# 2022–23 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey season

The 2022-23 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey season was the 74th season of play for the program and 22nd in the Big Ten. The Badgers represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. They were coached by Tony Granato in his seventh season and played their home games at Kohl Center.

## Season

After an abysmal season, Wisconsin was hoping for a resurgence in 2023. Unfortunately for the Badgers, this season the Big Ten was the strongest conference in the nation, boasting upwards of 6 teams ranked in the top 20. Wisconsin was the odd man out and though they did see improvements on both the offensive and defensive side of the puck, it wasn't enough to keep them out of the conference cellar. From the start of the season the Badgers had to face a murderer's row of opponents and played their first 8 games against ranked teams. While they did win two of those games, both were against non-conference competition and only marginally helped the team's cause.
Wisconsin managed to put together a 5-game winning streak in the middle of the season but four of those victories came against two of the lowest-ranked teams in the country and the team followed that up by going 3–11 over the next fourteen games. It wasn't really until the end of the regular season that the Badgers showed any signs of life when they managed to split three consecutive series, all against ranked teams. While it didn't help they at all in regards to their playoff position, it did at least show that they had the potential to make waves in the conference tournament.
In the postseason meeting at Michigan, the Badger's offense show up and scored 9 goals in two games. However, the defense was porous and allowed the Wolverines to score 13 goals.
Shortly after the end of the season, head coach Tony Granato was relieved of his position. The move did not come as a surprise to Granato, who said:
   “Based on the end of last year, I knew we had to win this year,”
It was the fifth losing season for the Badgers under Granato in seven years.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Roman Ahcan | Goaltender | United States | Graduation (signed with Cleveland Monsters) |
| Tarek Baker | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays) |
| Caden Brown | Forward | Canada | Returned to juniors mid-season (Waterloo Black Hawks) |
| Ryder Donovan | Forward | United States | Left program (transferred to St. Thomas) |
| Josh Ess | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Tyler Inamoto | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Ontario Reign) |
| Max Johnson | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Wheeling Nailers) |
| Jake Martin | Defenseman | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Brayden Morrison | Forward | Canada | Returned to juniors mid-season (Dubuque Fighting Saints) |
| Jesper Peltonen | Defenseman | Finland | Graduation (signed with EHC Kloten) |
| Cameron Rowe | Goaltender | United States | Transferred to Western Michigan |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Ben Dexheimer | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Edina, MN |
| Jack Horbach | Forward | United States | 20 | Naperville, IL |
| Tyson Jugnauth | Defenseman | Canada | 18 | Toronto, ON; selected 100th overall in 2022 |
| Cruz Lucius | Forward | United States | 18 | Lawrence, KS; selected 124th overall in 2022 |
| Kyle McClellan | Goaltender | United States | 23 | Manchester, MO; transfer from Mercyhurst |
| Robby Newton | Forward | United States | 21 | Milwaukee, WI |
| Ty Smilanic | Forward | United States | 20 | Elizabeth, CO; transfer from Quinnipiac; selected 74th overall in 2020 |
| Charlie Stramel | Forward | United States | 17 | Rosemount, MN |

## Roster

As of September 8, 2022.

## Standings

2022–23 Big Ten ice 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 |
| #2 Minnesota † | 24 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 57 | 106 | 50 | 40 | 29 | 10 | 1 | 168 | 90 |
| #3 Michigan * | 24 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 82 | 79 | 41 | 26 | 12 | 3 | 171 | 128 |
| #7 Ohio State | 24 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 69 | 63 | 40 | 21 | 16 | 3 | 131 | 101 |
| Notre Dame | 24 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 35 | 52 | 60 | 37 | 16 | 16 | 5 | 85 | 97 |
| #19 Michigan State | 24 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 34 | 65 | 80 | 38 | 18 | 18 | 2 | 107 | 115 |
| #8 Penn State | 24 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 71 | 75 | 39 | 22 | 16 | 1 | 129 | 106 |
| Wisconsin | 24 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 54 | 92 | 36 | 13 | 23 | 0 | 94 | 126 |
| Championship: March 18, 2023 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll |||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| October 2 | 2:00 PM | at Lakehead* | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin (Exhibition) | | McClellan | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 1,770 | |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 7 | 6:00 PM | at #14 Ohio State | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio | | Moe | L 1–3 | 3,519 | 0–1–0 (0–1–0) |
| October 8 | 4:00 PM | at #14 Ohio State | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio | | Moe | L 3–4 | 3,041 | 0–2–0 (0–2–0) |
| October 14 | 7:04 PM | #10 St. Cloud State* | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BSW | Moe | L 1–5 | 7,030 | 0–3–0 |
| October 15 | 7:04 PM | #10 St. Cloud State* | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BSW | McClellan | L 1–2 | 9,894 | 0–4–0 |
| October 21 | 7:00 PM | at #10 Minnesota Duluth* | AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota | MY9 | Moe | W 5–2 | 6,573 | 1–4–0 |
| October 22 | 6:00 PM | at #10 Minnesota Duluth* | AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota | MY9 | Moe | W 3–0 | 7,038 | 2–4–0 |
| October 28 | 6:00 PM | #16 Penn State | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BSW+ | Moe | L 1–2 | 6,004 | 2–5–0 (0–3–0) |
| October 29 | 6:00 PM | #16 Penn State | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BSW+ | Moe | L 0–4 | 6,933 | 2–6–0 (0–4–0) |
| November 4 | 6:00 PM | at Michigan State | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | BTN+ | Moe | L 0–5 | 5,038 | 2–7–0 (0–5–0) |
| November 5 | 5:00 PM | at Michigan State | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | BTN+ | McClellan | L 1–5 | 5,318 | 2–8–0 (0–6–0) |
| November 11 | 7:00 PM | Long Island* | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BSW+ | Moe | W 3–2 | 6,058 | 3–8–0 |
| November 12 | 7:00 PM | Long Island* | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BSW | Moe | W 4–3 $^{OT}$ | 7,650 | 4–8–0 |
| November 18 | 7:00 PM | Lindenwood* | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BSW+ | McClellan | W 4–3 | 5,550 | 5–8–0 |
| November 19 | 7:00 PM | Lindenwood* | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BSW | Moe | W 5–1 | 6,974 | 6–8–0 |
| December 2 | 7:00 PM | #5 Michigan | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BSD, BSW+ | Moe | W 6–3 | 7,464 | 7–8–0 (1–6–0) |
| December 3 | 4:00 PM | #5 Michigan | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BSD+, BSW+ | Moe | L 2–4 | 8,619 | 7–9–0 (1–7–0) |
| December 9 | 8:00 PM | at #3 Minnesota | 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota (Rivalry) | BTN | Moe | L 1–7 | 8,961 | 7–10–0 (1–8–0) |
| December 10 | 6:00 PM | at #3 Minnesota | 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota (Rivalry) | BSN, BSW | McClellan | L 4–6 | 9,713 | 7–11–0 (1–9–0) |
| Holiday Face–Off ||||||||||
| December 28 | 7:30 PM | vs. Lake Superior State* | Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Holiday Face–Off Semifinal) | BSW+ | Moe | W 4–0 | 6,533 | 8–11–0 |
| December 29 | 7:30 PM | vs. Clarkson* | Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Holiday Face–Off Championship) | BSW | Moe | L 1–3 | 6,584 | 8–12–0 |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| January 6 | 7:00 PM | #20 Notre Dame | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BSW+ | Moe | W 2–0 | 7,256 | 9–12–0 (2–9–0) |
| January 7 | 5:30 PM | #20 Notre Dame | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BTN | McClellan | L 4–6 | 7,256 | 9–13–0 (2–10–0) |
| January 13 | 7:00 PM | USNTDP* | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin (Exhibition) | | McClellan | L 1–6 | 6,313 | |
| January 20 | 7:00 PM | #7 Ohio State | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BSGL, BSW | Moe | W 4–0 | 7,414 | 10–13–0 (3–10–0) |
| January 21 | 7:00 PM | #7 Ohio State | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BSGL, BSW+ | Moe | L 0–2 | 9,766 | 10–14–0 (3–11–0) |
| January 27 | 5:00 PM | at Notre Dame | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana | Peacock | Moe | L 3–5 | 5,022 | 10–15–0 (3–12–0) |
| January 28 | 6:00 PM | at Notre Dame | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana | Peacock | Moe | L 1–3 | 5,022 | 10–16–0 (3–13–0) |
| February 3 | 6:00 PM | at #6 Michigan | Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan | | Moe | L 2–6 | 5,800 | 10–17–0 (3–14–0) |
| February 4 | 6:00 PM | at #6 Michigan | Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan | | Moe | L 4–7 | 5,800 | 10–18–0 (3–15–0) |
| February 10 | 7:00 PM | #1 Minnesota | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin (Rivalry) | BSW+ | Moe | L 1–4 | 8,018 | 10–19–0 (3–16–0) |
| February 11 | 5:00 PM | #1 Minnesota | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin (Rivalry) | BTN | McClellan | W 3–1 | 11,075 | 11–19–0 (4–16–0) |
| February 17 | 8:00 PM | #17 Michigan State | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BTN | McClellan | L 2–6 | 8,416 | 11–20–0 (4–17–0) |
| February 18 | 7:00 PM | #17 Michigan State | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | BTN+, BSW | Moe | W 6–2 | 10,703 | 12–20–0 (5–17–0) |
| February 24 | 6:00 PM | at #10 Penn State | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Moe | L 1–6 | 6,371 | 12–21–0 (5–18–0) |
| February 25 | 4:00 PM | at #10 Penn State | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | McClellan | W 2–1 | 6,557 | 13–21–0 (6–18–0) |
| Big Ten Tournament ||||||||||
| March 3 | 6:00 PM | at #4 Michigan* | Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 1) | BTN+ | McClellan | L 5–6 $^{OT}$ | 3,704 | 13–22–0 |
| March 4 | 6:00 PM | at #4 Michigan* | Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 2) | BTN+ | Moe | L 4–7 | 5,541 | 13–23–0 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Cruz Lucius | RW | 34 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 18 |
| Mathieu De St. Phalle | F | 36 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 20 |
| Brock Caufield | RW | 36 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 4 |
| Corson Ceulemans | D | 33 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 38 |
| Carson Bantle | LW | 35 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 14 |
| Tyson Jugnauth | D | 32 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 30 |
| Jack Gorniak | C/LW | 31 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 30 |
| Charlie Stramel | F | 33 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 59 |
| Zach Urdahl | LW | 34 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 14 |
| Sam Stange | RW | 34 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 2 |
| Ben Dexheimer | D | 35 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| Owen Lindmark | C | 36 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 10 |
| Jack Horbach | C/RW | 32 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 40 |
| Liam Malmquist | F | 33 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 12 |
| Dominick Mersch | C | 35 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 15 |
| Daniel Laatsch | D | 36 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Mike Vorlicky | D | 32 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 34 |
| Luke LaMaster | D | 34 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 37 |
| Ty Smilanic | C | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Anthony Kehrer | D | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| Robby Newton | F | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Shay Donovan | D | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jared Moe | G | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Brayden Morrison | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle McClellan | G | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Caden Brown | C | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | | | 94 | 157 | 251 | 424 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Jared Moe | 31 | 1577:02 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 87 | 763 | 4 | .898 | 3.31 |
| Kyle McLellan | 15 | 570:59 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 34 | 257 | 0 | .883 | 3.57 |
| Empty Net | - | 24:52 | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 36 | 2172:53 | 13 | 23 | 0 | 126 | 1020 | 4 | .894 | 3.48 |

## 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 | 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 | 26 | 27 (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 | NR | NR |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.

## Players drafted into the NHL
### 2023 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
| 1 | 21 | Charlie Stramel | Minnesota Wild |
| 2 | 47 | Brady Cleveland $^†$ | Detroit Red Wings |
| 3 | 66 | William Whitelaw $^†$ | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| 5 | 137 | Jack Phelan $^†$ | Detroit Red Wings |
| 6 | 177 | Zach Schulz $^†$ | New York Islanders |
† incoming freshman