# 2021–22 Merrimack Warriors men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 Merrimack Warriors Men's ice hockey season was the 67th season of play for the program, the 33rd at the Division I level, and the 33rd season in the Hockey East conference. The Warriors represented Merrimack College and were coached by Scott Borek, in his 4th season.

## Season

Merrimack entered the season having posted losing records in each of the previous nine seasons. Early in the season it appeared that trend would continue when the Warriors lost four consecutive games and then turned to a freshman goaltender to try and salvage their season. Hugo Ollas had a bit of a rough go at first, but he helped stabilize the back end for Merrimack and enabled the team to play .500 hockey in November and December.
While their record was still under water, the team had a bigger problem to contend with after returning from the winter break. A pair of games against Clarkson and St. Lawrence were cancelled due to COVID-19. Bentley was swiftly added to the schedule and kicked off a 5-game winning streak that saw Merrimack score four victories over ranked teams.
The quality wins earned the Warriors the first appearance in the national rankings in years and made it possible for their supporters to hope for a tournament bid. Their time in the top 20 was short-lived and Merrick lost their very next game. The team flirted with the rankings for most of the remainder of the season, but sweep at the hands of Northeastern in the regular season finale ended any chance of an at-large bid.
Entering the postseason, Merrimack knew they would likely have to win the Hockey East championship in order to make the NCAA tournament. After a solid win over Maine in the opening round, the Warriors travelled to Lowell to take on the River Hawks. Despite outshooting their opponents, Ollas and Borgiel combined to allow 7 goals and the Warriors were drubbed out of contention. Regardless of the sour end, this was the most successful season for the program in a decade and was Scott Borek's best season behind the bench since 1997.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| James Corcoran | Goaltender | United States | Transferred to New England |
| Dominic Dockery | Defenseman | United States | Graduate transfer to Maine |
| Chase Gresock | Forward | United States | Transferred to Miami |
| Tyler Heidt | Defenseman | Canada | Transferred to Regina |
| Patrick Holway | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Grand Rapids Griffins) |
| Jere Huhtamaa | Goaltender | Finland | Signed professional contract (TUTO Hockey) |
| Patrick Kramer | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays) |
| Jakob Lee | Forward | Canada | Transferred to Rensselaer |
| Conor Lovett | Forward | United States | Returned to juniors (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders) |
| Jacob Modry | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Plattsburgh State |
| Christian Simeone | Forward | United States | Signed professional contract (Utah Grizzlies) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Adam Arvedson | Defenseman | Sweden | 20 | Karlstad, SWE |
| Colby Bukes | Defenseman | United States | 22 | Littleton, CO; transfer from Minnesota State |
| Matt Copponi | Forward | United States | 18 | Mansfield, MA |
| Jake Durflinger | Forward | United States | 23 | Walnut Creek, CA; graduate transfer from Denver |
| Christian Felton | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Medina, OH; transfer from Bentley |
| Mark Hillier | Forward | Canada | 19 | Labrador City, NL |
| Steven Jandric | Forward | Canada | 24 | Prince George, BC; graduate transfer from Denver |
| Devlin O'Brien | Forward | Canada | 19 | Palm Coast, FL |
| Hugo Ollas | Goaltender | Sweden | 19 | Linköping, SWE; selected 197th overall in 2020 |
| Ivan Zivlak | Defenseman | Sweden | 19 | Gislaved, SWE |

## Roster

As of August 24, 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 |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 7 | 7:00 PM | at #11 Providence | | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | NESN | Borgiel | L 2–5 | 2,587 | 0–1–0 (0–1–0) |
| October 9 | 7:00 PM | Sacred Heart* | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Borgiel | W 4–2 | 1,152 | 1–1–0 |
| October 15 | 7:00 PM | at Colgate* | | Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York | | Ollas | L 1–2 $^{OT}$ | 917 | 1–2–0 |
| October 16 | 4:00 PM | at Colgate* | | Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York | | Borgiel | W 5–3 | 614 | 2–2–0 |
| October 22 | 7:00 PM | at #16 Boston University | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Borgiel | W 3–2 | 2,174 | 3–2–0 (1–1–0) |
| October 23 | 7:00 PM | at #16 Boston University | | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Kobryn | L 6–8 | 5,339 | 3–3–0 (1–2–0) |
| October 29 | 7:00 PM | #12 Massachusetts | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | NESN+ | Borgiel | L 4–5 $^{OT}$ | 3,477 | 3–4–0 (1–3–0) |
| October 30 | 7:00 PM | at #12 Massachusetts | | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts | | Borgiel | L 1–2 | 2,083 | 3–5–0 (1–4–0) |
| November 5 | 7:00 PM | #14 Boston College | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Borgiel | L 4–1 | 2,314 | 3–6–0 (1–5–0) |
| November 6 | 4:00 PM | at #14 Boston College | | Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | | Ollas | W 4–3 | 4,246 | 4–6–0 (2–5–0) |
| November 12 | 7:30 PM | at Maine | | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | | Ollas | L 5–6 $^{OT}$ | 3,007 | 4–7–0 (2–6–0) |
| November 13 | 7:30 PM | at Maine | | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | | Borgiel | W 2–0 | 3,189 | 5–7–0 (3–6–0) |
| November 23 | 7:00 PM | at Holy Cross* | | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | | Ollas | W 3–2 | 214 | 6–7–0 |
| November 27 | 4:00 PM | Union* | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Ollas | L 2–3 | 1,746 | 6–8–0 |
| December 9 | 7:00 PM | #12 Massachusetts | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Borgiel | L 2–3 | 2,122 | 6–9–0 (3–7–0) |
| December 12 | 3:00 PM | USNTDP | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts (Exhibition) | | | W 8–2 | | |
| December 17 | 7:00 PM | Dartmouth* | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Borgiel | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 1,022 | 6–9–1 |
| January 2 | 4:00 PM | Brown* | | Meehan Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island | | Ollas | W 7–1 | 160 | 7–9–1 |
| January 3 | 6:00 PM | at #10 Massachusetts* | | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts | | Borgiel | L 3–4 $^{OT}$ | 529 | 7–10–1 |
| January 8 | 7:00 PM | Bentley* | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Ollas | W 4–1 | 1,093 | 8–10–1 |
| January 14 | 7:00 PM | #17 Providence | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Ollas | W 3–2 | 1,587 | 9–10–1 (4–7–0) |
| January 15 | 5:30 PM | at #17 Providence | | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | | Borgiel | W 2–1 | 2,128 | 10–10–1 (5–7–0) |
| January 21 | 7:00 PM | #10 Massachusetts Lowell | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Ollas | W 3–1 | 2,471 | 11–10–1 (6–7–0) |
| January 22 | 6:05 PM | at #10 Massachusetts Lowell | | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | | Borgiel | W 3–2 | 5,471 | 12–10–1 (7–7–0) |
| January 25 | 7:05 PM | at Connecticut | #19 | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut | | Ollas | L 2–3 | 2,429 | 12–11–1 (7–8–0) |
| February 4 | 7:00 PM | New Hampshire | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Borgiel | W 5–2 | 2,177 | 13–11–1 (8–8–0) |
| February 5 | 7:00 PM | Maine | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Ollas | W 5–0 | 2,215 | 14–11–1 (9–8–0) |
| February 8 | 7:00 PM | Connecticut | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Borgiel | L 2–6 | 1,953 | 14–12–1 (9–9–0) |
| February 13 | 1:05 PM | at Vermont | | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Ollas | W 4–1 | 2,158 | 15–12–1 (10–9–0) |
| February 18 | 7:00 PM | Vermont | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Ollas | W 3–2 | 1,873 | 16–12–1 (11–9–0) |
| February 19 | 7:30 PM | Vermont | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Borgiel | W 3–2 | 1,689 | 17–12–1 (12–9–0) |
| February 26 | 7:00 PM | at New Hampshire | | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Borgiel | W 4–3 | 5,348 | 18–12–1 (13–9–0) |
| March 4 | 7:00 PM | #13 Northeastern | | Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Borgiel | L 1–6 | 1,779 | 18–13–1 (13–10–0) |
| March 5 | 7:00 PM | #13 Northeastern | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Borgiel | L 0–1 | 2,549 | 18–14–1 (13–11–0) |
| Hockey East Tournament ||||||||||
| March 9 | 7:00 PM | Maine* | | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Ollas | W 6–2 | 2,549 | 19–14–1 |
| March 12 | 7:00 PM | at #14 Massachusetts Lowell* | | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts (Quarterfinals) | | Ollas | L 2–7 | 5,782 | 19–15–1 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Max Newton | F | 35 | 14 | 24 | 38 | 16 |
| Steven Jandric | LW | 34 | 8 | 20 | 28 | 10 |
| Filip Forsmark | LW/RW | 33 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 35 |
| Liam Walsh | LW | 34 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 41 |
| Declan Carlile | D | 35 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 8 |
| Alex Jefferies | LW | 33 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 10 |
| Ben Brar | F | 35 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 20 |
| Zach Uens | D | 34 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 28 |
| Zach Vinnell | D | 35 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 12 |
| Logan Drevitch | LW | 35 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 18 |
| Matt Copponi | C | 25 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 14 |
| Jake Durflinger | RW | 34 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 18 |
| Mac Welsher | C | 32 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Jordan Seyfert | C | 20 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 |
| Filip Karlsson-Tägtström | C | 18 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| Mick Messner | LW | 21 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| Christian Felton | D | 27 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 16 |
| Adam Arvedson | D | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| Hugo Esselin | C | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Regan Kimens | LW | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Mark Hillier | G | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Ryan Nolan | G | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Ivan Zivlak | D | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Liam Dennison | D | 32 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Mike Brown | D | 21 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Troy Kobryn | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Sadovski | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Devlin O'Brien | LW | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Hugo Ollas | G | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zachary Borgiel | G | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | | | 109 | 198 | 307 | 314 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Hugo Ollas | 18 | 964 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 36 | 414 | 1 | .920 | 2.24 |
| Zachary Borgiel | 20 | 1087 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 55 | 448 | 1 | .891 | 3.03 |
| Troy Kobryn | 2 | 47 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 0 | .833 | 5.05 |
| Empty Net | - | 22 | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 35 | 2121 | 19 | 15 | 1 | 99 | 882 | 2 | .899 | 2.80 |

## 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 | 19 | 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.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| Jordan Seyfert | Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award | |
| Declan Carlile | Hockey East Second Team | |