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2021–22 Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey season
Conference 5th CCHA
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Rankings
USCHO NR
USA Today NR
Record
Overall 20–16–1
Conference 12–13–1
Home 12–6–1
Road 8–10–0
Coaches and Captains
Head Coach Grant Potulny
Assistant Coaches Bryan Pool
Rob Lehtinen
Captain(s) Joseph Nardi
Alternate captain(s) Ben Newhouse
Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey seasons
« 2020–21 2022–23 »

The 2021–22 Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey season was the 46th season of play for the program and the 24th season in the CCHA conference. The Wildcats represented Northern Michigan University and were coached by Grant Potulny, in his 5th season.

Season[]

Northern Michigan joined with six other members of the WCHA to restart the CCHA for the 2021–22 season. They opened their season with a weekend sweep but then ran into trouble with a 5-game losing skid. While the offense was able to produce, the Wildcats did not receive adequate goaltending from Rico DiMatteo. Come November, however, the results began to improve and Northern Michigan rose a high-octane offense to a winning record. The team's attack was led by Hank Crone and A. J. Vanderbeck, both of whom would finish among the national scoring leaders. The best performance on the season came in early December when NMU took on then-#1 Minnesota Duluth and swept both games. While the Bulldogs were forced to use their third string goalie due to illness and injury, putting up 5 goals in both games against one of the nation's top defenses was still impressive. The victories also garnered Northern Michigan with their first ranking of the season and set the team up as a possible surprise for the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, the Wildcats ended the first half of their year getting swept by Lake Superior State and immediately dropping out of the polls.

The second half of the season began well for the Wildcats and when the team split a weekend with Minnesota State they reentered the top-20. After a week off, the team was again stymied by the Lakers and kicked out of the rankings. More importantly, however, was that DiMatteo's play in net had become so inconsistent that the team turned to freshman Charlie Glockner. The new starter immediately provided a boost in goal and the team tried to make a bid for a home site in the postseason, but their 1–3 record versus Lake Superior ultimately left them in the 5th position.

The Wildcats had to travel to Sault Ste. Marie to take on their long-time rival but their powerful offense, which had carried them to victory so often during the season, gave Northern Michigan the edge. After splitting the first two games, NMU found itself down 1–3 mid-way through the deciding game but then went on a rampage in the Lakers' zone. In exactly 8 minutes of game time, Northern Michigan scored four goals and took a commanding 5–3 lead. Glockner was able to hold off Lake Superior for most of the third and give the Wildcats a date in the conference semifinal. There they found Minnesota State waiting for them but the Mavericks were looking for revenge. NMU had downed Minnesota State in the semis the year before and MSU was going to make sure there was no repeat. Northern Michigan was completely swamped, getting outshot 21–34 and outscored 1–8. While the end of their season wasn't pretty, the team had been able to provide some stunning highlights during the year.

Departures[]

Player Position Nationality Cause
Noah Ganske Defenseman Flag of the United States United States Transferred to Wisconsin–River Falls
John Hawthorne Goaltender Flag of the United States United States Transferred to Canisius
Grant Johnson Forward Flag of the United States United States Left program (retired)
Griffin Loughran Forward Flag of the United States United States Transferred to Michigan State
James Miller Defenseman Flag of the United States United States Left program (retired)
Mason Palmer Defenseman Flag of the United States United States Transferred to Augsburg
Ty Readman Forward Flag of Canada Canada Transferred to Wisconsin–Eau Claire
John Roberts Goaltender Flag of the United States United States Transferred to St. Norbert
Connor Ryckman Goaltender Flag of Canada Canada Graduation (retired)
Brandon Schultz Forward Flag of the United States United States Graduation (signed with Toledo Walleye)
Hank Sorensen Defenseman Flag of the United States United States Signed professional contract (South Carolina Stingrays)

Recruiting[]

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Trevor Cosgrove Defenseman Flag of the United States United States 24 Exeter, NH; graduate transfer from Colgate
Hank Crone Forward Flag of the United States United States 23 Dallas, TX; transfer from Denver
Hampus Eriksson Forward Flag of Sweden Sweden 25 Gävle, SWE; graduate transfer from Lake Superior State
Reilly Funk Forward Flag of Canada Canada 20 Portage, MB
Charlie Glockner Goaltender Flag of the United States United States 21 Minnetonka, MN
Oscar Geschwind Forward Flag of Sweden Sweden 20 Karlstad, SWE
Bo Hanson Defenseman Flag of the United States United States 23 Boise, ID; graduate transfer from Denver

Roster[]

As of September 6, 2021.[1]

# S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Flag of Alberta Kent, NolanNolan Kent Senior G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 1998-08-12 Chestermere, Alberta Spruce Grove (AJHL)
2 Flag of New Hampshire Cosgrove, TrevorTrevor Cosgrove D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1997-06-04 Exeter, New Hampshire Colgate (ECAC)
3 Flag of North Dakota Enns, ColbyColby Enns Junior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1999-09-16 Minot, North Dakota Lincoln (USHL)
4 Flag of British Columbia Van Unen, MichaelMichael Van Unen Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-02-26 Kamloops, British Columbia Merritt (BCHL)
6 Flag of Alberta Boucher, TyrellTyrell Boucher Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-06-03 Grande Prairie, Alberta Cowichan Valley Capitals (BCHL)
7 Flag of Michigan Keefer, DavidDavid Keefer Senior (RS) F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1997-10-21 Brighton, Michigan Michigan State (Big Ten)
8 Flag of Michigan Erkkila, TimTim Erkkila Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-11-16 Brighton, Michigan Fairbanks (NAHL)
9 Flag of Wisconsin Malcolmson, IanIan Malcolmson Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-01-29 Waukesha, Wisconsin Sioux Falls (USHL)
10 Flag of Minnesota Newhouse, BenBen Newhouse (A) D 5' 8" (1.73 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1997-06-16 Edina, Minnesota Union (ECAC)
11 Flag of California Ghantous, AndreAndre Ghantous Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1998-12-07 Glendale, California Penticton (BCHL)
12 Flag of British Columbia Marritt, ConnorConnor Marritt Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1999-03-14 Kelowna, British Columbia Vernon (BCHL)
13 Flag of New Jersey Colella, MikeyMikey Colella Sophomore F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 1999-06-12 Wenonah, New Jersey Trail (BCHL)
14 Flag of California de Mey, VincentVincent de Mey Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-11-26 Los Angeles, California Muskegon (USHL)
15 Flag of British Columbia Van Unen, RylanRylan Van Unen Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-02-26 Kamloops, British Columbia Merritt (BCHL)
16 Flag of Texas Crone, HankHank Crone Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 151 lb (68 kg) 1998-02-19 Dallas, Texas Denver (NCHC)
17 Flag of Sweden Geschwind, OscarOscar Geschwind Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-02-24 Karlstad, Sweden Örebro J20 (J20 Nationell)
18 Flag of Alberta Nardi, JosephJoseph Nardi (C) F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1997-06-01 Edmonton, Alberta Whitecourt (AJHL)
19 Flag of Colorado Vanderbeck, A. J.A. J. Vanderbeck Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-09-23 Monument, Colorado Ohio State (Big Ten)
20 Flag of Colorado Klee, GarrettGarrett Klee Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-04-11 Morrison, Colorado Waterloo (USHL)
21 Flag of Idaho Hanson, BoBo Hanson D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1997-11-13 Boise, Idaho Denver (NCHC)
22 Flag of Minnesota Jungels, JettJett Jungels Sophomore (RS) F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2000-07-14 Edina, Minnesota Edina (USHS–MN)
24 Flag of Sweden Eriksson, HampusHampus Eriksson F 6' 6" (1.98 m) 211 lb (96 kg) 1996-09-11 Forsbacka, Sweden Lake Superior State (WCHA)
25 Flag of Ontario Willits, BrettBrett Willits Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1999-03-16 London, Ontario Chilliwack (BCHL)
26 Flag of Minnesota Vescio, TannerTanner Vescio Junior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-04-14 Blaine, Minnesota Fargo (USHL)
27 Flag of Minnesota Byers, MackMack Byers Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1999-02-08 Long Lake, Minnesota Aberdeen (NAHL)
28 Flag of Michigan Frye, AlexAlex Frye Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1998-07-27 Clarkston, Michigan Alaska Anchorage (WCHA)
29 Flag of Manitoba Funk, ReillyReilly Funk Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2000-12-23 Portage, Manitoba Youngstown (USHL)
31 Flag of Minnesota Glockner, CharlieCharlie Glockner Freshman G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2000-06-27 Minnetonka, Minnesota Waterloo (USHL)
33 Flag of New York DiMatteo, RicoRico DiMatteo Sophomore G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 161 lb (73 kg) 2001-01-01 Brasher Falls, New York Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)
Flag of Michigan Peterson, JakobJakob Peterson Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 2002-04-18 Marquette, MI Amarillo  (NAHL)

Standings[]

Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#1 Minnesota State †* 26 23 3 0 2 0 0 67 115 28 42 37 5 0 172 54
#14 Michigan Tech 26 16 8 2 2 4 0 54 93 53 37 21 13 3 118 75
Bemidji State 26 14 12 0 1 1 0 42 83 81 39 19 20 0 118 121
Lake Superior State 26 13 13 0 1 1 0 39 69 64 37 18 18 1 107 104
Northern Michigan 26 12 13 1 3 0 1 35 86 99 37 20 16 1 132 136
Bowling Green 26 11 14 1 2 1 0 33 67 87 37 15 19 3 94 119
Ferris State 26 9 16 1 2 2 0 28 66 99 36 11 24 1 90 135
St. Thomas 26 3 22 1 0 4 0 14 45 112 36 3 32 1 61 168
Championship: March 19, 2022
† indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated April 1, 2022

Schedule and results[]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 2 3:04 PM at Michigan Tech* MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan (Exhibition)     T 4–4   
Regular Season
October 8 6:37 PM vs. St. Thomas Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo W 4–1  2,532 1–0–0 (1–0–0)
October 9 6:37 PM vs. St. Thomas Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo W 8–3  3,080 2–0–0 (2–0–0)
October 15 6:37 PM vs. USNTDP* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan (Exhibition)     L 3–5   
October 16 6:37 PM vs. #17 Notre Dame* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo L 2–5  3,754 2–1–0
October 22 6:37 PM vs. #19 Bemidji State Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   Kent L 4–5  2,684 2–2–0 (2–1–0)
October 23 6:37 PM vs. #19 Bemidji State Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo L 3–4  2,975 2–3–0 (2–2–0)
October 29 8:07 PM at #3 Minnesota State Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota   DiMatteo L 2–4  3,952 2–4–0 (2–3–0)
October 30 7:07 PM at #3 Minnesota State Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota   DiMatteo L 0–7  4,004 2–5–0 (2–4–0)
November 5 6:37 PM vs. Boston University* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo W 5–3  3,650 3–5–0
November 6 6:37 PM vs. Boston University* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo W 6–2  3,219 4–5–0
November 12 7:07 PM at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan (Rivalry) Fox UP DiMatteo L 2–5  4,460 4–6–0 (2–5–0)
November 13 6:37 PM vs. Michigan Tech Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan (Rivalry) Fox UP DiMatteo W 3–2 OT 3,847 5–6–0 (3–5–0)
November 19 7:07 PM at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan   DiMatteo W 6–3  1,097 6–6–0 (4–5–0)
November 20 6:07 PM at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan   DiMatteo W 7–6 OT 1,589 7–6–0 (5–5–0)
November 26 6:37 PM vs. Bowling Green Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo W 6–3  2,053 8–6–0 (6–5–0)
November 27 6:37 PM vs. Bowling Green Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo T 3–3 SOW 2,107 8–6–1 (6–5–1)
December 3 6:37 PM vs. #1 Minnesota Duluth* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo W 5–4  2,960 9–6–1
December 4 6:37 PM vs. #1 Minnesota Duluth* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo W 5–2  3,414 10–6–1
December 10 7:07 PM at Lake Superior State #19 Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   DiMatteo L 2–7  500 10–7–1 (6–6–1)
December 11 6:07 PM at Lake Superior State #19 Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   DiMatteo L 1–4  790 10–8–1 (6–7–1)
January 7 6:37 PM vs. Colgate* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo W 4–2  1,832 11–8–1
January 8 6:37 PM vs. Colgate* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo W 6–3  2,227 12–8–1
January 14 6:37 PM vs. #1 Minnesota State Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo W 4–2  2,284 13–8–1 (7–7–1)
January 15 6:37 PM vs. #1 Minnesota State Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   Glockner L 1–4  2,897 13–9–1 (7–8–1)
January 28 7:07 PM vs. Lake Superior State #20 Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   DiMatteo L 1–6  2,288 13–10–1 (7–9–1)
January 29 6:07 PM vs. Lake Superior State #20 Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   Glockner W 2–1  2,564 14–10–1 (8–9–1)
February 1 6:07 PM at #15 Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan (Rivalry) Fox UP Glockner L 1–5  2,744 14–11–1 (8–10–1)
February 4 8:07 PM at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota   Glockner W 2–1  2,557 15–11–1 (9–10–1)
February 5 7:07 PM at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota   Kent L 3–5  2,120 15–12–1 (9–11–1)
February 8 6:37 PM vs. #14 Michigan Tech Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan (Rivalry) Fox UP Kent L 1–8  3,964 15–13–1 (9–12–1)
February 18 7:07 PM at Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio   Glockner W 6–3  2,611 16–13–1 (10–12–1)
February 19 7:07 PM at Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio   Glockner W 4–2  3,734 17–13–1 (11–12–1)
February 25 6:37 PM vs. Ferris State Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   Glockner W 7–1  2,114 18–13–1 (12–12–1)
February 26 6:37 PM vs. Ferris State Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   Glockner L 2–4  2,556 18–14–1 (12–13–1)
CCHA Tournament
March 4 6:07 PM at Lake Superior State* Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan (Quarterfinal game 1)   Glockner W 5–1  1,050 19–14–1
March 5 6:07 PM at Lake Superior State* Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan (Quarterfinal game 2)   Glockner L 2–3  1,100 19–15–1
March 6 6:07 PM at Lake Superior State* Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan (Quarterfinal game 3)   Glockner W 5–4  850 20–15–1
Northern Michigan Won Series 2–1
March 12 5:07 PM at #1 Minnesota State* Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota (Semifinal)   Glockner L 1–8  4,492 20–16–1
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source: [2]

Scoring statistics[]

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Crone, HankHank Crone LW 32 13 31 44 22
Vanderbeck, A. J.A. J. Vanderbeck F 36 24 19 43 18
Ghantous, AndréAndré Ghantous RW 37 10 26 36 57
Cosgrove, TrevorTrevor Cosgrove D 37 9 19 28 26
Colella, MikeyMikey Colella F 37 15 12 27 10
Newhouse, BenBen Newhouse D 37 5 22 27 4
Keefer, DavidDavid Keefer RW 36 10 12 22 18
Eriksson, HampusHampus Eriksson C/W 33 6 16 22 18
Frye, AlexAlex Frye C 33 10 6 16 31
De Mey, VincentVincent De Mey F 35 6 10 16 12
Nardi, JosephJoseph Nardi LW 21 3 11 14 2
Hanson, BoBo Hanson D 36 3 10 13 29
Byers, MackMack Byers LW 26 5 1 6 17
Van Unen, RylanRylan Van Unen F 18 4 1 5 31
Geschwind, OscarOscar Geschwind C 15 2 3 5 2
Klee, GarrettGarrett Klee F 33 1 4 5 16
Vescio, TannerTanner Vescio D 35 3 1 4 26
Marritt, ConnorConnor Marritt F 29 1 3 4 8
Van Unen, MikeMike Van Unen D 32 1 2 3 49
Willits, BrettBrett Willits C 12 0 3 3 0
Erkkila, TimTim Erkkila D 19 0 3 3 4
DiMatteo, RicoRico DiMatteo G 22 0 2 2 2
Jungels, JettJett Jungels F 25 0 2 2 17
Boucher, TyrellTyrell Boucher D 13 0 1 1 2
Funk, ReillyReilly Funk C 1 0 0 0 0
Enns, ColbyColby Enns D 2 0 0 0 0
Kent, NolanNolan Kent G 6 0 0 0 0
Malcolmson, IanIan Malcolmson F 7 0 0 0 0
Peterson, JakobJakob Peterson D 8 0 0 0 2
Glockner, CharlieCharlie Glockner G 17 0 0 0 0
Total 131 221 352 423

[3]

Goaltending statistics[]

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Glockner, CharlieCharlie Glockner 18 862 7 5 0 45 388 0 .896 3.13
DiMatteo, RicoRico DiMatteo 22 1172 13 8 1 68 536 0 .887 3.48
Kent, NolanNolan Kent 6 179 0 3 0 17 64 0 .790 5.68
Empty Net - 17 - - - 4 - - - -
Total 37 2230 20 16 1 136 988 0 .879 3.66

Rankings[]

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 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 19 NR NR NR 19 20 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

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.[4]

References[]

  1. 2020–21 Men's Ice Hockey Roster. Northern Michigan University Wildcats.
  2. Northern Michigan 2021-22 Team Schedule. College Hockey Inc. Retrieved on February 2, 2022.
  3. "Northern Michigan Univ. 2021-2022 Skater Stats", Elite Prospects. Retrieved on March 2, 2020. 
  4. USCHO Division I Men's Poll. USCHO.com. Retrieved on November 26, 2019.
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