# 2022–23 Maine Black Bears men's ice hockey season

The 2022–23 Maine Black Bears Men's ice hockey season was the 48th season of play for the program, the 46th season competing at the Division I level, and the 39th in the Hockey East conference. The Black Bears represented the University of Maine and played their home games at Alfond Arena, and were coached by Ben Barr, in his 2nd season as head coach.

## Season

After a very trying season, Maine was looking to get back on track in '23. The first hurdle for the team was dealing with the sheer amount of new faces as more than half of the previous season's players had departed. While the Black Bears would be getting a new starting goaltender, most of their top offensive players were back, which at least gave the team a foundation for this season. Early on, the team performed well and managed to take down #3 Quinnipiac with a rather stunning 4–0 victory. That surprise win, however, was the start of an 8-game stretch where Maine faced all ranked opponents. Unfortunately, the team was unable to win any of the other games and plummeted to the bottom of the conference standings. Several of the games in that stretch were close but the Bears' offense wasn't quite up to par.
The team ended the skid after Thanksgiving and were finally able to find some consistency in their game. They finished out the first half of the season with four consecutive wins but they had a daunting task before them. With little chance to receive an at-large bid, Maine was playing for pride in the second half. With Lynden Breen leading the way, The Black Bears posted several more impressive wins, taking four games from ranked teams. Aside from the three matches against Boston University, Maine looked good even in defeat and managed to climb their way up to 6th in the conference.
The Black Bears entered the postseason in a decent position, facing off against Hockey East bottom-feeder Vermont. Maine got into the lead twice and controlled the game for the first 45 minutes or so. Unfortunately, a strong third period from the Catamounts saw the momentum swing and suddenly the Bears were trailing. Down a goal, Maine got a power play with just under 2 minutes left in regulation. Victor Östman was pulled for an extra attacker to give the Black Bears a de facto 2-man advantage. However, Vermont managed to score into the empty net and seal the game, ending Maine's season.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Adrien Bisson | Defenseman | Canada | Transferred to Mercyhurst |
| Simon Butala | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Adam Dawe | Forward | Canada | Graduate transfer to Connecticut |
| A. J. Drobot | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Tim Gould | Defenseman | Canada | Left program (retired) |
| Edward Lindelöw | Forward | Sweden | Graduation (signed with Västerviks IK) |
| Brad Morrissey | Forward | Canada | Left program (retired) |
| Jonny Mulera | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Tristan Poissant | Forward | Canada | Left program (retired) |
| Jack Quinlivan | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Worcester Railers) |
| Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup | Forward | Denmark | Graduate transfer to Clarkson |
| Cameron Spicer | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Keenan Suthers | Forward | Canada | Graduation (signed with Toronto Marlies) |
| Matthew Thiessen | Goaltender | Canada | Transferred to Minnesota Duluth |
| Perry Winfree | Defenseman | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Emil Westerlund | Forward | Sweden | Graduation (signed with Almtuna IS) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Luke Antonacci | Defenseman | United States | 19 | Princeton, NJ |
| Grayson Arnott | Defenseman | Canada | 21 | Toronto, ON |
| Aidan Carney | Forward | United States | 21 | Paradise Valley, AZ; joined mid-season |
| Brandon Chabrier | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Bayville, NY |
| Samuel Duerr | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Chicago, IL |
| Thomas Freel | Forward | Scotland | 21 | Aberdeen, SCO |
| Cole Hanson | Forward | United States | 22 | Grand Forks, ND; transfer from Colgate |
| Didrik Henbrant | Forward | Sweden | 24 | Sturefors, SWE; transfer from Alaska |
| Brandon Holt | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Grand Forks, ND |
| Thomas Killian Kiecker-Olson | Forward | United States | 21 | Andover, MN |
| Robert Kincaid | Defenseman | Canada | 20 | Barrhead, AB |
| Parker Lindauer | Forward | United States | 21 | Madison, WI |
| Michael Mancinelli | Forward | United States | 21 | Northville, MI |
| Justin Michaelian | Forward | United States | 24 | Wixom, MI; graduate transfer from Ferris State |
| Jacob Mucitelli | Goaltender | United States | 22 | Deerfield, NY; transfer from Clarkson |
| Reid Pabich | Forward | United States | 20 | Verona, WI |
| Félix Trudeau | Forward | Canada | 20 | Terrebonne, QC |

## Roster

As of January 4, 2023.

## Standings

2022–23 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 | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #4 Boston University †* | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 99 | 62 | 40 | 29 | 11 | 0 | 154 | 106 |
| #14 Merrimack | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 72 | 52 | 38 | 23 | 14 | 1 | 106 | 89 |
| #16 Northeastern | 24 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 49 | 78 | 45 | 35 | 17 | 13 | 5 | 107 | 82 |
| Connecticut | 24 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 41 | 78 | 71 | 35 | 20 | 12 | 3 | 113 | 96 |
| Massachusetts Lowell | 24 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 39 | 56 | 54 | 36 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 89 | 82 |
| Maine | 24 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 62 | 65 | 36 | 15 | 16 | 5 | 92 | 94 |
| Providence | 24 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 64 | 60 | 37 | 16 | 14 | 7 | 103 | 87 |
| Boston College | 24 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 70 | 73 | 36 | 14 | 16 | 6 | 104 | 104 |
| Massachusetts | 24 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 55 | 80 | 35 | 13 | 17 | 5 | 94 | 103 |
| New Hampshire | 24 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 44 | 76 | 35 | 11 | 20 | 3 | 74 | 105 |
| Vermont | 24 | 5 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 36 | 76 | 36 | 11 | 20 | 5 | 69 | 103 |
| Championship: March 18, 2023 † 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 |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| October 1 | 7:05 PM | Prince Edward Island* | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine (Exhibition) | | Östman | W 1–0 | 3,856 | |
| Ice Breaker Tournament ||||||||||
| October 7 | 9:05 PM | at Air Force* | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Ice Breaker Tournament) | FloHockey | Mucitelli | W 4–1 | 1,682 | 1–0–0 |
| October 8 | 8:00 PM | at #1 Denver* | Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Ice Breaker Tournament) | Altitude | Östman | L 1–3 | 5,447 | 1–1–0 |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 15 | 5:05 PM | at Bentley* | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Mucitelli | L 1–5 | 1,600 | 1–2–0 |
| October 22 | 4:00 PM | #3 Quinnipiac* | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | W 4–0 | 3,776 | 2–2–0 |
| October 23 | 4:00 PM | #3 Quinnipiac* | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | L 2–6 | 2,915 | 2–3–0 |
| October 28 | 7:05 PM | #15 Northeastern | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | T 2–2 $^{SOW}$ | - | 2–3–1 (0–0–1) |
| October 29 | 7:05 PM | #15 Northeastern | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Mucitelli | L 1–4 | 3,029 | 2–4–1 (0–1–1) |
| November 4 | 7:05 PM | at #8 Connecticut | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut | ESPN+ | Östman | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 3,020 | 2–5–1 (0–2–1) |
| November 5 | 4:05 PM | at #8 Connecticut | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut | ESPN+ | Östman | L 2–3 | 2,993 | 2–6–1 (0–3–1) |
| November 11 | 4:00 PM | at #19 Merrimack | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Östman | L 0–1 | 2,186 | 2–7–1 (0–4–1) |
| November 12 | 7:00 PM | at #19 Merrimack | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Östman | L 3–5 | 2,488 | 2–8–1 (0–5–1) |
| November 26 | 2:05 PM | American International* | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | W 5–1 | 2,910 | 3–8–1 |
| December 2 | 7:00 PM | at Vermont | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | ESPN+ | Östman | W 3–1 | 2,254 | 4–8–1 (1–5–1) |
| December 3 | 5:00 PM | at Vermont | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | ESPN+ | Östman | W 5–1 | 2,613 | 5–8–1 (2–5–1) |
| December 10 | 2:05 PM | Canisius* | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | W 3–0 | 3,333 | 6–8–1 |
| December 30 | 7:00 PM | at Colgate* | Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York | ESPN+ | Mucitelli | L 2–5 | 940 | 6–9–1 |
| December 31 | 4:00 PM | at Colgate* | Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York | ESPN+ | Androlewicz | T 1–1 $^{OT}$ | 833 | 6–9–2 |
| January 6 | 7:05 PM | Alaska Anchorage* | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | W 1–0 | 3,180 | 7–9–2 |
| January 7 | 5:05 PM | Alaska Anchorage* | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | W 4–3 $^{OT}$ | 3,522 | 8–9–2 |
| January 13 | 7:05 PM | #16 Massachusetts Lowell | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | L 1–2 | 3,150 | 8–10–2 (2–6–1) |
| January 14 | 7:05 PM | #16 Massachusetts Lowell | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | W 5–3 | 4,039 | 9–10–2 (3–6–1) |
| January 20 | 7:00 PM | at #5 Boston University | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts (Rivalry) | NESN, ESPN+ | Östman | L 1–5 | 3,703 | 9–11–2 (3–7–1) |
| January 21 | 6:00 PM | at #5 Boston University | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts (Rivalry) | ESPN+ | Androlewicz | L 6–9 | 3,637 | 9–12–2 (3–8–1) |
| January 27 | 7:05 PM | #17 Providence | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | W 3–2 | 3,476 | 10–12–2 (4–8–1) |
| January 28 | 7:05 PM | #17 Providence | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | W 3–0 | 4,441 | 11–12–2 (5–8–1) |
| February 3 | 7:05 PM | #3 Boston University | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine (Rivalry) | ESPN+ | Östman | L 3–5 | 4,325 | 11–13–2 (5–9–1) |
| February 5 | 2:05 PM | #15 Merrimack | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 3,770 | 12–13–2 (6–9–1) |
| February 10 | 7:00 PM | at Boston College | Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | ESPN+, NESN | Östman | W 3–1 | 4,175 | 13–13–2 (7–9–1) |
| February 12 | 2:05 PM | at #17 Massachusetts Lowell | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Östman | T 1–1 $^{SOL}$ | 4,019 | 13–13–3 (7–9–2) |
| February 17 | 7:00 PM | at New Hampshire | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire (Rivalry) | NESN, ESPN+ | Östman | T 2–2 $^{SOL}$ | 6,501 | 13–13–4 (7–9–3) |
| February 18 | 7:00 PM | at New Hampshire | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire (Rivalry) | ESPN+ | Östman | T 0–0 $^{SOL}$ | 6,501 | 13–13–5 (7–9–4) |
| February 24 | 7:05 PM | Boston College | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | W 6–3 | 4,870 | 14–13–5 (8–9–4) |
| February 25 | 7:05 PM | Boston College | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | W 2–1 | 5,045 | 15–13–5 (9–9–4) |
| March 3 | 7:05 PM | Massachusetts | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | L 2–5 | 4,272 | 15–14–5 (9–10–4) |
| March 4 | 7:05 PM | Massachusetts | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | L 3–4 | 5,043 | 15–15–5 (9–11–4) |
| Hockey East Tournament ||||||||||
| March 8 | 7:00 PM | Vermont* | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | ESPN+ | Östman | L 2–4 | 3,748 | 15–16–5 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Lynden Breen | C | 36 | 21 | 15 | 36 | 22 |
| Ben Poisson | F | 36 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 27 |
| Nolan Renwick | RW | 36 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 16 |
| Donovan Houle-Villeneuve | C | 36 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 16 |
| Jakub Sirota | D | 36 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 39 |
| Didrik Henbrant | C/RW | 34 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 24 |
| Thomas Freel | C | 36 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 27 |
| David Breazeale | D | 36 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Luke Antonacci | D | 36 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 10 |
| Brandon Holt | D | 24 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2 |
| Grayson Arnott | D | 34 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 25 |
| Michael Mancinelli | C | 30 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 6 |
| Cole Hanson | F | 36 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 22 |
| Félix Trudeau | LW | 28 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 14 |
| Reid Pabich | C | 31 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 |
| Killian Kiecker-Olson | C | 24 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| Brandon Chabrier | D | 28 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 25 |
| Justin Michaelian | F | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Aiden Carney | F | 19 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Grant Hebert | C | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Samuel Duerr | D | 22 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Dawson Bruneski | D | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Victor Östman | G | 33 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Matthew Fawcett | LW | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Connor Androlewicz | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacob Mucitelli | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Kincaid | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Parker Lindauer | F | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | | | 92 | 167 | 259 | 333 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Victor Östman | 33 | 1874:39 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 69 | 773 | 5 | .918 | 2.21 |
| Connor Androlewicz | 3 | 134:27 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 45 | 0 | .865 | 3.12 |
| Jacob Mucitelli | 4 | 161:29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 61 | 0 | .824 | 4.83 |
| Empty Net | - | 21:25 | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 36 | 2192:00 | 15 | 16 | 5 | 94 | 879 | 5 | .903 | 2.57 |

## 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.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| Victor Östman | Hockey East Second Team | |
| Lynden Breen | Hockey East Second Team | |

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

| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
| 1 | 30 | Bradly Nadeau $^†$ | Carolina Hurricanes |
† incoming freshman