Yellow Jackets to the top of the Atlantic Hockey standings, where they remained for the rest of the year. While their winning streak nearly put them into the poll themselves, AIC came back down to earth a bit at the end of the regular season. With their 4th-consecutive Atlantic Hockey title in hand, AIC still had to win the conference tournament in order to make the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to the start of their postseason, AIC got some unwelcome news when Kucharski went down with an undisclosed injury. Despite missing the conference goaltending champion, American International had a capable backup in Calvaruso and he showed up during the playoffs. Calvaruso won all four games for the Yellow Jackets, posting a 2.00 goals against average. It was, however, Blake Bennett who was the story for AIC; the junior forward scored recorded 10 points during their run, including a hat-trick in the semifinal against Mercyhurst, and was named Tournament MVP.
American International made its third consecutive appearance in the NCAA championship but, as is typical for Atlantic Hockey, they did so against the #1 seed once again. The team faced Michigan, who boasted one of, if not the, most talent-laden teams in NCAA history. The Yellow Jackets, on the other hand, possessed only one NHL-drafted player and he (Kucharski) was still out due to injury. Early on it appeared that the Wolverines would just roll over AIC when they scored twice in the first 5 minutes of the game. The Yellow Jackets fought back, however, and demonstrated that they weren't to be taken lightly. American International ended up outshooting Michigan 32-31 in the game and scored three goals, but it wasn't enough. Even with the loss, the credible performance showed that AIC could compete with the elite college hockey programs.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Jeff Baum | Forward/Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Belfast Giants) |
| Stefano Durante | Goaltender | Canada | Graduation (signed with Fayetteville Marksmen) |
| Tobias Fladeby | Forward | Norway | Graduation (signed with Tingsryds AIF) |
| Kyle Jeffers | Forward | United States | Transferred to Lindenwood |
| Brennan Kapcheck | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Toronto Marlies) |
| Jan Kern | Forward | Czech Republic | Signed professional contract (HC Slavia Praha) |
| Sam Miller | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Tufts |
| Matúš Spodniak | Forward | Slovakia | Transferred to Adrian |
| Adam Stacho | Forward | Slovakia | Transferred to St. Norbert |
| Oskar Strömberg | Defenseman | Sweden | Graduation (signed with IK Waxholm) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Alec Calvaruso | Goaltender | United States | 23 | Livonia, MI; graduate transfer from Rensselaer |
| Santeri Hartikainen | Forward | Finland | 22 | Helsinki, FIN; transfer from Robert Morris |
| Brian Kramer | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Wexford, PA; transfer from Robert Morris |
| Luis Lindner | Forward/Defenseman | Austria | 20 | Spittal an der Drau, AUT |
| Reggie Millette | Forward | United States | 21 | Jacksonville, FL |
| Brian Rigali | Forward | United States | 24 | Green Oaks, IL; graduate transfer from Connecticut |
| Evan Stella | Defenseman | Sweden | 20 | Karlstad, SWE |
| Alexander Tertyshny | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Philadelphia, PA |
| Chris Van Os-Shaw | Forward | Canada | 24 | Regina, SK; transfer from Minnesota State |

## Roster

As of August 23, 2021.

## Standings

2021–22 Atlantic 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 | OW | OL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #18 American International †* | 26 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 97 | 61 | 38 | 22 | 13 | 3 | 134 | 95 |
| Canisius | 26 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 76 | 67 | 35 | 16 | 16 | 3 | 99 | 97 |
| Army | 26 | 12 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 42 | 75 | 68 | 35 | 14 | 17 | 4 | 98 | 100 |
| RIT | 26 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 41 | 69 | 82 | 38 | 18 | 16 | 4 | 92 | 115 |
| Sacred Heart | 26 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 40 | 72 | 70 | 37 | 15 | 18 | 4 | 95 | 100 |
| Air Force | 26 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 37 | 76 | 80 | 36 | 16 | 17 | 3 | 99 | 127 |
| Mercyhurst | 26 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 75 | 79 | 39 | 16 | 19 | 4 | 114 | 129 |
| Niagara | 26 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 34 | 70 | 79 | 36 | 11 | 22 | 3 | 82 | 122 |
| Bentley | 26 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 34 | 70 | 78 | 36 | 14 | 20 | 2 | 94 | 117 |
| Holy Cross | 26 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 56 | 72 | 37 | 12 | 23 | 2 | 77 | 108 |
| Championship: March 19, 2022 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll |||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| October 2 | 4:00 PM | at #7 Boston College* | #20 | Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (Exhibition) | | Calvaruso | L 1–4 | 567 | — |
| Regular season ||||||||||
| October 9 | 7:05 PM | #11 Providence* | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | L 1–5 | 577 | 0–1–0 |
| October 15 | 7:05 PM | #9 Massachusetts* | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | L 1–5 | 1,306 | 0–2–0 |
| October 16 | 7:00 PM | at #9 Massachusetts* | | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | L 2–4 | 4,664 | 0–3–0 |
| October 21 | 7:05 PM | Army | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | W 4–3 | 195 | 1–3–0 (1–0–0) |
| October 22 | 7:05 PM | at Army | | Tate Rink • West Point, New York | | Kucharski | L 0–2 | 1,516 | 1–4–0 (1–1–0) |
| October 29 | 7:05 PM | #5 Quinnipiac* | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 487 | 1–4–1 |
| October 30 | 7:00 PM | at #5 Quinnipiac* | | People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut | | Calvaruso | L 1–2 $^{OT}$ | 3,426 | 1–5–1 |
| November 6 | 5:05 PM | RIT | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | W 7–3 | 306 | 2–5–1 (2–1–0) |
| November 7 | 5:05 PM | RIT | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Calvaruso | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 180 | 2–6–1 (2–2–0) |
| November 12 | 7:00 PM | at #12 Providence* | | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | | Kucharski | L 1–2 $^{OT}$ | 1,753 | 2–7–1 |
| November 19 | 1:05 PM | Bentley | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | W 5–0 | 293 | 3–7–1 (3–2–0) |
| November 20 | 1:05 PM | Bentley | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Calvaruso | L 1–2 $^{OT}$ | 192 | 3–8–1 (3–3–0) |
| November 26 | 1:00 PM | at Canisius | | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | | Kucharski | L 5–6 | 552 | 3–9–1 (3–4–0) |
| November 27 | 1:00 PM | at Canisius | | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | | Calvaruso | W 3–2 | 609 | 4–9–1 (4–4–0) |
| January 1 | 7:35 PM | Air Force | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | W 5–2 | 182 | 5–9–1 (5–4–0) |
| January 2 | 4:05 PM | Air Force | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | W 4–3 | 299 | 6–9–1 (6–4–0) |
| January 7 | 7:05 PM | at Holy Cross | | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | W 2–0 | 0 | 7–9–1 (7–4–0) |
| January 8 | 5:05 PM | at Holy Cross | | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | | Calvaruso | W 5–2 | 0 | 8–9–1 (8–4–0) |
| January 11 | 7:05 PM | Connecticut* | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | W 3–1 | 207 | 9–9–1 |
| January 14 | 1:05 PM | Mercyhurst | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | W 5–4 | 70 | 10–9–1 (9–4–0) |
| January 15 | 1:05 PM | Mercyhurst | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Calvaruso | W 6–3 | 79 | 11–9–1 (10–4–0) |
| January 21 | 6:05 PM | at Sacred Heart | | Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut | | Kucharski | W 4–2 | 243 | 12–9–1 (11–4–0) |
| January 22 | 1:05 PM | at Sacred Heart | | Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut | | Calvaruso | W 3–1 | 253 | 13–9–1 (12–4–0) |
| January 27 | 5:05 PM | Holy Cross | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | W 3–1 | 191 | 14–9–1 (13–4–0) |
| January 30 | 12:05 PM | Holy Cross | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | McInchak | L 4–5 | 137 | 14–10–1 (13–5–0) |
| February 4 | 7:05 PM | at RIT | | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | | Calvaruso | W 7–0 | 1,786 | 15–10–1 (14–5–0) |
| February 5 | 7:05 PM | at RIT | | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | | Kucharski | T 4–4 $^{SOL}$ | 2,200 | 15–10–2 (14–5–1) |
| February 10 | 5:05 PM | Army | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Calvaruso | W 5–1 | 252 | 16–10–2 (15–5–1) |
| February 12 | 6:05 PM | at Army | | Tate Rink • West Point, New York | | Kucharski | L 0–1 | 1,589 | 16–11–2 (15–6–1) |
| February 18 | 7:05 PM | at Mercyhurst | | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | | Kucharski | W 5–1 | 1,214 | 17–11–2 (16–6–1) |
| February 19 | 3:05 PM | at Mercyhurst | | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | | Calvaruso | L 3–6 | 779 | 17–12–2 (16–7–1) |
| February 25 | 1:05 PM | Niagara | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | T 1–1 $^{SOL}$ | 93 | 17–12–3 (16–7–2) |
| February 26 | 1:05 PM | Niagara | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Kucharski | W 4–3 $^{OT}$ | 262 | 18–12–3 (17–7–2) |
| Atlantic Hockey Tournament ||||||||||
| March 11 | 7:00 PM | Bentley* | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal game 1) | | Calvaruso | W 5–2 | 410 | 19–12–3 |
| March 12 | 7:00 PM | Bentley* | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal game 2) | | Calvaruso | W 6–2 | 310 | 20–12–3 |
| American International Won Series 2–0 ||||||||||
| March 18 | 4:05 PM | vs. Mercyhurst* | | Adirondack Bank Center • Utica, New York (Semifinal) | | Calvaruso | W 5–4 | 1,072 | 21–12–3 |
| March 19 | 7:35 PM | vs. Air Force* | | Adirondack Bank Center • Utica, New York (Championship) | | Calvaruso | W 7–0 | 250 | 22–12–3 |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||||||
| March 25 | 3:00 PM | vs. #2 Michigan* | #18 | PPL Center • Allentown, Pennsylvania (Midwest Regional semifinal) | ESPNU | Calvaruso | L 3–5 | 2,155 | 22–13–3 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Blake Bennett | F | 37 | 19 | 15 | 34 | 20 |
| Justin Young | C | 36 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 16 |
| Chris Dodero | C/LW | 36 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 6 |
| Chris Theodore | LW | 35 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 6 |
| Zak Galambos | D | 36 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 49 |
| Jake Stella | LW | 37 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 12 |
| Brian Rigali | F | 32 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 8 |
| Elijiah Barriga | LW | 37 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 16 |
| Luis Lindner | F/D | 28 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 8 |
| Chris Van Os-Shaw | LW | 36 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 41 |
| Julius Janhonen | C | 33 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 4 |
| Luka Maver | C | 38 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 16 |
| Brian Kramer | D | 36 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 32 |
| Justin Cole | F | 32 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 4 |
| Brett Callahan | D | 25 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Parker Revering | D | 25 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Austen Long | RW | 24 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 |
| Evan Stella | D | 36 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 20 |
| Hunter Johannes | F | 14 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Eric Otto | F | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| Nico Somerville | D | 24 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| Santeri Hartikainen | C/RW | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Aaron Grounds | F | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Matthew Rickard | D | 21 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| Zachary Purcell | F | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jarrett Fiske | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan McInchak | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alexander Tertyshny | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michal Stinil | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reggie Millette | F | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darwin Lakoduk | F | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alec Calvaruso | G | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Kucharski | G | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| Total | | | 134 | 228 | 362 | 355 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Jarrett Fiske | 1 | 2:09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 |
| Ryan McInchak | 1 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0 | .929 | 1.81 |
| Jake Kucharski | 22 | 1334 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 53 | 535 | 2 | .910 | 2.38 |
| Alec Calvaruso | 16 | 925 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 39 | 374 | 2 | .906 | 2.53 |
| Empty Net | - | 23 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 38 | 2318 | 22 | 13 | 3 | 95 | 925 | 4 | .907 | 2.46 |

## 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 | 20 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 18 | - | 18 |
| 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 |
| Chris Theodore | Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year |
| Jake Stella | Atlantic Hockey Best Defensive Forward |
| Zak Galambos | Atlantic Hockey Best Defenseman |
| Jake Kucharski | Atlantic Hockey Regular Season Goaltending Award |
| Jake Kucharski | Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year |
| Blake Bennett | Atlantic Hockey Most Valuable Player in Tournament |
| Zak Galambos | Atlantic Hockey First Team |
| Chris Theodore | Atlantic Hockey First Team |
| Jake Stella | Atlantic Hockey Second Team |
| Jake Kucharski | Atlantic Hockey Third Team |
| Luis Lindner | Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team |
| Alec Calvaruso | Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament Team |
| Zak Galambos | Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament Team |
| Blake Bennett | Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament Team |
| Chris Dodero | Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament Team |