# 2021–22 Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey season was the 16th season of play for the program. They represented Penn State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. This season marked the ninth season in the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by Guy Gadowsky, in his 11th season, and played their home games at Pegula Ice Arena.

## Season

Penn State's season began with a bang and the Nittany Lions won six of their first seven games, culminating with a win over North Dakota at the Bridgestone Arena, the home of the Nashville Predators. The hot start got PSU its first ranking of the season but their circumstances quickly changed. As soon as they began their conference schedule, Penn State lost four game in a row with both their offense and defense crumbling. They recovered a bit at the end of November but the respite didn't last long and the Nittany Lions finished the first half of their season near the bottom of the Big Ten standings.
After a win over Army to kick off their second half, Penn State lost four consecutive game again and were wallowing at the bottom of their conference. Oskar Autio hadn't been playing well in goal and the team began to move away from his as the primary starter. Liam Soulière began sharing the load in goal and the team got a boost at the end of January when they made their only conference weekend sweep of the year. The offense then failed afterwards and Penn State lost another 5 games in a row before managing a split with Big Ten bottom-feeder Michigan State to close out the regular season.
The team's terrible season was supposed to end quickly against Ohio State, who were gearing up for the NCAA tournament. Instead of surrendering to expectations, the Lions fought hard against the Buckeyes; after losing the first game by just a goal, the offense bombarded the OSU cage with 81 shots in two games. Soulière held back the counterattack just enough to earn two 1-goal wins and Penn State knocked out #12 team in the country. The Lions were nearly able to pull off a stunning comeback the following game when they tied Minnesota after being down 0–2, but a late goal from the Gophers ultimately ended their season.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Evan Bell | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Tim Doherty | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Allen Americans) |
| Bobby Hampton | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| William Holtforster | Goaltender | Canada | Graduation (retired) |
| Alex Limoges | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with San Diego Gulls) |
| Max Sauvé | Forward | United States | Signed professional contract (Wheeling Nailers) |
| Sam Sternschein | Forward | United States | Graduate transfer to Boston College |
| Alex Stevens | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Wheeling Nailers) |
| Aarne Talvitie | Forward | Finland | Signed professional contract (New Jersey Devils) |
| Jared Westcott | Forward | United States | Transferred from Lake Superior State |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Ben Copeland | Forward | United States | 22 | Edina, MN; transfer from Colorado College |
| Doug Dorr | Goaltender | United States | 22 | Pittsburgh, PA; already completed one year of classes |
| Carson Dyck | Forward | Canada | 20 | Lethbridge, AB |
| Danny Dzhaniyev | Forward | United States | 19 | Brooklyn, NY |
| Ryan Kirwan | Forward | United States | 19 | DeWitt, NY |
| Dylan Lugris | Forward | Canada | 20 | Buffalo, NY; joined mid-season |
| Simon Mack | Defenseman | Canada | 20 | Brockville, ON |
| Ben Schoen | Forward | United States | 19 | Toledo, OH |

## Roster

As of September 5, 2021.

## Standings

2021–22 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 |
| #5 Minnesota † | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 90 | 50 | 39 | 26 | 13 | 0 | 138 | 91 |
| #2 Michigan * | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 51 | 91 | 59 | 42 | 31 | 10 | 1 | 167 | 94 |
| #9 Notre Dame | 24 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 74 | 55 | 40 | 28 | 12 | 0 | 122 | 75 |
| #16 Ohio State | 24 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 76 | 59 | 37 | 22 | 13 | 2 | 125 | 87 |
| Penn State | 24 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 63 | 92 | 38 | 17 | 20 | 1 | 117 | 122 |
| Wisconsin | 24 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 53 | 96 | 37 | 10 | 24 | 3 | 76 | 132 |
| Michigan State | 24 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 51 | 87 | 36 | 12 | 23 | 1 | 76 | 119 |
| Championship: March 19, 2022 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated April 7, 2022 |||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 3 | 3:00 PM | Long Island* | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Autio | W 3–1 | 5,795 | 1–0–0 |
| October 4 | 7:00 PM | Long Island* | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Autio | W 5–2 | 5,592 | 2–0–0 |
| October 8 | 7:00 PM | Canisius* | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Autio | L 1–4 | 5,996 | 2–1–0 |
| October 9 | 1:00 PM | Canisius* | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Soulière | W 5–2 | 6,020 | 3–1–0 |
| October 21 | 7:00 PM | Niagara* | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Autio | W 4–0 | 5,547 | 4–1–0 |
| October 22 | 7:00 PM | Niagara* | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Soulière | W 6–2 | 5,597 | 5–1–0 |
| October 30 | 8:07 PM | vs. #6 North Dakota* | | Bridgestone Arena • Nashville, TN (US Hockey Hall of Fame Game) | | Autio | W 6–4 | 14,659 | 6–1–0 |
| November 5 | 7:00 PM | at Ohio State | #16 | Value City Arena • Columbus, OH | | Soulière | L 2–5 | 4,376 | 6–2–0 (0–1–0) |
| November 6 | 5:00 PM | at Ohio State | #16 | Value City Arena • Columbus, OH | | Autio | L 1–4 | 3,941 | 6–3–0 (0–2–0) |
| November 11 | 8:30 PM | #2 Michigan | #19 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | BTN | Autio | L 1–5 | 6,128 | 6–4–0 (0–3–0) |
| November 12 | 7:00 PM | #2 Michigan | #19 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Soulière | L 2–6 | 6,437 | 6–5–0 (0–4–0) |
| November 19 | 8:00 PM | at #7 Minnesota | | 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, MN | BSN | Autio | W 5–3 | 7,426 | 7–5–0 (1–4–0) |
| November 20 | 9:00 PM | at #7 Minnesota | | 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, MN | BSN | Autio | L 2–4 | 7,309 | 7–6–0 (1–5–0) |
| November 23 | 8:07 PM | at St. Thomas* | | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, MN | | Autio | W 5–1 | 559 | 8–6–0 |
| November 24 | 8:07 PM | at St. Thomas* | | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, MN | | Soulière | W 4–1 | 544 | 9–6–0 |
| December 3 | 7:00 PM | Michigan State | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Autio | W 4–2 | 6,008 | 10–6–0 (2–5–0) |
| December 4 | 5:00 PM | Michigan State | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Autio | L 3–4 | 6,144 | 10–7–0 (2–6–0) |
| December 10 | 8:00 PM | at Wisconsin | | Kohl Center • Madison, WI | BSW | Autio | L 1–4 | 9,369 | 10–8–0 (2–7–0) |
| December 11 | 7:00 PM | at Wisconsin | | Kohl Center • Madison, WI | BSW | Autio | W 5–4 $^{OT}$ | 10,176 | 11–8–0 (3–7–0) |
| January 1 | 5:05 PM | at Army* | | Tate Rink • West Point, NY | | Autio | W 5–3 | 1,160 | 12–8–0 |
| January 7 | 7:00 PM | #13 Notre Dame | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Autio | L 2–4 | 5,639 | 12–9–0 (3–8–0) |
| January 8 | 5:00 PM | #13 Notre Dame | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Autio | L 4–5 $^{OT}$ | 5,871 | 12–10–0 (3–9–0) |
| January 14 | 7:30 PM | at #4 Michigan | | Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, MI | | Autio | L 2–3 | 5,800 | 12–11–0 (3–10–0) |
| January 15 | 7:00 PM | at #4 Michigan | | Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, MI | | Autio | L 3–4 | 5,800 | 12–12–0 (3–11–0) |
| January 21 | 7:00 PM | at Wisconsin | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Soulière | W 4–1 | 6,008 | 13–12–0 (4–11–0) |
| January 22 | 6:00 PM | at Wisconsin | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Autio | W 7–2 | 6,247 | 14–12–0 (5–11–0) |
| January 28 | 7:00 PM | #12 Ohio State | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Soulière | T 2–2 $^{SOW}$ | 6,059 | 14–12–1 (5–11–1) |
| January 29 | 7:00 PM | #12 Ohio State | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | | Autio | L 0–6 | 6,059 | 14–13–1 (5–12–1) |
| February 4 | 7:30 PM | at #13 Notre Dame | | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN | Peacock | Soulière | L 2–7 | 4,358 | 14–14–1 (5–13–1) |
| February 5 | 6:00 PM | at #13 Notre Dame | | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN | Peacock | Autio | L 0–3 | 4,678 | 14–15–1 (5–14–1) |
| February 18 | 6:30 PM | #5 Minnesota | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | BTN | Soulière | L 1–3 | 6,043 | 14–16–1 (5–15–1) |
| February 19 | 6:00 PM | #5 Minnesota | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA | BTN | Autio | L 4–6 | 6,216 | 14–17–1 (5–16–1) |
| February 25 | 7:00 PM | at Michigan State | | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI | | Soulière | W 5–3 | 4,940 | 15–17–1 (6–16–1) |
| February 26 | 6:00 PM | at Michigan State | | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI | | Soulière | L 1–2 | 6,122 | 15–18–1 (6–17–1) |
| Big Ten Tournament ||||||||||
| March 4 | 7:00 PM | at #12 Ohio State* | | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio (Quarterfinal game 1) | | Soulière | L 3–4 | 2,039 | 15–19–1 |
| March 5 | 7:00 PM | at #12 Ohio State* | | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio (Quarterfinal game 2) | | Soulière | W 3–2 | 2,198 | 16–19–1 |
| March 6 | 8:00 PM | at #12 Ohio State* | | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio (Quarterfinal game 3) | | Soulière | W 2–1 | 1,188 | 17–19–1 |
| March 12 | 9:00 PM | at #2 Minnesota* | | 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, MN (Semifinal) | BTN | Soulière | L 2–3 | 6,856 | 17–20–1 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Kevin Wall | RW | 38 | 16 | 13 | 29 | 32 |
| Connor MacEachern | F | 36 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 16 |
| Ryan Kirwan | F | 36 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 8 |
| Ben Copeland | C | 33 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 10 |
| Ben Schoen | C | 37 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 39 |
| Jimmy Dowd | D | 37 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 32 |
| Danny Dzhaniyev | F | 36 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 6 |
| Tyler Paquette | RW | 36 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 6 |
| Connor McMenamin | LW | 38 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 25 |
| Christian Berger | LW | 38 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 6 |
| Chase McLane | C/RW | 30 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 22 |
| Tyler Gratton | RW | 37 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 24 |
| Clayton Phillips | D | 32 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 16 |
| Christian Sarlo | F | 38 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 16 |
| Carson Dyck | F | 29 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 16 |
| Xander Lamppa | F | 29 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 |
| Paul DeNaples | D | 38 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 29 |
| Adam Pilewicz | D | 38 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 |
| Simon Mack | D | 37 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Dylan Lugris | F | 17 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Kenny Johnson | D | 31 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 46 |
| Oskar Autio | G | 23 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Doug Dorr | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Liam Soulière | G | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Total | | | 117 | 199 | 316 | 379 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Doug Dorr | 1 | 5:19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 |
| Liam Soulière | 15 | 897 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 43 | 409 | 0 | .905 | 2.88 |
| Oskar Autio | 23 | 1367 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 71 | 591 | 1 | .893 | 3.12 |
| Empty Net | - | 42 | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 38 | 2311 | 17 | 20 | 1 | 122 | 1001 | 1 | .891 | 3.17 |

## 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 | 16 | 19 | 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.