2021-22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began on October 2, 2021 and concluded with the NCAA championship on April 9, 2022. This was the 74th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held, and was US college hockey's 128th year overall.
==Conference realignment and program suspensions==
Seven schools that had been members of the men's WCHA made a joint decision to leave and reestablish the CCHA, whose original version had last played in the 2012–13 season. They were joined by St. Thomas, who were raising their athletic programs from Division III. Of the remaining three WCHA men's teams, Alaska would continue as an independent program, Alaska Anchorage would suspend operations until fundraising efforts could determine the future of the team and Alabama–Huntsville would suspend operations until they could secure placement within a conference.
On May 26, Robert Morris University announced the termination of both their men's and women's ice hockey teams. The news came as a shock to most, both within and outside the program, and immediately led to fundraising efforts to secure the return of both teams. Despite collecting more than $1 million in donations in under 3 months, the university declared in early August that the team would not be able to participate in the 2021–22 season and would look to return in 2022–23. RMU would announce on December 17, 2021 that both men's and women's teams would resume play in 2023–24.
On August 31, Alaska Anchorage announced that the $3 million fundraising goal had been reached and the team would return for the 2022–23 season.
===Membership changes===
School 	Former Conference	New Conference
Alabama–Huntsville Chargers	WCHA 	Suspended Program
Alaska Nanooks 	WCHA 	Independent
Alaska–Anchorage Seawolves 	WCHA 	Suspended Program
Bemidji State Beavers 	WCHA 	CCHA
Bowling Green Falcons 	WCHA 	CCHA
Ferris State Bulldogs 	WCHA 	CCHA
Lake Superior State Lakers 	WCHA 	CCHA
Michigan Tech Huskies 	WCHA 	CCHA
Minnesota State Mavericks 	WCHA 	CCHA
Northern Michigan Wildcats 	WCHA 	CCHA
Robert Morris Colonials 	Atlantic Hockey 	Suspended Program
St. Thomas Tommies 	MIAC (DIII) 	CCHA
==Polls==
==Regular season==
===Season tournaments===
Tournament 	Dates 	Teams	Champion
Ice Breaker Tournament 	October 8–9 	4 	Boston College
Ice Breaker Tournament 	October 15–16 	4 	Michigan
Holiday Face–Off 	December 28–29	4 	Wisconsin
Great Lakes Invitational	December 29–30	4 	not awarded
Ledyard Bank Classic 	December 30–31	4 	Boston College
Connecticut Ice 	January 29–30 	4 	Quinnipiac
Beanpot 	February 7, 14	4 	Boston University
===Standings===
==PairWise Rankings==
The PairWise Rankings (PWR) are a statistical tool designed to approximate the process by which the NCAA selection committee decides which teams get at-large bids to the 16-team NCAA tournament. Although the NCAA selection committee does not use the PWR as presented by USCHO, the PWR has been accurate in predicting which teams will make the tournament field.
	
For Division I men, all teams are included in comparisons starting in the 2013–14 season (formerly, only teams with a Ratings Percentage Index of .500 or above, or teams under consideration, were included). The PWR method compares each team with every other such team, with the winner of each “comparison” earning one PWR point. After all comparisons are made, the points are totaled up and rankings listed accordingly.
	
With 59 Division I men's teams, the greatest number of PWR points any team could earn is 58, winning the comparison with every other team. Meanwhile, a team that lost all of its comparisons would have no PWR points.
Teams are then ranked by PWR point total, with ties broken by the teams’ RPI ratings, which starting in 2013-14 is weighted for home and road games and includes a quality wins bonus (QWB) for beating teams in the top 20 of the RPI (it also is weighted for home and road).
	
When it comes to comparing teams, the PWR uses three criteria which are combined to make a comparison: RPI, record against common opponents and head-to-head competition. Starting in 2013–14, the comparison of record against teams under consideration was dropped because all teams are now under comparison.
 NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Final PairWise Rankings	
Rank 	Team 	PWR 	RPI 	Conference
1 	 	57 	.6087 	Big Ten
1 	 	57 	.6080* 	CCHA
3 	 	55 	.5789 	NCHC
4 	 	54 	.5846 	NCHC
4 	 	54 	.5690 	NCHC
6 	 	53 	.5773 	Big Ten
7 	 	52 	.5720 	NCHC
8 	 	51 	.5648* 	ECAC Hockey
8 	 	51 	.5607 	Big Ten
10 	 	49 	.5602 	NCHC
11 	 	48 	.5584 	Hockey East
12 	 	47 	.5482 	CCHA
13 	 	46 	.5433 	Hockey East
14 	 	45 	.5431 	Hockey East
15 	 	44 	.5391 	Big Ten
16 	 	42 	.5341 	ECAC Hockey
17 	 	41 	.5333 	Hockey East
17 	 	41 	.5326 	ECAC Hockey
17 	 	41 	.5309 	Hockey East
20 	 	38 	.5294 	Atlantic Hockey
20 	 	38 	.5294 	Hockey East
22 	 	37 	.5270 	Hockey East
23 	 	36 	.5250 	NCHC
23 	 	36 	.5140 	ECAC Hockey
25 	 	34 	.5095 	Big Ten
25 	 	34 	.5061 	CCHA
27 	 	31 	.5061 	Independent
27 	 	31 	.5044 	Hockey East
29 	 	30 	.5020 	CCHA
29 	 	30 	.5008 	Independent
31 	 	28 	.4924 	ECAC Hockey
32 	 	27 	.4914 	CCHA
33 	 	26 	.4845 	Hockey East
34 	 	24 	.4818 	CCHA
35 	 	23 	.4831 	Atlantic Hockey
35 	 	23 	.4808 	Big Ten
37 	 	22 	.4803 	Big Ten
38 	 	21 	.4753 	Atlantic Hockey
39 	 	20 	.4778 	Atlantic Hockey
39 	 	20 	.4723 	Atlantic Hockey
41 	 	18 	.4703 	ECAC Hockey
42 	 	17 	.4669 	Atlantic Hockey
43 	 	15 	.4638 	Atlantic Hockey
43 	 	15 	.4618 	Atlantic Hockey
45 	 	14 	.4638 	NCHC
46 	 	13 	.4616 	NCHC
46 	 	13 	.4572 	ECAC Hockey
48 	 	11 	.4514 	ECAC Hockey
49 	 	10 	.4498 	CCHA
50 	 	9 	.4494 	Atlantic Hockey
51 	 	7 	.4435 	Hockey East
51 	 	7 	.4398 	Atlantic Hockey
53 	 	6 	.4363 	Independent
54 	 	5 	.4362 	ECAC Hockey
55 	 	4 	.4356 	Hockey East
56 	 	3 	.4350 	ECAC Hockey
57 	 	2 	.4322 	ECAC Hockey
58 	 	1 	.4279 	ECAC Hockey
59 	 	0 	.4132 	CCHA
*A team's RPI has been adjusted to remove negative effect from defeating a weak opponent Note: A team's record is based only on games against other Division I hockey schools which are eligible for the NCAA tournament	*A team's RPI has been adjusted to remove negative effect from defeating a weak opponent Note: A team's record is based only on games against other Division I hockey schools which are eligible for the NCAA tournament	*A team's RPI has been adjusted to remove negative effect from defeating a weak opponent Note: A team's record is based only on games against other Division I hockey schools which are eligible for the NCAA tournament	*A team's RPI has been adjusted to remove negative effect from defeating a weak opponent Note: A team's record is based only on games against other Division I hockey schools which are eligible for the NCAA tournament	*A team's RPI has been adjusted to remove negative effect from defeating a weak opponent Note: A team's record is based only on games against other Division I hockey schools which are eligible for the NCAA tournament
==Player stats==
===Scoring leaders===
Player	Class 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
 	Junior 	Denver 	41	14	43	57 	44
 	Junior 	Minnesota State 	38	19	31	50 	43
 	Senior 	Massachusetts 	37	20	29	49 	28
 	Senior 	Minnesota State 	38	18	31	49 	10
 	Senior 	Bemidji State 	39	17	30	47 	41
 	Sophomore	Denver 	39	23	22	45 	37
 	Senior 	Denver 	41	19	26	45 	26
 	Senior 	Western Michigan 	39	9 	36	45 	20
 	Senior 	Michigan Tech 	37	21	23	44 	49
 	Junior 	Lake Superior State	36	15	29	44 	31
 	Senior 	Northern Michigan 	32	13	31	44 	22
===Leading goaltenders===
The following goaltenders lead the NCAA in goals against average, minimum 1/3 of team's minutes played.
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Player	Class 	Team 	GP	Min 	W 	L 	T	GA	SO	SV% 	GAA
 	Freshman 	Quinnipiac 	31	1,841:43	22	5 	2	36	11	.939	1.17
 	Senior 	Minnesota State 	43	2,559:38	38	5 	0	56	10	.931	1.31
 	Sophomore	Northeastern 	32	1,875:30	21	10	1	48	10	.952	1.54
 	Freshman 	Cornell 	17	979:27 	7 	6 	3	28	3 	.933	1.72
 	Junior 	Minnesota 	20	1,114:24	14	4 	0	34	3 	.929	1.83
 	Junior 	Minnesota Duluth 	37	2,201:23	20	12	4	67	7 	.929	1.83
 	Graduate 	Notre Dame 	26	1,481:29	18	8 	0	47	2 	.933	1.90
 	Junior 	Michigan Tech 	37	2,194:53	21	13	2	70	7 	.918	1.91
 	Senior 	Massachusetts Lowell	29	1,738:34	20	7 	2	56	5 	.926	1.93
 	Junior 	Notre Dame 	16	921:52 	10	4 	0	32	2 	.924	2.08
== Tournament bracket ==
* denotes overtime period
==Awards==
===NCAA===
Award 	Award 	Recipient
Hobey Baker Award 	Hobey Baker Award 	Dryden McKay, Minnesota State
Spencer Penrose Award 	Spencer Penrose Award 	Mike Hastings, Minnesota State
Tim Taylor Award 	Tim Taylor Award 	Devon Levi, Northeastern
Mike Richter Award 	Mike Richter Award 	Devon Levi, Northeastern
Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award 	Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award 	Jordan Seyfert, Merrimack
Senior CLASS Award 	Senior CLASS Award 	Zach Driscoll, North Dakota
Tournament Most Outstanding Player	Tournament Most Outstanding Player	Michael Benning, Denver
 	 	
East First Team 	Position 	West First Team
Devon Levi, Northeastern 	G 	Dryden McKay, Minnesota State
Zach Metsa, Quinnipiac 	D 	Ronnie Attard, Western Michigan
Scott Morrow, Massachusetts 	D 	Jake Sanderson, North Dakota
Nick Abruzzese, Harvard 	F 	Matty Beniers, Michigan
Aidan McDonough, Northeastern 	F 	Bobby Brink, Denver
Bobby Trivigno, Massachusetts 	F 	Nathan Smith, Minnesota State
East Second Team 	Position 	West Second Team
Yaniv Perets, Quinnipiac 	G 	Ryan Fanti, Minnesota Duluth
Jordan Harris, Northeastern 	D 	Luke Hughes, Michigan
Henry Thrun, Harvard 	D 	Owen Power, Michigan
Colin Bilek, Army 	F 	Ethen Frank, Western Michigan
Jack McBain, Boston College 	F 	Brian Halonen, Michigan Tech
Ryan Tverberg, Connecticut 	F 	Ben Meyers, Minnesota
===Atlantic Hockey===
Award 	Award 	Recipient
Player of the Year 	Player of the Year 	Chris Theodore, American International
Rookie of the Year 	Rookie of the Year 	Carter Wilkie, RIT
Best Defensive Forward 	Best Defensive Forward 	Jake Stella, American International
Best Defenseman 	Best Defenseman 	Zak Galambos, American International
Individual Sportsmanship Award 	Individual Sportsmanship Award 	Daniel Haider, Army
Regular Season Scoring Trophy 	Regular Season Scoring Trophy 	Colin Bilek, Army
Regular Season Scoring Trophy 	Regular Season Scoring Trophy 	Neil Shea, Sacred Heart
Regular Season Goaltending Award 	Regular Season Goaltending Award	Jake Kucharski, American International
Coach of the Year 	Coach of the Year 	Eric Lang, American International
Tournament MVP 	Tournament MVP 	Blake Bennett, American International
 	 	
First Team 	  Position   	Second Team
Jacob Barczewski, Canisius 	G 	Gavin Abric, Army
Zak Galambos, American International 	D 	Anthony Firriolo, Army
Drew Bavaro, Bentley 	D 	Logan Britt, Sacred Heart
Chris Theodore, American International	F 	Keaton Mastrodonato, Canisius
Colin Bilek, Army 	F 	Neil Shea, Sacred Heart
Will Calverley, RIT 	F 	Jake Stella, American International
Third Team 	  Position   	Rookie Team
Jake Kucharski, American International	G 	Tommy Scarfone, RIT
Brandon Koch, Air Force 	D 	Luis Lindner, American International
David Melaragni, Canisius 	D 	Mitchell Digby, Air Force
Braeden Tuck, Sacred Heart 	F 	Carter Wilkie, RIT
Carson Brière, Mercyhurst 	F 	Clayton Cosentino, Air Force
Ryan Leibold, Holy Cross 	F 	Shane Ott, Niagara
===Big Ten===
Award 	Award 	Recipient
Player of the Year 	Player of the Year 	Ben Meyers, Minnesota
Defensive Player of the Year 	Defensive Player of the Year 	Brock Faber, Minnesota
Goaltender of the Year 	Goaltender of the Year 	Jakub Dobeš, Ohio State
Freshman of the Year 	Freshman of the Year 	Jakub Dobeš, Ohio State
Freshman of the Year 	Freshman of the Year 	Luke Hughes, Michigan
Scoring Champion 	Scoring Champion 	Matty Beniers, Michigan
Coach of the Year 	Coach of the Year 	Bob Motzko, Minnesota
Tournament Most Outstanding Player	Tournament Most Outstanding Player	Erik Portillo, Michigan
 	 	
First Team 	  Position   	Second Team
Jakub Dobeš, Ohio State 	G 	Erik Portillo, Michigan
Owen Power, Michigan 	D 	Luke Hughes, Michigan
Brock Faber, Minnesota 	D 	Jackson LaCombe, Minnesota
Matty Beniers, Michigan 	F 	Brendan Brisson, Michigan
Ben Meyers, Minnesota 	F 	Matthew Knies, Minnesota
Georgii Merkulov, Ohio State 	F 	Max Ellis, Notre Dame
Freshman Team 	  Position   	
Jakub Dobeš, Ohio State 	G 	
Luke Hughes, Michigan 	D 	
Mason Lohrei, Ohio State 	D 	
Matthew Knies, Minnesota 	F 	
Georgii Merkulov, Ohio State 	F 	
Mackie Samoskevich, Michigan 	F 	
===CCHA===
Award 	Award 	Recipient
Player of the Year 	Player of the Year 	Dryden McKay, Minnesota State
Forward of the Year 	Forward of the Year 	Nathan Smith, Minnesota State
Defenseman of the Year 	Defenseman of the Year	Jake Livingstone, Minnesota State
Goaltender of the Year 	Goaltender of the Year	Dryden McKay, Minnesota State
Rookie of the Year 	Rookie of the Year 	Bradley Marek, Ferris State
Coach of the Year 	Coach of the Year 	Mike Hastings, Minnesota State
 	 	
First Team 	  Position  	Second Team
Dryden McKay, Minnesota State 	G 	Blake Pietila, Michigan Tech
Jake Livingstone, Minnesota State 	D 	Colin Swoyer, Michigan Tech
Elias Rosén, Bemidji State 	D 	Jacob Bengtsson, Lake Superior State
Nathan Smith, Minnesota State 	F 	Owen Sillinger, Bemidji State
Brian Halonen, Michigan Tech 	F 	Louis Boudon, Lake Superior State
Julian Napravnik, Minnesota State 	F 	Trenton Bliss, Michigan Tech
 	F 	AJ Vanderbeck, Northern Michigan
Rookie Team 	  Position  	
Mattias Sholl, Bemidji State 	G 	
Charlie Glockner, Northern Michigan	G 	
Eric Parker, Bowling Green 	D 	
Bennett Zmolek, Minnesota State 	D 	
Bradley Marek, Ferris State 	F 	
Austen Swankler, Bowling Green 	F 	
Josh Nixon, Lake Superior State 	F 	
===ECAC Hockey===
Award 	Award 	Recipient
Player of the Year 	Player of the Year 	Yaniv Perets, Quinnipiac
Best Defensive Forward 	Best Defensive Forward 	Zach Teskos, Clarkson
Best Defensive Defenseman 	Best Defensive Defenseman 	Zach Metsa, Quinnipiac
Rookie of the Year 	Rookie of the Year 	Alex Laferriere, Harvard
Ken Dryden Award 	Ken Dryden Award 	Yaniv Perets, Quinnipiac
Student-Athlete of the Year 	Student-Athlete of the Year 	Josh Kosack, Union
Tim Taylor Award 	Tim Taylor Award 	Rand Pecknold, Quinnipiac
Most Outstanding Player in Tournament	Most Outstanding Player in Tournament	Matthew Coronato, Harvard
 	 	
First Team 	  Position   	Second Team
Yaniv Perets, Quinnipiac 	G 	Mitchell Gibson, Harvard
Zach Metsa, Quinnipiac 	D 	Noah Beck, Clarkson
Sam Malinski, Cornell 	D 	Henry Thrun, Harvard
Alex Campbell, Clarkson 	F 	Zach Tsekos, Clarkson
Mathieu Gosselin, Clarkson 	F 	Ture Linden, Rensselaer
Nick Abruzzese, Harvard 	F 	Matt Stienburg, Cornell
Third Team 	  Position   	Rookie Team
Clay Stevenson, Dartmouth 	G 	Clay Stevenson, Dartmouth
Brandon Estes, Union 	D 	Ian Moore, Harvard
Lukas Kälble, Clarkson 	D 	Hank Kempf, Cornell
Alex Laferriere, Harvard 	F 	Alex Laferriere, Harvard
Max Andreev, Cornell 	F 	Ayrton Martino, Clarkson
Wyatt Bongiovanni, Quinnipiac 	F 	Matthew Coronato, Harvard
===Hockey East===
Award 	Award 	Recipient
Player of the Year 	Player of the Year 	Bobby Trivigno, Massachusetts
Best Defensive Forward 	Best Defensive Forward 	Jáchym Kondelík, Connecticut
Best Defensive Defenseman 	Best Defensive Defenseman 	Jordan Harris, Northeastern
Rookie of the Year 	Rookie of the Year 	Devon Levi, Northeastern
Goaltending Champion 	Goaltending Champion 	Devon Levi, Northeastern
Len Ceglarski Sportmanship Award 	Len Ceglarski Sportmanship Award 	Jackson Pierson, New Hampshire
Three Stars Award 	Three Stars Award 	Devon Levi, Northeastern
Scoring Champion 	Scoring Champion 	Bobby Trivigno, Massachusetts
Charlie Holt Team Sportsmanship Award 	Charlie Holt Team Sportsmanship Award 	Massachusetts
Bob Kullen Award (Coach of the Year) 	Bob Kullen Award (Coach of the Year) 	Jerry Keefe, Northeastern
William Flynn Tournament Most Valuable Player	William Flynn Tournament Most Valuable Player	Bobby Trivigno, Massachusetts
 	 	
First Team 	  Position   	Second Team
Devon Levi, Northeastern 	G 	Owen Savory, Massachusetts Lowell
Jordan Harris, Northeastern 	D 	Declan Carlile, Merrimack
Scott Morrow, Massachusetts 	D 	Domenick Fensore, Boston University
Aidan McDonough, Northeastern 	F 	Jáchym Kondelík, Connecticut
Bobby Trivigno, Massachusetts 	F 	Jack McBain, Boston College
Ryan Tverberg, Connecticut 	F 	Wilmer Skoog, Boston University
Third Team 	  Position   	Rookie Team
Matt Murray, Massachusetts 	G 	Devon Levi, Northeastern
Max Crozier, Providence 	D 	Ty Gallagher, Boston University
Matthew Kessel, Massachusetts 	D 	Scott Morrow, Massachusetts
Jack St. Ivany, Boston College 	D 	Ryan Ufko, Massachusetts
 	D 	David Breazeale, Maine
Brett Berard, Providence 	F 	Matt Crasa, Massachusetts Lowell
Carl Berglund, Massachusetts Lowell 	F 	Justin Hryckowian, Northeastern
Andre Lee, Massachusetts Lowell 	F 	Jack Hughes, Northeastern
===NCHC===
Award 	Award 	Recipient
Player of the Year 	Player of the Year 	Bobby Brink, Denver
Rookie of the Year 	Rookie of the Year 	Carter Mazur, Denver
Goaltender of the Year 	Goaltender of the Year 	Ryan Fanti, Minnesota Duluth
Forward of the Year 	Forward of the Year 	Bobby Brink, Denver
Defensive Defenseman of the Year	Defensive Defenseman of the Year	Ethan Frisch, North Dakota
Offensive Defenseman of the Year	Offensive Defenseman of the Year	Ronnie Attard, Western Michigan
Defensive Forward of the Year 	Defensive Forward of the Year 	Connor Ford, North Dakota
Scholar-Athlete of the Year 	Scholar-Athlete of the Year 	Drew Worrad, Western Michigan
Three Stars Award 	Three Stars Award 	Magnus Chrona, Denver
Sportsmanship Award 	Sportsmanship Award 	Mark Senden, North Dakota
Herb Brooks Coach of the Year 	Herb Brooks Coach of the Year 	Brad Berry, North Dakota
Frozen Faceoff MVP 	Frozen Faceoff MVP 	Ryan Fanti, Minnesota Duluth
 	 	
First Team 	  Position   	Second Team
Ryan Fanti, Minnesota Duluth 	G 	Zach Driscoll, North Dakota
Ronnie Attard, Western Michigan 	D 	Jake Sanderson, North Dakota
Nick Perbix, St. Cloud State 	D 	Michael Benning, Denver
Bobby Brink, Denver 	F 	Carter Savoie, Denver
Ethen Frank, Western Michigan 	F 	Drew Worrad, Western Michigan
Riese Gaber, North Dakota 	F 	Kevin Fitzgerald, St. Cloud State
Honorable Mention 	  Position   	Rookie Team
Magnus Chrona, Denver 	G 	Jakob Hellsten, North Dakota
Brandon Scanlin, Omaha 	D 	Sean Behrens, Denver
Michael Joyaux, Western Michigan	D 	Shai Buium, Denver
Cole Guttman, Denver 	F 	Carter Mazur, Denver
Noah Cates, Minnesota Duluth 	F 	Massimo Rizzo, Denver
Connor Ford, North Dakota 	F 	Matteo Costantini, North Dakota
==See also==
* 2021–22 NCAA Division II men's ice hockey season
* 2021–22 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season
==References==
 
NCAA