2022–23 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey season

The 2022–23 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey season was the 79th season of play for the program and 10th in the NCHC. The Bulldogs represented the University of Minnesota Duluth in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season were coached by Scott Sandelin in his 23rd season and played their home games at AMSOIL Arena.

2022–23 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
men's ice hockey season
ConferenceT–5th NCHC
Home iceAMSOIL Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall16–20–1
Conference10–14–0
Home10–9–0
Road6–11–1
Coaches and captains
Head coachScott Sandelin
Assistant coachesAdam Krause
Cody Chupp
Brant Nicklin
Captain(s)Tanner Laderoute
Alternate captain(s)Luke Loheit
Quinn Olson
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

Season

edit

With great deal of roster turnover, particularly on the defense, the Bulldogs were an enigma coming into the season. Gone were 4 of their 6 regulars on the blue line as was last year's starting goalie (Ryan Fanti) and 4 of their top 6 scorers. Coach Sandelin brought in a large recruiting class led by 1st-round pick Isaac Howard to fill the open positions and, despite the uncertainty, UMD was expected to continue its high level of play.[1]

After a good start, Duluth began encountering problems on both sides of the puck. Minnesota Duluth was hamstrung from the start of the season when Kyler Kleven suffered an injury in training camp and ended up missing the entire season. While he wasn't a high offensive producer, Blake Biondi was. The junior winger had led the Bulldogs in goals the year before but came into the season nursing a shoulder injury. He muddled through the first half of the year, collecting just 3 goals in 17 games before reinjuring his shoulder in early December. Biondi ended up having surgery on both shoulders and missed the remainder of the year.[2] Freshman Ben Steeves filled in admirably and led the team with 21 goals, however, he was the only consistent scoring threat that the Bulldogs had.

While UMD suffered with a weakened offense, the team had made its bread and butter on defense and goaltending in recent years. The newcomers on the blueline played well but not quite up to the same standards to which the Bulldogs had grown accustomed. The goaltending, however, became a glaring weakness for the team. Neither Zach Stejskal nor grad transfer Matthew Thiessen played particularly well and the decline in the crease caused Duluth no small measure of problems.

UMD got swept in the second weekend of the season, however, as that came on the road against last year's national runner-up, Minnesota State, no one was ready to hit the 'panic button'. The team's situation grew dire after the following week when they dropped both games at home to Wisconsin, the worst team in the Big Ten. Duluth suddenly found itself at the bottom of the polls with an underperforming roster. The Bulldogs were able to arrest their slide by taking advantage of Cornell in the Big Red's season debut but that reprieve didn't last. Duluth earned a split in four consecutive weeks, however, they faced Colorado College in two separate weekends. The Tigers were one of the weakest teams in the NCHC but still managed to shutout Duluth twice. By the beginning of December the team was going nowhere and, as they sunk further down the national rankings, the program's 7-year run of NCAA tournament appearance was getting ready to end.

When the Bulldogs began the second half of their season, they showed a renewed vigor against Bemidji State but that level of fight didn't last. The team alternated wins and losses in the second half and, though they had some triumphs over strong teams, they weren't able to get their heads above .500. Entering postseason play, UMD had no chance to make the national tournament without first winning the NCHC tournament. While the team had go on the rod in the quarterfinals, they had some measure of good news by getting to play St. Cloud State. While the Huskies were already tournament bound, UMD had taken three out of four meetings between the two during the year and were hoping for a repeat performance. The first match of the series was a defensive struggle with St. Cloud eking out a win in the end. Zach Stejskal turned in a masterful game, stopping 30 shots in the final two periods to lead the Bulldogs to a win. In the deciding game, it began similar to the first with neither team managing to score in the opening period. Luke Loheit's 8th goal gave UMD a lead early in the second, but the Huskies didn't take that lying down. St. Cloud fired 21 shots in the middle frame and found the back of the net three times. Duluth's weak offense wasn't able to overcome the deficit and the Bulldogs' disappointing season came to a close.[3]

Departures

edit
Player Position Nationality Cause
Ben Almquist Forward   United States Transferred to Alaska Anchorage
Matt Anderson Defenseman   United States Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Koby Bender Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Bridgeport Islanders)
Noah Cates Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Philadelphia Flyers)
Ryan Fanti Goaltender   Canada Signed professional contract (Edmonton Oilers)
Casey Gilling Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Esbjerg Energy)
Connor Kelley Defenseman   United States Transferred to Providence
Jarrett Lee Forward   United States Graduate transfer to St. Thomas
Hunter Lellig Defenseman   United States Graduate transfer to Bowling Green
Brady Meyer Forward   United States Left program (retired)
Ben Patt Goaltender   Canada Graduation (retired)
Louie Roehl Defenseman   United States Graduation (signed with Wheeling Nailers)
Kobe Roth Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Jake Rosenbaum Defenseman   United States Graduate transfer to American International

Recruiting

edit
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Kyle Bettens Forward   Canada 21 Winnipeg, MB
Riley Bodnarchuk Defenseman   Canada 21 Okotoks, AB
Derek Daschke Defenseman   United States 24 Troy, MI; graduate transfer from Miami
Aiden Dubinsky Defenseman   United States 18 Highland Park, IL
Isaac Howard Forward   United States 18 Hudson, WI; selected 31st overall in 2022
Luke Johnson Forward   United States 20 St. Cloud, MN
Joseph Pierce Defenseman   United States 19 Ely, MN
Zachary Sandy Goaltender   United States 19 Fargo, ND
Jack Smith Forward   United States 20 St. Cloud, MN; selected 102nd overall in 2020
Cole Spicer Forward   United States 18 Grand Forks, ND; selected 117th overall in 2022
Ben Steeves Forward   United States 20 Bedford, NH
Matthew Thiessen Goaltender   Canada 22 Steinbach, MB; transfer from Maine; selected 192nd overall in 2018

Roster

edit

As of July 28, 2022.[4]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2   Darian Gotz Junior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 2000-10-19 Hermantown, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL)
3   Isaac Howard Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 2004-03-30 Hudson, Wisconsin NTDP (USHL) TBL, 31st overall 2022
5   Wyatt Kaiser Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2002-07-31 Ham Lake, Minnesota Andover (USHS–MN) CHI, 81st overall 2020
6   Ben Steeves Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 167 lb (76 kg) 2002-05-10 Bedford, New Hampshire Sioux City (USHL)
7   Blake Biondi Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2002-04-24 Hermantown, Minnesota Hermantown (USHS–MN) MTL, 109th overall 2020
8   Jesse Jacques Graduate F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1998-09-10 Hermantown, Minnesota Green Bay (USHL)
10   Derek Daschke Graduate D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-01-06 Troy, Michigan Miami (NCHC)
11   Cole Spicer Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2004-06-13 Grand Forks, North Dakota NTDP (USHL) BOS, 117th overall 2022
12   Jack Smith Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2002-07-06 St. Cloud, Minnesota Sioux Falls (USHL) MTL, 102nd overall 2020
13   Tanner Laderoute (C) Graduate F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-06-04 Edmonton, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL)
15   Quinn Olson (A) Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-05-09 Calgary, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL) BOS, 92nd overall 2019
16   Luke Loheit (A) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-07-26 Minnetonka, Minnesota Penticton (BCHL) OTT, 194th overall 2018
17   Dominic James Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2002-07-03 Plymouth, Michigan Lincoln (USHL) CHI, 173rd overall 2022
18   Joey Pierce Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 2002-10-02 Ely, Minnesota Lincoln (USHL)
19   Riley Bodnarchuk Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-06-01 Okotoks, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL)
20   Owen Gallatin Sophomore D 5' 8" (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-06-17 Hugo, Minnesota Fargo (USHL)
21   Luke Mylymok Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2001-09-29 Wilcox, Saskatchewan Salmon Arm (BCHL)
22   Kyler Kleven Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2000-10-12 Moorhead, Minnesota Waterloo (USHL)
23   Will Francis Sophomore D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 2000-11-16 St. Paul, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL) ANA, 163rd overall 2019
24   Kyle Bettens Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2001-07-04 Winnipeg, Manitoba Youngstown (USHL)
28   Aiden Dubinsky Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2004-04-28 Highland Park, Illinois Tri-City (USHL)
31   Zach Sandy Freshman G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 2002-12-07 Fargo, North Dakota Minot (NAHL)
33   Carter Loney Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 161 lb (73 kg) 2002-08-02 Columbus, Ohio Sioux City (USHL)
35   Zach Stejskal Junior G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999-12-20 Cohasset, Minnesota Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (NAHL)
36   Matthew Thiessen Senior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 2000-06-09 Steinbach, Manitoba Maine (HEA) VAN, 192nd overall 2018
37   Luke Johnson Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 167 lb (76 kg) 2001-10-15 St. Cloud, Minnesota Lincoln (USHL)

Standings

edit
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#6 Denver 24 19 5 0 2 1 0 56 94 53 40 30 10 0 150 86
#11 Western Michigan 24 15 8 1 2 0 0 44 86 60 39 23 15 1 148 102
#20 Omaha 24 13 9 2 2 2 1 42 71 64 37 19 15 3 109 97
#5 St. Cloud State * 24 12 9 3 2 1 3 41 85 68 41 25 13 3 133 95
Minnesota Duluth 24 10 14 0 1 4 0 33 65 81 37 16 20 1 95 114
#17 North Dakota 24 10 10 4 3 0 2 33 75 70 39 18 15 6 127 110
Colorado College 24 6 15 3 0 2 2 25 37 60 38 13 22 3 79 99
Miami 24 3 18 3 0 2 0 14 39 96 36 8 24 4 73 137
Championship: March 18, 2023
† indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Frozen Faceoff Championship Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

edit
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 1 6:00 PM Arizona State* #5 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Stejskal W 3–2 OT 5,910 1–0–0
October 2 4:00 PM Arizona State* #5 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Thiessen W 4–1  5,153 2–0–0
October 14 7:07 PM at #5 Minnesota State* #4 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Stejskal L 0–6  4,612 2–1–0
October 15 6:07 PM at #5 Minnesota State* #4 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Stejskal L 1–2  5,039 2–2–0
October 21 7:00 PM Wisconsin* #10 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Stejskal L 2–5  6,573 2–3–0
October 22 6:00 PM Wisconsin* #10 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Thiessen L 0–3  7,038 2–4–0
October 28 7:00 PM #20 Cornell* #19 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Stejskal W 3–2  4,158 3–4–0
October 29 7:00 PM #20 Cornell* #19 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Stejskal W 4–2  4,395 4–4–0
November 4 8:30 PM at Colorado College #19 Ed Robson ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado ATTRM Stejskal L 0–5  3,411 4–5–0 (0–1–0)
November 5 7:00 PM at Colorado College #19 Ed Robson ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Thiessen W 3–1  3,412 5–5–0 (1–1–0)
November 11 7:00 PM Omaha #20 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Thiessen L 2–3  5,941 5–6–0 (1–2–0)
November 12 6:00 PM Omaha #20 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Thiessen W 3–2 OT 6,103 6–6–0 (2–2–0)
November 18 6:00 PM at #14 Western Michigan Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan   Thiessen W 5–4  2,753 7–6–0 (3–2–0)
November 19 5:00 PM at #14 Western Michigan Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan   Thiessen L 3–5  3,294 7–7–0 (3–3–0)
December 2 7:00 PM Colorado College AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota ATTRM, MY9 Thiessen L 0–3  6,184 7–8–0 (3–4–0)
December 3 7:00 PM Colorado College AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Thiessen W 4–0  5,794 8–8–0 (4–4–0)
December 9 7:00 PM #1 Denver AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Thiessen L 2–3  6,487 8–9–0 (4–5–0)
December 10 7:00 PM #1 Denver AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Thiessen L 3–4 OT 6,354 8–10–0 (4–6–0)
December 31 2:00 PM St. Thomas* AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota (Exhibition) MY9 Thiessen W 2–1  5,746
January 6 7:07 PM at Bemidji State* Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Stejskal T 1–1 OT 2,136 8–10–1
January 7 6:07 PM Bemidji State* AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Stejskal W 5–2  5,821 9–10–1
January 13 7:07 PM at Omaha Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska CBSSN Stejskal L 2–3  6,398 9–11–1 (4–7–0)
January 14 7:07 PM at Omaha Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska   Stejskal L 1–6  6,451 9–12–1 (4–8–0)
January 20 7:07 PM at North Dakota Ralph Engelstad ArenaGrand Forks, North Dakota Midco Thiessen L 2–4  11,643 9–13–1 (4–9–0)
January 21 6:07 PM at North Dakota Ralph Engelstad ArenaGrand Forks, North Dakota Midco Stejskal W 2–1  11,773 10–13–1 (5–9–0)
January 27 7:00 PM #1 St. Cloud State AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Thiessen W 3–5  6,579 11–13–1 (6–9–0)
January 28 7:00 PM #1 St. Cloud State AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9, FOX 9+ Stejskal W 3–6  7,205 12–13–1 (7–9–0)
February 3 7:00 PM #10 Western Michigan AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Stejskal L 2–3 OT 6,316 12–14–1 (7–10–0)
February 4 6:00 PM #10 Western Michigan AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Thiessen L 1–4  6,391 12–15–1 (7–11–0)
February 17 8:00 PM at #3 Denver Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado   Stejskal L 2–6  6,218 12–16–1 (7–12–0)
February 18 7:00 PM at #3 Denver Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Altitude 2, TSN2 Thiessen W 6–5  6,361 13–16–1 (8–12–0)
February 24 7:00 PM Miami AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Thiessen W 3–2  5,903 14–16–1 (9–12–0)
February 25 8:30 PM Miami AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Thiessen L 1–4  5,590 14–17–1 (9–13–0)
March 3 7:30 PM at #6 St. Cloud State Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota FOX 9+ Stejskal W 4–3  - 15–17–1 (10–13–0)
March 4 6:00 PM at #6 St. Cloud State Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota FOX 9+ Stejskal L 3–4 OT 5,636 15–18–1 (10–14–0)
NCHC Tournament
March 10 6:30 PM at #8 St. Cloud State* Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 1) FOX 9+ Stejskal L 1–3  2,620 15–19–1
March 11 5:00 PM at #8 St. Cloud State* Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 2) FOX 9+ Stejskal W 5–1  - 16–19–1
March 12 5:00 PM at #8 St. Cloud State* Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 3) FOX 9+ Stejskal L 1–3  - 16–20–1
*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
Ben Steeves F 35 21 7 28 36
Dominic James C/LW 35 10 18 28 20
Quinn Olson C/LW 37 7 17 24 32
Wyatt Kaiser D 35 5 18 23 48
Luke Loheit RW 35 8 11 19 53
Isaac Howard LW 35 6 11 17 25
Owen Gallatin D 37 6 11 17 27
Derek Daschke C/LW 37 2 14 16 6
Carter Loney C 37 4 9 13 27
Jesse Jacques F 37 4 5 9 16
Kyle Bettens C/RW 33 5 3 8 12
Darian Gotz D 37 5 3 8 16
Luke Mylymok C/W 31 3 5 8 17
Tanner Laderoute F 37 2 5 7 6
Blake Biondi C 17 3 3 6 4
Cole Spicer C 32 3 3 6 2
Jack Smith C/RW 24 0 5 5 10
Aiden Dubinsky D 29 0 5 5 8
Luke Johnson C/W 25 1 2 3 11
Joey Pierce D 26 0 3 3 8
Matthew Thiessen G 19 0 1 1 0
Will Francis D 28 0 1 1 22
Riley Bodnarchuk D 19 0 0 0 8
Zach Stejskal G 22 0 0 0 0
Total 95 160 255 414

[6]

Goaltending statistics

edit
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Matthew Thiessen 19 999:01 8 9 0 44 419 1 .905 2.64
Zach Stejskal 22 1217:47 8 11 1 60 544 0 .901 2.96
Empty Net - 24:06 - - - 10 - - - -
Total 37 2240:54 16 20 1 114 963 1 .894 3.05

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 5 - 4 4 10 19 19 20 NR NR NR NR NR - NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR - NR
USA Today 5 5 4 4 10 19 19 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.[7]

Awards and honors

edit
Player Award Ref
Wyatt Kaiser NCHC Second Team [8]
Ben Steeves NCHC Rookie Team [8]

Players drafted into the NHL

edit
Round Pick Player NHL team
2 35 Adam Gajan Chicago Blackhawks
4 115 Jayson Shaugabay Tampa Bay Lightning
4 119 Matthew Perkins Vancouver Canucks
4 124 Beckett Hendrickson Boston Bruins
5 149 Aaron Pionk Minnesota Wild

† incoming freshman [9]

References

edit
  1. ^ "2022-23 NCAA Hockey Rankings – USCHO – Preseason". USCHO.com. September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "8 Thoughts: Bulldogs Return, Need to Heat Up". KDAL. January 6, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  3. ^ "SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 12, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  4. ^ "2022–23 Men's Hockey Roster". University of Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  5. ^ "2022-23 Men's Hockey Schedule". Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  6. ^ "Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  7. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "NCHC Reveals 2022-23 All-Conference Teams". NCHC. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  9. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 30, 2023.