# 2021–22 New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 New Hampshire Wildcats Men's ice hockey season was the 96th season of play for the program and the 38th season in the Hockey East conference. The Wildcats represented the University of New Hampshire and were coached by Mike Souza, in his 4th season.

## Season

For much of the season, New Hampshire's attempt at rebuilding the program were hampered by a lack of offense. The Wildcats finished almost as many games being shut out (four) as scoring more than 3 goals (five). A majority of the team's victories came as a result of strong defensive play.
UNH had their moments during the year, defeating several ranked teams, but they couldn't sustain their success for long. In the first half of the season the wildcats hovered around the .500 mark. After returning from the winter break, the team went on a 5-game winning streak to get their head above water. After that good stretch, however, the team stumbled down the stretch and lost eight of their final ten games. The offense was about as strong as it had been earlier in the year but the defense faltered, allowing almost 4 goals per game over that span.
The result of their poor finish was that New Hampshire slid down the Hockey East standings and had to open the conference playoffs on the road. They travelled south to play Boston College and vastly outshot the Eagles in the match, 47–27. Unfortunately, the defense was again an issue and the team needed a hat-trick from Tyler Ward just to get the game into overtime. It was not the Wildcat's night, unfortunately, and BC netted the game-winner. The loss capped off the season which, though it was an improvement over the previous campaign, was the 8th consecutive year that UNH did not possess a winning record.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Angus Crookshank | Forward | Canada | Signed professional contract (Ottawa Senators) |
| Patrick Grasso | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Utica Comets) |
| Charlie Kelleher | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Benton Maass | Defenseman | United States | Graduate transfer to Minnesota State |
| Joe Nagle | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Norwich |
| Kohei Sato | Forward | Japan | Graduate transfer to Bentley |
| Ty Taylor | Goaltender | Canada | Transferred to MacEwan |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Harrison Blaisdell | Forward | United Kingdom | 20 | Sheffield, GBR; transfer from North Dakota; selected 134th overall in 2019 |
| Robert Cronin | Forward | United States | 21 | Plymouth, MA |
| Liam Devlin | Forward | United States | 20 | Needham, MA |
| David Fessenden | Goaltender | United States | 23 | Parker, CO; transfer from Alabama–Huntsville |
| Alex Gagne | Defenseman | United States | 19 | Bedford, NH; selected 192nd overall in 2021 |
| Rafe Gaughan | Goaltender | United States | 21 | Somersworth, NH; joined mid-season |
| Colton Huard | Defenseman | Canada | 20 | Welland, ON |
| Will Margel | Forward | United States | 20 | Potomac, MD |
| Connor Sweeney | Forward | United States | 21 | North Andover, MA |

## Roster

As of August 19, 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 |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 8 | 7:00 PM | Union* | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Robinson | W 4–1 | 3,409 | 1–0–0 |
| October 9 | 7:00 PM | Union* | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Robinson | W 3–2 | 3,273 | 2–0–0 |
| October 15 | 9:05 PM | at Arizona State* | Oceanside Ice Arena • Tempe, Arizona | | Forman | L 1–5 | 698 | 2–1–0 |
| October 16 | 6:05 PM | at Arizona State* | Oceanside Ice Arena • Tempe, Arizona | | Robinson | L 1–5 | 915 | 2–2–0 |
| October 24 | 5:00 PM | #12 Providence | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Robinson | L 0–2 | 3,458 | 2–3–0 (0–1–0) |
| October 29 | 7:00 PM | at #8 Providence | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | NESN+ | Robinson | L 1–6 | 2,227 | 2–4–0 (0–2–0) |
| October 30 | 7:00 PM | #8 Providence | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Fessenden | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 3,134 | 3–4–0 (1–2–0) |
| November 5 | 7:00 PM | Northeastern | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | NESN+ | Fessenden | L 1–4 | 4,063 | 3–5–0 (1–3–0) |
| November 6 | 7:00 PM | at Northeastern | Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Robinson | L 1–4 | 2,352 | 3–6–0 (1–4–0) |
| November 12 | 7:00 PM | Vermont | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | NESN | Fessenden | W 2–1 | 3,537 | 4–6–0 (2–4–0) |
| November 13 | 7:00 PM | Vermont | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Fessenden | T 3–3 $^{SOL}$ | 3,606 | 4–6–1 (2–4–1) |
| November 19 | 7:00 PM | at #8 Massachusetts | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts | NESN | Fessenden | L 0–3 | 4,363 | 4–7–1 (2–5–1) |
| November 20 | 7:00 PM | #8 Massachusetts | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Robinson | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 4,316 | 5–7–1 (3–5–1) |
| November 26 | 7:00 PM | at Harvard* | Bright-Landry Hockey Center • Boston, Massachusetts | NESN | Robinson | W 1–0 | 2,042 | 6–7–1 |
| November 27 | 7:00 PM | Holy Cross* | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | NESN | Robinson | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 2,919 | 7–7–1 |
| December 3 | 7:30 PM | at Boston University | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Robinson | L 1–3 | 3,123 | 7–8–1 (3–6–1) |
| December 4 | 7:00 PM | Boston University | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Robinson | L 1–2 $^{OT}$ | 5,021 | 7–9–1 (3–7–1) |
| Ledyard Bank Classic ||||||||||
| December 30 | 7:30 PM | at Dartmouth* | Thompson Arena • Hanover, New Hampshire (Ledyard Bank Semifinal) | NESN | Fessenden | L 1–3 | 178 | 7–10–1 |
| December 31 | 4:00 PM | vs. Mercyhurst* | Thompson Arena • Hanover, New Hampshire (Ledyard Bank Consolation Game) | | Robinson | W 7–1 | 48 | 8–10–1 |
| January 8 | 7:00 PM | Clarkson* | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Robinson | W 5–1 | 3,213 | 9–10–1 |
| January 14 | 7:00 PM | #20 Boston College | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | NESN | Robinson | W 3–2 | 4,873 | 10–10–1 (4–7–1) |
| January 15 | 7:00 PM | at #20 Boston College | Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | | Robinson | W 5–2 | 3,408 | 11–10–1 (5–7–1) |
| January 21 | 7:05 PM | at Connecticut | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut | | Robinson | W 3–1 | 2,928 | 12–10–1 (6–7–1) |
| January 22 | 4:05 PM | at Connecticut | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut | NESN+ | Robinson | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 3,855 | 12–11–1 (6–8–1) |
| February 4 | 7:00 PM | at Merrimack | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Robinson | L 2–5 | 2,177 | 12–12–1 (6–9–1) |
| February 5 | 7:30 PM | at Connecticut | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Robinson | L 1–6 | 5,574 | 12–13–1 (6–10–1) |
| February 11 | 7:00 PM | at Vermont | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Robinson | L 0–3 | 2,672 | 12–14–1 (6–11–1) |
| February 13 | 2:00 PM | #13 Massachusetts Lowell | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Robinson | W 3–0 | 3,870 | 13–14–1 (7–11–1) |
| February 18 | 7:30 PM | at Maine | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | NESN | Robinson | L 3–6 | 4,670 | 13–15–1 (7–12–1) |
| February 19 | 7:00 PM | at Maine | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | | Robinson | W 5–2 | 4,985 | 14–15–1 (8–12–1) |
| February 26 | 7:00 PM | Merrimack | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Robinson | L 3–4 | 5,348 | 14–16–1 (8–13–1) |
| March 4 | 7:00 PM | #16 Massachusetts Lowell | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Robinson | L 3–6 | 6,003 | 14–17–1 (8–14–1) |
| March 5 | 6:00 PM | at #16 Massachusetts Lowell | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | | Fessenden | L 0–1 | 6,234 | 14–18–1 (8–16–1) |
| Hockey East Tournament ||||||||||
| March 9 | 7:00 PM | at Boston College* | Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (Opening Round) | | Robinson | L 3–4 $^{OT}$ | 1,125 | 14–19–1 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Tyler Ward | LW | 34 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 4 |
| Jackson Pierson | F | 34 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 8 |
| Filip Engarås | C | 33 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 16 |
| Liam Devlin | F | 34 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 35 |
| Colton Huard | D | 28 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 6 |
| Robert Cronin | F | 30 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 16 |
| Kalle Eriksson | D | 32 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Luke Reid | D | 34 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 18 |
| Harrison Blaisdell | C | 25 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
| Joe Cipollone | C | 30 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| Eric MacAdams | RW | 33 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 42 |
| Alex Gagne | D | 33 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 16 |
| Nick Cafarelli | F | 15 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
| Ryan Verrier | D | 24 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 28 |
| Will MacKinnon | D | 27 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| Nikolai Jenson | D | 30 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| Chase Stevenson | F | 33 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 16 |
| Will Margel | C/W | 18 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Eric Esposito | LW | 30 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| Cam Gendron | F | 19 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 |
| Lucas Herrmann | F | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Jeremy Forman | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alec Semandel | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Raphael Gaughan | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Moniz | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Hankinson | F | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Drew Hickey | D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Fessenden | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carsen Richels | LW | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Connor Sweeney | F | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Robinson | G | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Total | | | 76 | 133 | 209 | 318 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Raphael Gaughan | 1 | 0:53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 |
| Jake Moniz | 1 | 0:36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 |
| David Fessenden | 9 | 492 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 180 | 0 | .909 | 2.19 |
| Mike Robinson | 27 | 1513 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 66 | 618 | 2 | .904 | 2.62 |
| Jeremy Forman | 1 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 0 | .765 | 7.08 |
| Empty Net | - | 21 | - | - | - | 7 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 34 | 2064 | 14 | 19 | 1 | 95 | 814 | 2 | .895 | 2.76 |

## 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 |
| 6 | 189 | Tyler Muszelik$^†$ | Florida Panthers |
† incoming freshman

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| Jackson Pierson | Len Ceglarski Award | |