Jump to content

2022–23 Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2022–23 Minnesota State Mavericks
men's ice hockey season
CCHA, Champion
CCHA Tournament, Champion
NCAA Tournament, Regional Semifinal
Conference1st CCHA
Home iceMayo Clinic Health System Event Center
Rankings
USCHO#12
USA Today#11
Record
Overall25–13–1
Conference16–9–1
Home14–6–1
Road11–6–0
Neutral0–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachMike Hastings
Assistant coachesTodd Knott
Paul Kirtland
Cory Lonke
Captain(s)Cade Borchardt
Brendan Furry
Alternate captain(s)Jake Livingstone
Sam Morton
Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

The 2022–23 Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey season was the 54th season of play for the program, 27th at the Division I level, and 2nd in the CCHA. The Mavericks represented Minnesota State University, Mankato in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, were coached by Mike Hastings, in his 11th season, and played their home games at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.

Season

[edit]

After coming within 1 period of winning a national championship, Minnesota State lost many of the key players that brought it near the pinnacle of college hockey. Aside from losing half of its defensive corps, including the team captain, MSU also lost its top two scorers and Hobey Baker Award-winning starting goaltender. Despite those departures, the cupboard was not bare for the Mavericks and the team was still expected to compete for another tournament berth, as their preseason ranking indicated.[1]

The Mavs started the season well, earning a split with preseason #2 Minnesota and then sweeping another highly ranked team in Minnesota Duluth the following week. The team stumbled a bit in the third week by dropping both games to St. Cloud State but a pair of 1-goal losses weren't expected to harm the team's tournament hopes too much.

During the first half of the season, the team alternated between Keenan Rancier and Alexander Tracy as the starting goaltender to determine which, if either, would become the Mavericks primary netminder. While both were insulated by a defense that gave up less than 22 shots against per game, Rancier was much better at stopping the puck and eventually won the job as the No. 1 goalie. The offense was less able to cope with the loss of its high-end scorers and ended up scoring 52 fewer goals over the course of the season, albeit in 5 fewer games. David Silye saw a vast improvement in his output as he became the team's top producer and he was aided by addition of Christian Fitzgerald.

When MSU began their conference schedule that didn't seem to have any trouble scoring, however, as the Mavs won each of their first 4 games. Unfortunately, as the club rolled into November, the goals became a bit more scarce and Minnesota State's record suffered as a result. Over a month-long stretch, Minnesota State went 3–5–1 and were swept twice at home. The winter break could not have come at a better time as the team was mired in mediocrity and were about to fall out of the polls for the first time in five years.

Desperately needing a winning streak to save their season, the Mavericks offence found some consistency and scored at least 3 goals in each of their games during the month of January. With Rancier settling down in the goal, Minnesota State won 8 consecutive games and pulled themselves back about the cutline for the tournament. Additionally, they placed themselves near the top of the CCHA standings and were in line to repeat as league champions. The Mavs stumbled a bit at the end, earning splits in each of their final three weekends and were in the middle of the bubble for the tournament when they began their postseason push.

With their position in the PairWise rankings, Minnesota State needed a good performance in the conference tournament to ensure themselves a spot in the NCAA tournament. A quarterfinal exit would have essentially eliminated the Mavericks while an appearance in the championship game could have allowed them to earn an at-large bid.[2] In any event, the only sure way for the team to make the tournament was to win the championship and they started in the best possible position. Because MSU had (barely) finished as the No. 1 team in the conference, they were rewarded with a quarterfinal matchup against Lake Superior State. The Lakers put up a valiant effort but MSU outshot their opponents 72–36 in the two games and rose a strong power play into the semifinal. The Mavs were equally as impressive against Ferris State with a 7–2 victory and set up a showdown with an upstart Northern Michigan team in the final.

Due to how the other conferences had played, both teams were fighting for their postseason lives as a loss would leave MSU out in the cold while NMU's only chance from the start was a conference title. While Minnesota State outshout their opponents as usual, Northern Michigan was not far behind with a margin of 33–25. The biggest problem for the Mavs was that the Wildcat goalie, Béni Halász, had gotten hot at the end of the season and was continuing his strong play by shutting down the MSU offense. The lack of scoring enabled Northern Michigan to build a 2-goal lead and take it deep into the third period. MSU was forced to pull Rancier for an extra attacker with several minutes to play. Fortunately, the desperate ploy worked and Minnesota State scored twice in the final two and a half minutes to tie the game. The sudden reversal in fortune sapped all the energy from the Wildcats and it took just 68 seconds of overtime for Zach Krajnik to send the Mavs into the NCAA tournament.

In their opening game of the tournament, MSU was given the chance for revenge against St. Cloud State and the Mavs got off to s fast start. Minnesota State carried the pace of play for the entire game, outshooting the Huskies 34–21 and getting several scoring chances. However, nothing they did resulted in a goal. Jaxon Castor played a masterful game for St. Cloud and prevented the Mavericks from getting a single goal to their credit. A furious attempt to tie the game in the third only enabled the Huskies to double their goal total to 4 over the final 30 minutes and end the Mavericks' season.[3]

Departures

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Cause
Wyatt Aamodt Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Colorado Avalanche)
Evan Foss Goaltender  United States Left program (retired)
Reggie Lutz Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Benton Maass Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Hershey Bears)
Dryden McKay Goaltender  United States Graduation (signed with Toronto Marlies)
Jack McNeely Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Julian Napravnik Forward  Germany Graduation (signed with Hershey Bears)
Nathan Smith Forward  United States Signed professional contract (Arizona Coyotes)

Recruiting

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Campbell Cichosz Defenseman  United States 21 Albert Lea, MN
Adam Eisele Forward  United States 21 Lake Elmo, MN
Christian Fitzgerald Forward  Canada 20 Coquitlam, BC
Simon Tassy Forward  Canada 21 Montreal, QC
Alexander Tracy Goaltender  United States 21 Chicago, IL
Mason Wheeler Defenseman  United States 21 Inver Grove Heights, MN
Luc Wilson Forward  United States 20 Duncan, BC

Roster

[edit]

As of August 6, 2022.[4]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2 Alberta Akito Hirose Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-04-09 Calgary, Alberta Salmon Arm (BCHL)
3 British Columbia Christian Fitzgerald Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-05-31 Coquitlam, British Columbia Tri-City (USHL)
4 Minnesota Andy Carroll Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-02-17 Northfield, Minnesota Green Bay (USHL)
5 Minnesota Mason Wheeler Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-09-29 Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota Tri-City (USHL)
6 Colorado Sam Morton (A) Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 1999-07-28 Lafayette, Colorado Wenatchee (BCHL)
7 British Columbia Luc Wilson Freshman F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-11-22 Duncan, British Columbia Penticton (BCHL)
8 Minnesota Campbell Cichosz Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2001-08-23 Albert Lea, Minnesota Anchorage (NAHL)
9 Alaska Tanner Edwards Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 2000-03-11 Anchorage, Alaska Muskegon (USHL)
10 Ontario David Silye Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1999-03-02 Arnprior, Ontario Clarkson (ECAC)
11 Quebec Simon Tassy Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-03-21 Montreal, Quebec Salmon Arm (BCHL)
12 California Josh Groll Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 2001-08-09 San Diego, California Michigan (Big Ten)
13 Ohio Brendan Furry (C) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1998-07-08 Toledo, Ohio Tri-City (USHL)
14 Minnesota Ryan Sandelin Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 1999-01-03 Hermantown, Minnesota Penticton (BCHL)
15 Minnesota Adam Eisele Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-07-11 Lake Elmo, Minnesota Penticton (BCHL)
17 Minnesota Bennett Zmolek Sophomore D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 2002-04-17 Rochester, Minnesota Youngstown (USHL)
18 Czech Republic Ondřej Pavel Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 204 lb (93 kg) 2000-08-29 Prague, Czech Republic Fargo (USHL)
19 Minnesota Will Hillman Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2000-11-22 Blaine, Minnesota Youngstown (USHL)
20 Ontario Connor Gregga Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 2000-07-24 Markham, Ontario Coquitlam (BCHL)
21 Florida Lucas Sowder Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 164 lb (74 kg) 1998-11-15 Trinity, Florida Wenatchee (BCHL)
22 Ontario Steven Bellini Sophomore D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 171 lb (78 kg) 2000-05-23 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Tri-City (USHL)
23 British Columbia Jake Livingstone (A) Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1999-04-16 Creston, British Columbia Langley (BCHL)
24 Alaska Zach Krajnik Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1999-05-13 Eagle River, Alaska Kenai River (NAHL)
25 Wisconsin Brenden Olson Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2000-10-18 Eau Claire, Wisconsin Sioux City (USHL)
27 Michigan Tony Malinowski Junior D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1999-10-15 Clarkston, Michigan Des Moines (USHL)
28 Minnesota Cade Borchardt (C) Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1998-07-06 Burnsville, Minnesota Sioux Falls (USHL)
32 Colorado Andrew Miller Sophomore G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 2000-02-10 Boulder, Colorado Fargo (USHL)
33 Illinois Alex Tracy Freshman G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2001-05-04 Chicago, Illinois Sioux City (USHL)
35 British Columbia Keenan Rancier Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 2000-06-21 Victoria, British Columbia Minot (NAHL)

Standings

[edit]
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#12 Minnesota State †* 26 16 9 1 2 4 1 52 83 56 39 25 13 1 126 81
#13 Michigan Tech 26 15 7 4 0 1 0 50 68 54 39 24 11 4 103 88
Bowling Green 26 12 12 2 0 2 1 41 89 76 36 15 19 2 114 114
Northern Michigan 26 14 12 0 3 0 0 39 82 77 38 21 17 0 123 103
Bemidji State 26 12 11 3 3 1 2 39 73 63 36 14 17 5 94 97
Ferris State 26 9 14 3 1 2 3 34 62 91 37 14 19 4 92 131
St. Thomas 26 10 14 2 1 1 0 32 69 81 36 11 23 2 86 117
Lake Superior State 26 8 17 1 2 1 1 25 52 80 36 9 25 2 71 118
Championship: March 18, 2023
† indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 1 6:07 PM at Omaha* #3 Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska (Exhibition)   Tracy L 2–7  4,597
Regular Season
October 7 7:05 PM at #2 Minnesota* #5 3M Arena at MariucciMinneapolis, Minnesota BSN Rancier L 1–4  8,472 0–1–0
October 8 6:07 PM #2 Minnesota* #5 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota FOX 9+ Rancier W 3–2  4,911 1–1–0
October 14 7:07 PM #4 Minnesota Duluth* #5 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Tracy W 6–0  4,612 2–1–0
October 15 6:07 PM #4 Minnesota Duluth* #5 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Tracy W 2–1  5,039 3–1–0
October 21 7:30 PM at #8 St. Cloud State* #2 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota FOX 9+ Rancier L 2–3  4,016 3–2–0
October 22 6:00 PM at #8 St. Cloud State* #2 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota FOX 9+ Tracy L 3–4  5,212 3–3–0
October 28 7:07 PM Bowling Green #8 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Tracy W 3–2 OT 4,172 4–3–0 (1–0–0)
October 29 6:07 PM Bowling Green #8 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Rancier W 4–2  4,007 5–3–0 (2–0–0)
November 4 7:07 PM at St. Thomas #6 St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Tracy W 7–2  961 6–3–0 (3–0–0)
November 5 6:07 PM St. Thomas #6 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Rancier W 4–3  5,094 7–3–0 (4–0–0)
November 18 7:07 PM Northern Michigan #8 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Rancier L 2–3  4,344 7–4–0 (4–1–0)
November 19 6:07 PM Northern Michigan #8 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Rancier W 4–1  4,562 8–4–0 (5–1–0)
November 25 6:07 PM at Michigan Tech #10 MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan FloHockey Rancier L 2–3  2,492 8–5–0 (5–2–0)
November 26 5:07 PM at Michigan Tech #10 MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan FloHockey Rancier T 2–2 SOW 2,418 8–5–1 (5–2–1)
December 2 7:07 PM Ferris State #11 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Rancier L 1–2  4,199 8–6–1 (5–3–1)
December 3 6:07 PM Ferris State #11 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Rancier L 2–3  4,318 8–7–1 (5–4–1)
December 9 6:07 PM at Bowling Green #16 Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio FloHockey Tracy W 2–1  2,312 9–7–1 (6–4–1)
December 10 6:07 PM at Bowling Green #16 Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio FloHockey Tracy W 6–2  2,024 10–7–1 (7–4–1)
December 16 7:07 PM Bemidji State #16 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Tracy L 3–4 OT 4,531 10–8–1 (7–5–1)
December 17 7:07 PM Bemidji State #16 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Tracy L 1–4  4,524 10–9–1 (7–6–1)
January 6 6:07 PM at Northern Michigan #19 Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Rancier W 5–2  2,229 11–9–1 (8–6–1)
January 7 5:07 PM at Northern Michigan #19 Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Rancier W 5–3  2,766 12–9–1 (9–6–1)
January 13 8:00 PM at Arizona State* #17 Mullett ArenaTempe, Arizona   Rancier W 3–1  4,973 13–9–1
January 14 8:00 PM at Arizona State* #17 Mullett ArenaTempe, Arizona Pac-12 Insider Rancier W 5–0  5,179 14–9–1
January 20 7:07 PM Lake Superior State #17 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Rancier W 3–2 OT 4,638 15–9–1 (10–6–1)
January 21 6:07 PM Lake Superior State #17 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Rancier W 3–1  4,913 16–9–1 (11–6–1)
January 27 6:07 PM at Ferris State #14 Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Rancier W 4–1  1,571 17–9–1 (12–6–1)
January 28 5:07 PM at Ferris State #14 Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Rancier W 5–1  1,897 18–9–1 (13–6–1)
February 3 7:07 PM St. Thomas #13 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Rancier L 2–3 OT 4,814 18–10–1 (13–7–1)
February 4 6:07 PM at St. Thomas #13 St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Rancier W 5–2  1,080 19–10–1 (14–7–1)
February 17 7:07 PM at Bemidji State #13 Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Rancier W 4–1  1,892 20–10–1 (15–7–1)
February 18 6:07 PM at Bemidji State #13 Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Rancier L 1–2  2,103 20–11–1 (15–8–1)
February 24 7:07 PM #11 Michigan Tech #12 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Rancier L 0–2  4,716 20–12–1 (15–9–1)
February 25 6:07 PM #11 Michigan Tech #12 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Rancier W 3–2  5,120 21–12–1 (16–9–1)
CCHA Tournament
March 3 7:07 PM Lake Superior State* #13 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Rancier W 6–1  3,604 22–12–1
March 4 6:07 PM Lake Superior State* #13 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Rancier W 2–1  3,798 23–12–1
March 11 6:07 PM Ferris State* #13 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota (Semifinal) FloHockey Rancier W 7–2  4,468 24–12–1
March 18 6:07 PM Northern Michigan* #12 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota (Championship) FloHockey Rancier W 3–2 OT 4,805 25–12–1
NCAA Tournament
March 23 4:00 PM vs. #6 St. Cloud State* #10 Scheels ArenaFargo, North Dakota (West Regional Semifinal) ESPNU Rancier L 0–4  5,061 25–13–1
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time.
Source:[5]

Scoring statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
David Silye C 39 23 16 39 25
Jake Livingstone D 39 8 27 35 30
Christian Fitzgerald F 38 16 13 29 16
Ryan Sandelin C/RW 38 14 15 29 33
Brendan Furry LW 39 9 19 28 15
Akito Hirose D 38 4 23 27 18
Andy Carroll D 39 5 20 25 6
Cade Borchardt F 39 5 15 20 12
Ondřej Pavel C 39 6 9 15 34
Lucas Sowder LW 25 5 9 14 8
Josh Groll F 30 5 6 11 8
Adam Eisele F 33 4 6 10 6
Zach Krajnik C 34 4 6 10 14
Steven Bellini D 39 1 8 9 8
Sam Morton F 10 6 2 8 2
Will Hillman F 35 4 4 8 4
Luc Wilson F 21 1 6 7 8
Tony Malinowski D 37 1 5 6 4
Simon Tassy F 15 1 4 5 0
Mason Wheeler D 37 0 5 5 14
Connor Gregga F 23 2 2 4 6
Tanner Edwards C/LW 10 1 1 2 4
Campbell Cichosz D 36 0 2 2 6
Brenden Olson F 7 1 0 1 4
Alex Tracy G 10 0 0 0 0
Keenan Rancier G 30 0 0 0 0
Total 126 223 349 287

[6]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Keenan Rancier 33 1777:39 19 10 1 55 587 1 .914 1.86
Alex Tracy 10 562:06 6 3 0 21 153 1 .879 2.24
Empty Net - 27:13 - - - 5 - - - -
Total 39 2366:58 25 13 1 81 740 2 .901 2.05

Rankings

[edit]
Poll Week
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 3 (3) - 5 5 2 (14) 8 6 6 8 10 11 16 16 - 19 17т 17 14 13 14 13 12 13 13 12 10 - 12
USA Today 3 (2) 3 (2) 5 5 2 (8) 8 7 6 7 10 13 16 16 19 NR 19 17 14 13 13 12 12 12 12 12 9 12 11

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13 or 26.

Awards and honors

[edit]
Player Award Ref
Jake Livingstone AHCA West All-American Second Team [7]
David Silye CCHA Forward of the Year [8]
Jake Livingstone CCHA Defenseman of the Year [9]
Jake Livingstone CCHA First Team [10]
David Silye
Akito Hirose CCHA Second Team [11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2022-23 NCAA Hockey Rankings – USCHO – Preseason". USCHO.com. September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "Men's Division I PairWise Rankings". Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  3. ^ "THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  4. ^ "2022–23 Men's Hockey Roster". Minnesota State Mavericks. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  5. ^ "2022-23 Men's Hockey Schedule". Minnesota State Mavericks. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  6. ^ "Minnesota State Univ. (Mankato) 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  7. ^ "Two Northeastern players repeat as first-team All-Americans". USCHO.com. April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  8. ^ "Silye Garners Forward of the Year". CCHA. March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  9. ^ "MSU's Livingstone named CCHA Defenseman of the Year". CCHA. March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  10. ^ "All-CCHA First Team Honorees Revealed". CCHA. March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  11. ^ "Six Are All-CCHA Second Team Selections". CCHA. March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.