# 2021–22 Union Dutchmen ice hockey season

The 2021–22 Union Dutchmen ice hockey season was the 81st season of play for the program and the 30th season in the ECAC Hockey conference. The Dutchmen represented Union College and played their home games at Achilles Center, and were coached by Rick Bennett, in his 10th season.

## Season

After losing the entirety of their previous season to the COVID-19 pandemic, Union got a slow start to their season. Neither the offense nor the defense were effective during the first month of the season but, once November rolled around, the Dutchmen began to show some promise. Inconsistent play had the team floating in the middle of the ECAC Hockey standings and by the winter break the team well out of the running for the NCAA tournament.
On January 19, the Union administration received an allegation regarding the conduct of head coach Rick Bennett. He was placed on paid administrative leave the following day when an investigation began and assistant coach John Ronan took over day-to-day responsibilities. Nine days later, after the investigation confirmed the allegation about 'coaching style and practices', Bennett resigned from his position. At the same time, Ronan was confirmed as the interim head coach and would remain in that position until at least the end of the season.
There was a brief uptick in the team's play during the transition but the team flagged in February, slipping down into the bottom third of the conference. Union managed to win its final two regular season games which pushed the team up to 7th and enabled the club to have a home date for the first round of the conference tournament.
The strong play that had suddenly appeared at the end continued into the postseason and Union was dominant in their two wins over Princeton. The team appeared to have turned a corner under Ronan and gave Clarkson everything they had. Against the second-seeded Golden Knights, Murphy was under a wither barrage of shots but he kept his team in both games, allowing the Dutchmen to tie the score on four separate occasions and push both matches into overtime. While the Dutchmen didn't have the firepower to win either contest, the team acquitted themselves well after a very trying campaign.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Drew Blackmun | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Taylor Brierly | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to (Wilkes) |
| Sean Harrison | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Cullen Ferguson | Defenseman | Canada | 20 | Binbrook, ON |
| Collin Graf | Forward | United States | 19 | Lincoln, MA |
| Michael Hodge | Forward | Canada | 21 | Calgary, AB |
| Connor Murphy | Goaltender | United States | 23 | Hudson Falls, NY; transfer from (Northeastern) |
| Josh Phillips | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Getzville, NY |
| Tom Richter | Forward | United States | 21 | Greenwich, CT |
| Andrew Seaman | Forward | United States | 21 | Winnetka, IL |
| Joe Sharib | Goaltender | United States | 20 | Natick, MA |
| Caden Villegas | Forward | United States | 20 | Plano, TX |

## Roster

As of September 25, 2021.

## Standings

2021–22 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 | 3/SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #8 Quinnipiac † | 22 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 54 | 71 | 14 | 42 | 32 | 7 | 3 | 139 | 53 |
| #17 Clarkson | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 51 | 86 | 47 | 37 | 21 | 10 | 6 | 123 | 85 |
| #15 Harvard * | 22 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 69 | 46 | 35 | 21 | 11 | 3 | 116 | 82 |
| Cornell | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 73 | 47 | 32 | 18 | 10 | 4 | 100 | 72 |
| Colgate | 22 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 55 | 57 | 40 | 18 | 18 | 4 | 111 | 112 |
| Rensselaer | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 58 | 63 | 44 | 18 | 23 | 3 | 114 | 119 |
| Union | 22 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 52 | 66 | 37 | 14 | 19 | 4 | 89 | 110 |
| St. Lawrence | 22 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 44 | 60 | 37 | 11 | 19 | 7 | 72 | 110 |
| Brown | 22 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 25 | 36 | 61 | 31 | 7 | 20 | 4 | 50 | 100 |
| Princeton | 22 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 54 | 89 | 31 | 8 | 21 | 2 | 70 | 122 |
| Yale | 22 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 38 | 60 | 30 | 8 | 21 | 1 | 55 | 90 |
| Dartmouth | 22 | 5 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 45 | 71 | 32 | 7 | 22 | 3 | 69 | 110 |
| Championship: March 19, 2022 † 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$^#$ | Site | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| October 2 | 4:00 PM | Rensselaer* | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York (Exhibition) | | L 2–5 | 0 | |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 8 | 7:00 PM | at New Hampshire* | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | Murphy | L 1–4 | 3,409 | 0–1–0 |
| October 9 | 7:00 PM | at New Hampshire* | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | Murphy | L 2–3 | 3,273 | 0–2–0 |
| October 15 | 7:00 PM | Colorado College* | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | Murphy | W 2–1 | 1,435 | 1–2–0 |
| October 16 | 7:00 PM | Colorado College* | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | Murphy | T 3–3 | 0 | 1–2–1 |
| October 22 | 7:00 PM | at Lake Superior State* | Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan | Murphy | L 4–7 | 1,109 | 1–3–1 |
| October 23 | 7:00 PM | at Lake Superior State* | Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan | Murphy | L 2–5 | 965 | 1–4–1 |
| October 29 | 7:00 PM | Rensselaer | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | Murphy | L 2–4 | 1,738 | 1–5–1 (0–1–0) |
| October 30 | 7:00 PM | at Rensselaer | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | Murphy | L 0–3 | 693 | 1–6–1 (0–2–0) |
| November 5 | 7:00 PM | Clarkson | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | Murphy | W 4–3 $^{OT}$ | 1,691 | 2–6–1 (1–2–0) |
| November 6 | 7:00 PM | St. Lawrence | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | Nieto | T 2–2 $^{SOL}$ | 1,594 | 2–6–2 (1–2–1) |
| November 12 | 7:00 PM | at #13 Cornell | Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York | Murphy | L 1–4 | 2,411 | 2–7–2 (1–3–1) |
| November 13 | 7:00 PM | at Colgate | Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York | Murphy | W 2–0 | 528 | 3–7–2 (2–3–1) |
| November 27 | 4:00 PM | at Merrimack* | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | Murphy | W 3–2 | 1,746 | 4–7–2 |
| December 3 | 7:00 PM | Princeton | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | Murphy | W 1–0 $^{OT}$ | 1,250 | 5–7–2 (3–3–1) |
| December 4 | 7:00 PM | #4 Quinnipiac | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | Murphy | L 0–4 | 1,723 | 5–8–2 (3–4–1) |
| December 10 | 7:30 PM | at Maine* | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | Murphy | T 1–1 | 2,631 | 5–8–3 |
| December 11 | 5:00 PM | at Maine* | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | Murphy | L 3–4 | 3,065 | 5–9–3 |
| January 8 | 7:00 PM | at #19 Harvard | Bright-Landry Hockey Center • Boston, Massachusetts | Murphy | L 1–4 | 250 | 5–10–3 (3–5–1) |
| January 14 | 7:00 PM | at St. Lawrence | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | Murphy | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 492 | 6–10–3 (4–5–1) |
| January 15 | 7:00 PM | at Clarkson | Cheel Arena • Potsdam, New York | Murphy | L 2–8 | 2,336 | 6–11–3 (4–6–1) |
| January 21 | 7:00 PM | Brown | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | Murphy | W 3–1 | 1,493 | 7–11–3 (5–6–1) |
| January 22 | 7:00 PM | Yale | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | Murphy | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 1,572 | 7–12–3 (5–7–1) |
| January 26 | 7:00 PM | at Dartmouth | Thompson Arena • Hanover, New Hampshire | Murphy | W 3–2 | 118 | 8–12–3 (6–7–1) |
| January 29 | 2:00 PM | vs. Rensselaer* | Times Union Center • Albany, New York (Mayor's Cup) | Murphy | W 2–0 | 4,222 | 9–12–3 |
| February 1 | 7:00 PM | Long Island* | Times Union Center • Albany, New York | Murphy | L 1–4 | 1,252 | 9–13–3 |
| February 4 | 7:00 PM | at #2 Quinnipiac | People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut | Murphy | L 1–2 | 2,939 | 9–14–3 (6–8–1) |
| February 5 | 7:00 PM | at Princeton | Hobey Baker Memorial Rink • Princeton, New Jersey | Murphy | W 7–3 | 1,256 | 10–14–3 (7–8–1) |
| February 11 | 7:00 PM | Colgate | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | Murphy | L 4–6 | 1,325 | 10–15–3 (7–9–1) |
| February 12 | 7:00 PM | #16 Cornell | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | Murphy | L 2–5 | 1,721 | 10–16–3 (7–10–1) |
| February 18 | 7:00 PM | at Yale | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | Murphy | L 2–3 | 903 | 10–17–3 (7–11–1) |
| February 19 | 7:00 PM | at Brown | Meehan Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island | Murphy | T 2–2 $^{SOL}$ | 537 | 10–17–4 (7–11–2) |
| February 25 | 7:00 PM | Harvard | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | Murphy | W 5–3 | 1,551 | 11–17–4 (8–11–2) |
| February 26 | 7:00 PM | Dartmouth | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | Murphy | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 1,537 | 12–17–4 (9–11–2) |
| ECAC Hockey Tournament ||||||||||
| March 4 | 7:00 PM | Princeton* | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York (First Round game 1) | Murphy | W 3–2 | 1,473 | 13–17–4 |
| March 5 | 7:00 PM | Princeton* | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York (First Round game 2) | Murphy | W 5–1 | 1,435 | 14–17–4 |
| Union Won Series 2–0 ||||||||||
| March 11 | 7:00 PM | at #17 Clarkson* | Cheel Arena • Potsdam, New York (Quarterfinal game 1) | Murphy | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 1,847 | 14–18–4 |
| March 12 | 7:00 PM | at #17 Clarkson* | Cheel Arena • Potsdam, New York (Quarterfinal game 2) | Murphy | L 4–5 $^{OT}$ | 2,077 | 14–19–4 |
| Union Lost Series 0–2 ||||||||||
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Brandon Estes | D | 37 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 10 |
| Collin Graf | C/RW | 37 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 10 |
| Gabriel Seger | C/LW | 34 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 21 |
| Dylan Anhorn | D | 29 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 6 |
| Liam Robertson | C | 35 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 18 |
| Chaz Smedsrud | LW | 37 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 10 |
| Tyler Watkins | F | 34 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 4 |
| Josh Kosack | RW | 37 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 12 |
| Michael Hodge | F | 34 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 12 |
| Cullen Ferguson | D | 37 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 22 |
| Owen Farris | F | 22 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 12 |
| Caden Villegas | F | 32 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 |
| Matthew Allen | C | 25 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Christian Sanda | F | 24 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 25 |
| Ville Immonen | C | 37 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Nicolas Petruolo | D | 27 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 26 |
| Andrew Seaman | F | 23 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Gleb Murtazin | RW | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| Bram Scheerer | LW | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 25 |
| Nathan Kelly | D | 32 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Ryan Sidorski | D | 35 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 22 |
| Trevor Adams | F | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Tom Richter | F | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Michael Ryan | D | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Joe Sharib | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Cohen | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Garrett Nieto | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Phillips | D | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Fletcher Fineman | D | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Connor Murphy | G | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| Total | | | 89 | 150 | 239 | 309 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Joe Sharib | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 |
| Connor Murphy | 37 | 2123 | 14 | 18 | 3 | 94 | 1060 | 3 | .919 | 2.66 |
| Garrett Nieto | 3 | 115 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 42 | 0 | .840 | 4.18 |
| Empty Net | - | 22 | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 37 | 2268 | 14 | 19 | 4 | 110 | 1103 | 3 | .903 | 2.91 |

## 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.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| Josh Kosack | ECAC Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year | |
| Brandon Estes | ECAC Hockey Third Team | |