2022–23 NCHC season explained


Color:	color:white; background:#b5121b;
Color Text:	white
Season:	2022–23
Season:	2022–23
Conference:	National Collegiate Hockey Conference
Shortconference:	NCHC
Division:	Division I
Sport:	ice hockey
Pixels:	225 px
Duration:	October 1, 2022– March 25, 2023
No Of Teams:	8
Draft Link:	2023 NHL Entry Draft
Top Pick:	Ty Mueller
Picked By:	Vancouver Canucks
Regular Season:
Season Champs:	Denver
Mvp:	Jason Polin
Mvp Link:	NCHC Player of the Year
Top Scorer:	Massimo Rizzo
Tournament:
Tournament Champs:	St. Cloud State
Tournament Place:	Colorado College
Mvp2:	Jami Kranilla
Mvp Link2:	Frozen Faceoff MVP
Top Scorer2:	Jack Devine (5)
Ncaa:
Bids:	3
Conf Rec:	1–3
Best:	Regional Final
Ncaa Team:	St. Cloud State
Prevseason:	2021–22
Nextseason:	2023–24
Labelstyle:	background:#eeeeee;

The 2022–23 NCHC season was the 10th season of play for National Collegiate Hockey Conference 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 March 25, 2023.^[1]

Coaches

Records

Team	Season at school	Record at school	NCHC record
Colorado College	2	9–24–3	6–17–1
Denver	5	86–43–13	49–37–9
Miami	4	20–66–9	14–53–6
Minnesota Duluth	23	428–348–95	117–79–21
North Dakota	8	162–77–25	102–52–15
Omaha	6	75–86–9	48–65–7
St. Cloud State	5	81–47–13	54–33–9
Western Michigan	2	26–12–1	14–9–1

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.

NCHC had a good season against non-conference opponents. While only one member team had a losing record outside of league play (Colorado College), three teams were only just above .500. Additionally, most of the conference's wins came against either the CCHA or Independent programs, many of which were low-ranked teams and didn't help the NCHC's position as much as they otherwise could have. This caused the NCHC to have just three teams in the top 15 of the rankings as opposed to the five they had the year before with a nearly-identical overall record.

Regular season record

Team							Total
Colorado College	1–1–0	0–0–0	0–0–0	1–3–0	0–0–0	2–2–0	4–6–0
Denver	0–0–0	0–0–0	0–0–0	0–0–0	2–2–0	5–1–0	7–3–0
Miami	3–1–0	0–2–0	1–0–1	0–0–0	1–1–0	0–0–0	5–4–1
Minnesota Duluth	0–0–0	0–2–0	1–2–1	2–0–0	0–0–0	2–0–0	5–4–1
North Dakota	2–0–0	0–0–0	2–1–1	0–1–1	0–0–0	2–1–0	6–3–2
Omaha	0–2–0	0–0–0	1–0–1	1–1–0	0–0–0	3–1–0	5–4–1
St. Cloud State	0–0–0	3–1–0	5–1–0	0–0–0	0–0–0	0–0–0	8–2–0
Western Michigan	0–0–0	1–3–0	5–0–0	0–0–0	1–0–0	1–1–0	8–4–0
Overall	6–4–0	4–8–0	15–4–4	4–5–1	4–3–0	15–6–0	48–30–5

Statistics

Leading scorers

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes^[2]

Class	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Sophomore	24	11	20	31	6
Senior	24	17	12	29	11
Senior	24	17	12	29	31
Freshman	24	10	19	29	14
Senior	24	12	13	25	18
Sophomore	24	15	9	24	24
Freshman	24	6	18	24	12
Junior	24	13	10	23	27
Freshman	22	9	14	23	4
Sophomore	23	8	15	23	8
Junior	24	8	15	23	0

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

Class	GP	Min	W	L	T	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Freshman	12	675:51	7	3	1	22	2	.933	1.95
Senior	22	1291:16	17	4	0	48	4	.915	2.23
Freshman	22	1221:26	5	13	2	46	3	.930	2.26
Junior	24	1406:57	15	7	1	55	2	.912	2.35
Graduate	20	1106:18	9	5	4	44	3	.902	2.39

Conference tournament

See main article: 2023 NCHC Tournament.

NCAA tournament

See main article: 2023 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament.

Regional semifinal

West

Regional final

West

Ranking

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

USCHO

Colorado College	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
Denver	1	-	1	1	4	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	-	1	4	3	5	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	4	-	6
Miami	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
Minnesota Duluth	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
North Dakota	4	-	3	3	7	6	10	12	19	NR	NR	NR	NR	-	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	17	17	-	17
Omaha	NR	-	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	-	NR	NR	NR	NR	19	16	15	14	14	17	18	20	-	20
St. Cloud State	13	-	10	10	8	2	4	4	4	3	3	4	4	-	4	3	4	1	5	6	6	6	6	7	7	6	-	5
Western Michigan	14	-	18	18	17	17	18	17	14	15	14	17	18	-	13	12	10	9	10	9	8	5	8	7	9	9	-	11

^[3]

USA Today

Colorado College	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
Denver	1	1	1	1	4	3	2	2	1	1	2	1	1	2	2	3	3	3	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	4	7	6
Miami	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
Minnesota Duluth	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
North Dakota	4	4	3	3	7	7	11	13	19	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	16	16	16	18
Omaha	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	16	16	15	15	14	18	19	NR	NR	NR
St. Cloud State	13	13	11	10	8	2	4	4	5	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	1	5	6	6	6	6	8	7	6	5	5
Western Michigan	12	12	18	18	17	16	18	17	12	15	14	17	19	19	14	12	10	9	10	9	8	5	8	8	9	11	11	12

^[4]

Pairwise

Colorado College	22	9	24	45	47	45	34	42	45	45	41	31	30	29	33	33	35	30	39	38	40	36	31
Denver	22	1	15	6	5	3	2	1	5	3	4	3	5	4	5	7	6	5	4	3	3	3	bgcolor=gold	4
Miami	12	8	18	5	15	26	28	29	37	36	35	39	41	44	46	46	44	44	47	43	44	44	45
Minnesota Duluth	10	32	35	38	35	33	42	38	32	39	39	33	28	36	31	24	24	24	23	25	23	22	22
North Dakota	22	39	12	24	31	23	27	28	22	22	22	17	13	22	23	19	20	22	21	21	21	18	18
Omaha	22	50	51	47	30	35	30	31	25	21	27	24	26	22	20	17	16	17	13	16	18	19	20
St. Cloud State	3	15	7	1	2	2	6	4	4	4	6	5	3	5	2	5	7	7	5	5	7	7	bgcolor=gold	6
Western Michigan	13	18	22	13	20	15	11	18	13	18	22	14	12	10	9	10	8	8	6	9	8	10	bgcolor=gold	10

Note: teams ranked in the top-10 automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament. Teams ranked 11-16 can qualify based upon conference tournament results.^[5]

Awards

NCAA

^[6]
Player	Position	Team
Michael Benning	align=center	D	Denver
Carter Mazur	align=center	F	Denver
Jason Polin	align=center	F	Western Michigan
Massimo Rizzo	align=center	F	Denver

NCHC

Award	Recipient ^[7]
		Jason Polin, Western Michigan
		Jackson Blake, North Dakota
		Magnus Chrona, Denver
		Jason Polin, Western Michigan
		Justin Lee, Denver
		Michael Benning, Denver
		Jami Krannila, St. Cloud State
		Ethan Frisch, North Dakota
Three Stars Award		Magnus Chrona, Denver
		Spencer Meier, St. Cloud State
		Pat Ferschweiler, Western Michigan
^[8] ^[9]
	Position	Second Team
Magnus Chrona, Denver	align=center	G	Kaidan Mbereko, Colorado College
Michael Benning, Denver	align=center	D	Jack Peart, St. Cloud State
Chris Jandric, North Dakota	align=center	D	Wyatt Kaiser, Minnesota Duluth
Jason Polin, Western Michigan	align=center	F	Carter Mazur, Denver
Massimo Rizzo, Denver	align=center	F	Jackson Blake, North Dakota
Jami Krannila, St. Cloud State	align=center	F	Riese Gaber, North Dakota
Honorable Mention	Position	Rookie Team
Šimon Latkoczy, Omaha	align=center	G	Kaidan Mbereko, Colorado College
Sean Behrens, Denver	align=center	D	Joaquim Lemay, Omaha
Dylan Anhorn, St. Cloud State	align=center	D	Jacob Guévin, Omaha
Hunter McKown, Colorado College	align=center	F	Jackson Blake, North Dakota
Ben Steeves, Minnesota Duluth	align=center	F	Ryan McAllister, Western Michigan
Jack Randl, Omaha	align=center	F	Ben Steeves, Minnesota Duluth
Ryan McAllister, Western Michigan	align=center	F
Zach Okabe, St. Cloud State	align=center	F

NCHC Tournament


		Minnesota Duluth
^[10]
Player	Pos	Team
		St. Cloud State
		Colorado College
		St. Cloud State
		St. Cloud State
		St. Cloud State
		Colorado College

2023 NHL Entry Draft

See main article: 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

2	35	Adam Gajan ^†	Minnesota Duluth	Chicago Blackhawks
3	81	Tanner Ludtke ^†	Omaha	Arizona Coyotes
3	82	Zach Nehring ^†	Western Michigan	Winnipeg Jets
3	94	Jayden Perron ^†	North Dakota	Carolina Hurricanes
4	98	Andrew Strathmann ^†	North Dakota	Columbus Blue Jackets
4	105		Omaha	Vancouver Canucks
4	115	Jayson Shaugabay ^†	Minnesota Duluth	Tampa Bay Lightning
4	119	Matthew Perkins ^†	Minnesota Duluth	Vancouver Canucks
4	124	Beckett Hendrickson ^†	Minnesota Duluth	Boston Bruins
5	133	Sam Harris ^†	Denver	Montreal Canadiens
5	149	Aaron Pionk ^†	Minnesota Duluth	Minnesota Wild
6	166	Carsen Musser ^†	Colorado College	Arizona Coyotes
6	179	Warren Clark ^†	St. Cloud State	Tampa Bay Lightning
6	183	Ty Henricks ^†	Western Michigan	New York Rangers
6	190	Michael Emerson ^†	North Dakota	Carolina Hurricanes
6	196	David Klee ^†	North Dakota	San Jose Sharks
7	204	Owen Beckner ^†	Colorado College	Ottawa Senators
7	212	Zaccharya Wisdom ^†	Colorado College	Seattle Kraken
7	214	Casper Nassen ^†	Miami	Boston Bruins

† incoming freshman^[11]

Notes and References

Web site: Schedule . NCHC . September 5, 2021.
News: Player Stats . HCHC . July 28, 2022.
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: Western Michigan’s Polin named NCHC player of year, Denver’s Chrona top goalie, North Dakota’s Blake best rookie for ’22-23 campaign . USCHO . March 17, 2023 . March 18, 2023.
Web site: NCHC Reveals 2022-23 All-Conference Teams . NCHC . March 8, 2023 . March 14, 2023.
Web site: NCHC Announces 2022-23 All-Rookie Team . nchchockey.com . March 7, 2023 . March 14, 2023.
Web site: St. Cloud State blanks Colorado College, wins second NCHC playoff championship . uscho.com . March 19, 2023 . March 19, 2023.
News: NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft . USCHO.com . July 9, 2022.