2022–23 Big Ten Conference ice hockey season explained


Color:	color:white; background:#0088CE;
Color Text:	white
Season:	2022–23
Season:	2022–23
Conference:	Big Ten Conference
Shortconference:	Big Ten Conference
Division:	Division I
Sport:	ice hockey
Sportname:	ice hockey
Pixels:	225 px
Duration:	October 1, 2022– April 8, 2023
No Of Teams:	7
Tv:	Big Ten Network
Draft Link:	2023 NHL Entry Draft
Top Pick:	Adam Fantilli
Picked By:	Columbus Blue Jackets
Regular Season:
Season Champs:	Minnesota
Mvp:	Matthew Knies
Mvp Link:	Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Player of the Year
Top Scorer:	Jimmy Snuggerud Logan Cooley
Tournament:
Tournament Champs:	Michigan
Tournament Place:	Minnesota
Mvp2:	Adam Fantilli
Mvp Link2:	Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament Most Outstanding Player
Top Scorer2:	Adam Fantilli (12)
Ncaa:
Bids:	4
Conf Rec:	7–4
Best:	National Runner-Up
Ncaa Team:	Minnesota
Prevseason:	2021–22
Nextseason:	2023–24
Labelstyle:	background:#eeeeee;

The 2022–23 Big Ten Conference ice hockey season was the 33rd season of play for the Big Ten Conference's men's ice hockey division and took place during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The season began on October 1, 2022, and concluded on April 8, 2023.^[1]

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Michigan State

On April 12, 2022, former Michigan State head coach Danton Cole was fired.^[2] On May 23, 2022, Adam Nightingale was named head coach for the Spartans.^[3] ^[4]

Michigan

During the 2022 offseason, Michigan's head coach, Mel Pearson, was accused of mistreating both players and staff during his tenure with the Wolverines.^[5] On August 5, 2022, Pearson was fired.^[6] Because the vacancy happened so close to the start of the next season, the Wolverines were not able to perform a typical hiring search. On August 7, 2022, Michigan promoted assistant coach Brandon Naurato to interim head coach for the 2022–23 season.^[7] ^[8]

Records

Team	Season at school	Record at school	Big Ten record
Michigan	1	0–0–0	0–0–0
Michigan State	1	0–0–0	0–0–0
Minnesota	5	84–50–11	54–30–10
Notre Dame	18	376–231–66	66–43–9
Ohio State	10	162–127–36	79–76–19
Penn State	12	159–138–24	78–90–15
Wisconsin	7	92–106–16	59–69–12

Non-Conference record

Of the sixteen teams that are selected to participate in the NCAA tournament, ten will be via at-large bids. Those 10 teams are determined based upon the PairWise rankings. The rankings take into account all games played but are heavily affected by intra-conference results. The result is that teams from leagues which perform better in non-conference are much more likely to receive at-large bids even if they possess inferior records overall.

The Big Ten performed tremendously well in non-conference games. All seven league members had winning records against other conferences and more than half were at or better than .700. On aggregate, only Hockey East had a winning record against the Big Ten but that was only by 1 game. The overwhelming win/loss totals enabled the Big Ten to have as many as 6 of its member teams ranked in the top 16 during the season.

Regular season record

Team							Total
Michigan	0–0–0	2–0–0	1–0–1	1–1–0	2–0–0	2–0–0	8–1–1
Michigan State	0–0–0	1–3–0	0–0–0	1–1–0	2–0–0	2–0–0	6–4–0
Minnesota	0–0–0	1–1–0	0–0–0	0–0–0	3–1–0	2–2–0	6–4–0
Notre Dame	0–0–1	2–0–0	0–0–0	1–1–0	1–1–0	1–2–0	5–4–1
Ohio State	4–0–0	2–0–0	0–0–0	0–1–1	1–1–0	0–0–0	7–2–1
Penn State	6–0–0	2–0–0	0–0–0	0–0–0	2–0–0	0–0–0	10–0–0
Wisconsin	0–0–0	1–0–0	0–1–0	0–0–0	4–0–0	2–2–0	7–3–0
Overall	10–0–1	11–4–0	1–1–1	3–4–1	15–3–0	9–6–0	49–18–3

Statistics

Leading scorers

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes^[9]

Class	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Freshman	24	14	22	36	30
Freshman	23	12	24	36	17
Sophomore	24	15	15	30	19
Freshman	19	11	19	30	45
Sophomore	22	7	21	28	14
Senior	22	7	17	24	11
Senior	24	5	18	23	7
Senior	24	13	9	22	6
Sophomore	22	9	13	22	4
Freshman	22	7	14	21	8

Leading goaltenders

Minimum 1/3 of team's minutes played in conference games.
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average^[10]

Class	GP	Min	W	L	T	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Senior	22	1300:07	17	4	1	42	5	.935	1.94
Senior	24	1443:18	10	10	4	55	2	.938	2.29
Sophomore	24	1432:45	11	11	2	61	2	.912	2.57
Junior	23	1259:07	9	12	1	60	2	.900	2.86
Graduate	24	1391:06	10	12	2	71	2	.913	3.06

Ranking

See main article: 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings.

USCHO

Michigan	6	-	7	6	5	4	1	3	3	5	5	6	7	-	7	6	8	7	6	5	4	4	4	4	4	2	-	3
Michigan State	NR	-	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	17	16	13	12	11	-	14	17	15	15	17	15	17	18	20	18	19	18	-	19
Minnesota	2	-	2	2	1	1	3	1	2	2	4	3	3	-	3	2	2	2	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	-	2
Notre Dame	9	-	11	14	13	12	12	18	20	19	20	19	19	-	20	NR	NR	NR	20	NR	19	20	19	NR	NR	NR	-	NR
Ohio State	16	-	14	11	16	11	9	10	12	12	17	15	14	-	12	8	7	8	7	7	10	8	9	9	8	8	-	7
Penn State	NR	-	NR	20	18	16	13	8	6	7	6	5	5	-	5	5	6	6	9	8	7	9	9	10	10	10	-	8
Wisconsin	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

USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1 and 13.^[11]

USA Today

Michigan	6	6	6	6	5	4	1	3	3	5	6	7	8	8	7	6	7	7	6	5	4	4	4	4	4	2	2	3
Michigan State	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	18	16	11	13	11	11	13	16	15	15	19	15	14	18	20	17	17	18	17	17
Minnesota	2	2	2	2	1	1	3	1	2	2	1	2	2	1	1	2	2	2	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	2
Notre Dame	8	8	9	13	12	12	12	18	20	19	20	19	18	17	18	NR	NR	20	17	NR	18	19	17	20	20	20	19	19
Ohio State	18	18	14	11	16	11	9	11	13	12	17	14	14	14	12	8	8	8	7	7	9	7	9	9	8	8	6	7
Penn State	NR	NR	NR	NR	18	15	10	7	6	7	5	5	6	5	5	5	6	6	9	8	7	10	10	11	10	10	8	8
Wisconsin	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

^[12]

Pairwise

Michigan	22	28	2	3	6	11	3	12	10	11	10	8	8	8	7	4	4	3	3	4	4	4	bgcolor=gold	3
Michigan State	22	12	26	12	21	16	10	11	7	9	8	13	13	12	13	16	14	14	18	19	16	16	16
Minnesota	3	7	1	15	17	9	12	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	bgcolor=gold	1
Notre Dame	22	30	36	16	19	24	20	20	19	16	16	14	15	18	15	14	17	15	14	13	18	17	17
Ohio State	3	2	10	7	9	10	17	16	18	13	12	9	6	6	7	8	8	9	8	9	10	8	bgcolor=gold	8
Penn State	22	39	4	4	3	4	4	5	1	5	5	4	4	3	3	6	5	6	7	8	8	8	bgcolor=gold	8
Wisconsin	22	36	49	34	43	45	37	33	30	29	37	33	32	34	32	33	39	36	32	32	35	37	37

Note: teams ranked in the top-10 automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament. Teams ranked 11-16 can qualify based upon conference tournament results.^[13]

Conference tournament

See main article: 2023 Big Ten men's ice hockey tournament.

Awards

NCAA

Award	Recipient
		Adam Fantilli, Michigan
		Bob Motzko, Minnesota
		Adam Fantilli, Michigan
^[14]
Player	Position	Team
Brock Faber	align=center	D	Minnesota
Luke Hughes	align=center	D	Michigan
Logan Cooley	align=center	F	Minnesota
Adam Fantilli	align=center	F	Michigan
Matthew Knies	align=center	F	Minnesota

Ryan Bischel	align=center	G	Notre Dame

NCAA tournament

^[15]
Player	Pos	Team
		Minnesota
		Minnesota

Big Ten

Award	Recipient ^[16]
		Matthew Knies, Minnesota
		Brock Faber, Minnesota
		Ryan Bischel, Notre Dame
		Adam Fantilli, Michigan
	Logan Cooley, Minnesota
Jimmy Snuggerud, Minnesota
		Bob Motzko, Minnesota
		Adam Fantilli, Michigan

	Position	Second Team
Ryan Bischel, Notre Dame	align=center	G	Justen Close, Minnesota
Brock Faber, Minnesota	align=center	D	Jackson LaCombe, Minnesota
Luke Hughes, Michigan	align=center	D	Mason Lohrei, Ohio State
Logan Cooley, Minnesota	align=center	F	Mackie Samoskevich, Michigan
Adam Fantilli, Michigan	align=center	F	Jimmy Snuggerud, Minnesota
Matthew Knies, Minnesota	align=center	F	Jake Wise, Ohio State
	Position
Seamus Casey, Michigan	align=center	D
Luke Mittelstadt, Minnesota	align=center	D
Logan Cooley, Minnesota	align=center	F
Adam Fantilli, Michigan	align=center	F
Jimmy Snuggerud, Minnesota	align=center	F

Conference tournament


		Michigan

Player	Pos	Team
		Minnesota
		Michigan
		Michigan
		Minnesota
		Michigan
		Michigan

2023 NHL Entry Draft

See main article: 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

1	3		Michigan	Columbus Blue Jackets
1	19	Oliver Moore ^†	Minnesota	Chicago Blackhawks
1	21		Wisconsin	Minnesota Wild
2	34		Michigan	Columbus Blue Jackets
2	41	Trey Augustine ^†	Michigan State	Detroit Red Wings
2	45	Maxim Strbak ^†	Michigan State	Buffalo Sabres
2	47	Brady Cleveland ^†	Wisconsin	Detroit Red Wings
2	49	Danny Nelson ^†	Notre Dame	New York Islanders
3	66	William Whitelaw ^†	Wisconsin	Columbus Blue Jackets
4	103	Cole Knuble ^†	Notre Dame	Philadelphia Flyers
5	137	Jack Phelan ^†	Wisconsin	Detroit Red Wings
5	138	Paul Fischer ^†	Notre Dame	St. Louis Blues
6	177	Zach Schulz ^†	Wisconsin	New York Islanders
7	197		Minnesota	Montreal Canadiens
7	213	James Clark ^†	Minnesota	Minnesota Wild
7	218	Aiden Fink ^†	Penn State	Nashville Predators

† incoming freshman^[17]

External links

official website

Notes and References

Web site: 2022-23 Big Ten Hockey Schedule Announced . https://web.archive.org/web/20220822142704/https://bigten.org/news/2022/8/22/mens-ice-hockey-2022-23-big-ten-hockey-schedule-announced.aspx . dead . August 22, 2022 . BigTen.org . August 22, 2022 . August 23, 2022.
Web site: NCAA drought at 10 years, Michigan State fires hockey coach Danton Cole . . Tony . Paul . April 12, 2022 . August 23, 2022.
Web site: Adam Nightingale hired as the next Michigan State hockey coach . . Nathaniel . Bott . May 3, 2022 . August 23, 2022.
Web site: Adam Nightingale looks to restore 'great tradition' of MSU hockey . . Matt . Charboneau . May 9, 2022 . August 23, 2022.
Web site: Michigan mum on investigation, Mel Pearson remains hockey coach despite no contract . . June 17, 2022 . August 23, 2022.
Web site: CBS Sports . Michigan ice hockey coach Mel Pearson ousted following investigation into alleged misconduct . August 5, 2022 . August 23, 2022.
Web site: Brandon Naurato promoted to interim coach of Michigan Wolverines men's hockey program . . August 7, 2022 . August 23, 2022.
Web site: Brandon Naurato Named Interim Head Coach of Ice Hockey . Kurt . Svoboda . . MGoBlue.com . August 7, 2022 . August 23, 2022.
News: 2022-2023 Men's Ice Hockey Conference Statistics . Big Ten . March 7, 2023.
News: 2022-2023 Men's Ice Hockey Conference Goaltending Statistics . Big Ten Conference . March 7, 2023.
Web site: USCHO Division I Men's Poll . USCHO.com . November 26, 2019.
Web site: USA Today Men's Poll . USCHO.com . November 26, 2019.
Web site: Men's Division I PairWise Rankings . USCHO.com . November 26, 2019.
News: Two Northeastern players repeat as first-team All-Americans . USCHO.com . April 7, 2023 . April 8, 2023.
Web site: Quinnipiac crowned . collegehockeyinc.com . April 9, 2023 . April 9, 2023.
Web site: Big Ten Hockey Postseason Honors Announced . https://web.archive.org/web/20230314163707/https://bigten.org/news/2023/3/14/mens-ice-hockey-big-ten-hockey-postseason-honors-announced.aspx . dead . March 14, 2023 . BigTen.org . . March 14, 2023 . March 14, 2023.
News: NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft . USCHO.com . July 9, 2022.