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.

2022–23 Maine Black Bears
men's ice hockey season
ConferenceT–6th Hockey East
Home iceAlfond Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall15–16–5
Conference9–11–4
Home11–7–1
Road4–9–4
Coaches and captains
Head coachBen Barr
Assistant coachesAlfie Michaud
Jason Fortier
Captain(s)Jakub Sirota
Alternate captain(s)David Breazeale
Lynden Breen
Ben Poisson
Maine Black Bears men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

Season

edit

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.[1]

Departures

edit
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

edit
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

edit

As of January 4, 2023.[2]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2   Jakub Sirota (C) Graduate D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1998-12-20 Kroměříž, Czech Republic Lone Star (NAHL)
3   Luke Antonacci Freshman D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2002-11-26 Princeton, New Jersey Sioux City (USHL)
4   Brandon Holt Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-04-30 Grand Forks, North Dakota New Mexico (NAHL)
5   Samuel Duerr Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 2002-03-22 Chicago, Illinois St. Cloud (NAHL)
6   Didrik Henbrandt Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-04-10 Sturefors, Sweden Alaska (NCAA)
7   Grant Hebert Graduate F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1997-05-22 St. Andrews West, Ontario Robert Morris (AHA)
10   Cole Hanson Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-09-19 Grand Forks, North Dakota Colgate (ECAC)
11   Donavan Villeneuve-Houle Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-11-04 Montreal, Quebec Flin Flon (SJHL)
12   Ben Poisson (A) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-08-31 Vancouver, British Columbia Prince George (BCHL)
14   Michael Mancinelli Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-06-28 Northville, Michigan Arizona State (NCAA)
15   Brandon Chabrier Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2002-07-19 Bayville, New York Madison (USHL)
16   Aidan Carney Freshman F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-09-08 Paradise Valley, Arizona Amarillo (NAHL)
17   Félix Trudeau Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-09-24 Terrebonne, Quebec West Kelowna (BCHL)
18   Parker Lindauer Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-05-17 Madison, Wisconsin Muskegon (USHL)
20   Robert Kincaid Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-05-13 Barrhead, Alberta Camrose (AJHL)
21   Reid Pabich Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-10-05 Verona, Wisconsin Madison (USHL)
22   Dawson Bruneski Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-06-24 Camrose, Alberta Drumheller (AJHL)
23   Grayson Arnott Freshman D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-06-14 Toronto, Ontario Penticton (BCHL)
24   Nolan Renwick Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-02-16 Milestone, Saskatchewan Omaha (USHL)
26   Thomas Freel Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-06-26 Aberdeen, Scotland Ottawa (CCHL)
27   Lynden Breen (A) Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 2001-05-31 Grand Bay-Westfield, New Brunswick Fargo (USHL)
28   Killian Kiecker-Olson Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-01-19 Andover, Minnesota Lincoln (USHL)
32   Victor Östman Junior G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-10-03 Danderyd, Sweden Chicago (USHL)
33   Connor Androlewicz Junior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2000-11-28 St. Louis, Missouri Lincoln (USHL)
34   Justin Michaelian Graduate F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-12-07 Wixom, Michigan Ferris State (CCHA)
35   Jacob Mucitelli Sophomore G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-03-24 Deerfield, New York Clarkson (ECAC)
36   Matthew Fawcett Senior F 5' 6" (1.68 m) 152 lb (69 kg) 1999-04-22 Lincoln, Rhode Island Quinnipiac (ECAC)
37   David Breazeale (A) Sophomore D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 2000-04-22 Grandville, Michigan Shreveport (NAHL)

Standings

edit
Conference 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

edit
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 1 7:05 PM Prince Edward Island* Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine (Exhibition)   Östman W 1–0  3,856
Ice Breaker Tournament
October 7 9:05 PM at Air Force* Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado (Ice Breaker Tournament) FloHockey Mucitelli W 4–1  1,682 1–0–0
October 8 8:00 PM at #1 Denver* Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado (Ice Breaker Tournament) Altitude Östman L 1–3  5,447 1–1–0
Regular Season
October 15 5:05 PM at Bentley* Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Mucitelli L 1–5  1,600 1–2–0
October 22 4:00 PM #3 Quinnipiac* Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman W 4–0  3,776 2–2–0
October 23 4:00 PM #3 Quinnipiac* Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman L 2–6  2,915 2–3–0
October 28 7:05 PM #15 Northeastern Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman T 2–2 SOW - 2–3–1 (0–0–1)
October 29 7:05 PM #15 Northeastern Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Mucitelli L 1–4  3,029 2–4–1 (0–1–1)
November 4 7:05 PM at #8 Connecticut XL CenterHartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Östman L 2–3 OT 3,020 2–5–1 (0–2–1)
November 5 4:05 PM at #8 Connecticut XL CenterHartford, 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 RinkNorth 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 RinkNorth Andover, Massachusetts ESPN+ Östman L 3–5  2,488 2–8–1 (0–5–1)
November 26 2:05 PM American International* Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman W 5–1  2,910 3–8–1
December 2 7:00 PM at Vermont Gutterson FieldhouseBurlington, Vermont ESPN+ Östman W 3–1  2,254 4–8–1 (1–5–1)
December 3 5:00 PM at Vermont Gutterson FieldhouseBurlington, Vermont ESPN+ Östman W 5–1  2,613 5–8–1 (2–5–1)
December 10 2:05 PM Canisius* Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman W 3–0  3,333 6–8–1
December 30 7:00 PM at Colgate* Class of 1965 ArenaHamilton, New York ESPN+ Mucitelli L 2–5  940 6–9–1
December 31 4:00 PM at Colgate* Class of 1965 ArenaHamilton, New York ESPN+ Androlewicz T 1–1 OT 833 6–9–2
January 6 7:05 PM Alaska Anchorage* Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman W 1–0  3,180 7–9–2
January 7 5:05 PM Alaska Anchorage* Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman W 4–3 OT 3,522 8–9–2
January 13 7:05 PM #16 Massachusetts Lowell Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman L 1–2  3,150 8–10–2 (2–6–1)
January 14 7:05 PM #16 Massachusetts Lowell Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman W 5–3  4,039 9–10–2 (3–6–1)
January 20 7:00 PM at #5 Boston University Agganis ArenaBoston, 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 ArenaBoston, Massachusetts (Rivalry) ESPN+ Androlewicz L 6–9  3,637 9–12–2 (3–8–1)
January 27 7:05 PM #17 Providence Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman W 3–2  3,476 10–12–2 (4–8–1)
January 28 7:05 PM #17 Providence Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman W 3–0  4,441 11–12–2 (5–8–1)
February 3 7:05 PM #3 Boston University Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine (Rivalry) ESPN+ Östman L 3–5  4,325 11–13–2 (5–9–1)
February 5 2:05 PM #15 Merrimack Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman W 3–2 OT 3,770 12–13–2 (6–9–1)
February 10 7:00 PM at Boston College Conte ForumChestnut 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 CenterLowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Östman T 1–1 SOL 4,019 13–13–3 (7–9–2)
February 17 7:00 PM at New Hampshire Whittemore CenterDurham, 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 CenterDurham, 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 ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman W 6–3  4,870 14–13–5 (8–9–4)
February 25 7:05 PM Boston College Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman W 2–1  5,045 15–13–5 (9–9–4)
March 3 7:05 PM Massachusetts Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman L 2–5  4,272 15–14–5 (9–10–4)
March 4 7:05 PM Massachusetts Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Östman L 3–4  5,043 15–15–5 (9–11–4)
Hockey East Tournament
March 8 7:00 PM Vermont* Alfond ArenaOrono, 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:[3]

Scoring statistics

edit
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

[4]

Goaltending statistics

edit
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

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 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.[5]

Awards and honors

edit
Player Award Ref
Victor Östman Hockey East Second Team [6]
Lynden Breen

Players drafted into the NHL

edit
Round Pick Player NHL team
1 30 Bradly Nadeau Carolina Hurricanes

† incoming freshman [7]

References

edit
  1. ^ "WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 8, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  2. ^ "2022-23 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". goblackbears.com. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  3. ^ "2022-23 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Maine Black Bears. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  4. ^ "Univ. of Maine 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  5. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  6. ^ "HOCKEY EAST NAMES 2022-23 MEN'S ALL-STAR TEAMS". Hockey East. March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  7. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 30, 2023.