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2021–22 American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey season

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2021–22 American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey season
Atlantic Hockey, Champion
Atlantic Hockey Tournament, Champion
NCAA Tournament, Midwest Regional Semifinal
Conference1st Atlantic Hockey
Home iceMassMutual Center
Rankings
USCHO18
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall22–13–3
Conference17–7–2
Home13–5–2
Road7–7–1
Neutral2–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachEric Lang
Assistant coachesCory Schneider
Patrick Tabb
Matthew Woodward
Captain(s)Parker Revering
Alternate captain(s)Elijiah Barriga
Chris Dodero
Luka Maver
Jake Stella
American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey seasons
« 2020–21 2022–23 »

The 2021–22 American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey season was the 74th season of play for the program. They represented American International College in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season and for the 19th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Yellow Jackets were coached by Eric Lang, in his sixth season, and played their home games at MassMutual Center.

Season

[edit]

AIC entered the season looking to continue its run as the Atlantic Hockey champion but didn't get off to a good start. While due in part to the difficulty of their schedule, the Yellow Jackets began with just 3 wins in their first 13 games. While they got solid, if unspectacular, goaltending from both grad transfer Alec Calvaruso and nominal starter Jake Kucharski, American International was let down by its offense. In just 4 of those 13 games, the team managed to score more than 2 goals.

In late-November, the offense finally got going and the team went on an extended winning streak as a result. AIC won 11 consecutive games, including a defeat of Connecticut, who ended the season in the top-20. The run shot the Yellow Jackets to the top of the Atlantic Hockey standings, where they remained for the rest of the year. While their winning streak nearly put them into the poll themselves, AIC came back down to earth a bit at the end of the regular season. With their 4th-consecutive Atlantic Hockey title in hand, AIC still had to win the conference tournament in order to make the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to the start of their postseason, AIC got some unwelcome news when Kucharski went down with an undisclosed injury. Despite missing the conference goaltending champion, American International had a capable backup in Calvaruso and he showed up during the playoffs. Calvaruso won all four games for the Yellow Jackets, posting a 2.00 goals against average. It was, however, Blake Bennett who was the story for AIC; the junior forward scored recorded 10 points during their run, including a hat-trick in the semifinal against Mercyhurst, and was named Tournament MVP.

American International made its third consecutive appearance in the NCAA championship but, as is typical for Atlantic Hockey, they did so against the #1 seed once again. The team faced Michigan, who boasted one of, if not the, most talent-laden teams in NCAA history. The Yellow Jackets, on the other hand, possessed only one NHL-drafted player and he (Kucharski) was still out due to injury. Early on it appeared that the Wolverines would just roll over AIC when they scored twice in the first 5 minutes of the game. The Yellow Jackets fought back, however, and demonstrated that they weren't to be taken lightly. American International ended up outshooting Michigan 32-31 in the game and scored three goals, but it wasn't enough. Even with the loss, the credible performance showed that AIC could compete with the elite college hockey programs.

Departures

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Cause
Jeff Baum Forward/Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Belfast Giants)
Stefano Durante Goaltender  Canada Graduation (signed with Fayetteville Marksmen)
Tobias Fladeby Forward  Norway Graduation (signed with Tingsryds AIF)
Kyle Jeffers Forward  United States Transferred to Lindenwood
Brennan Kapcheck Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Toronto Marlies)
Jan Kern Forward  Czech Republic Signed professional contract (HC Slavia Praha)
Sam Miller Defenseman  United States Transferred to Tufts
Matúš Spodniak Forward  Slovakia Transferred to Adrian
Adam Stacho Forward  Slovakia Transferred to St. Norbert
Oskar Strömberg Defenseman  Sweden Graduation (signed with IK Waxholm)

Recruiting

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Alec Calvaruso Goaltender  United States 23 Livonia, MI; graduate transfer from Rensselaer
Santeri Hartikainen Forward  Finland 22 Helsinki, FIN; transfer from Robert Morris
Brian Kramer Defenseman  United States 21 Wexford, PA; transfer from Robert Morris
Luis Lindner Forward/Defenseman  Austria 20 Spittal an der Drau, AUT
Reggie Millette Forward  United States 21 Jacksonville, FL
Brian Rigali Forward  United States 24 Green Oaks, IL; graduate transfer from Connecticut
Evan Stella Defenseman  Sweden 20 Karlstad, SWE
Alexander Tertyshny Defenseman  United States 21 Philadelphia, PA
Chris Van Os-Shaw Forward  Canada 24 Regina, SK; transfer from Minnesota State

Roster

[edit]

As of August 23, 2021.[1]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Pennsylvania Jake Kucharski Sophomore (RS) G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1999-09-25 Erie, Pennsylvania Providence (HEA) CAR, 197th overall 2018
2 British Columbia Nico Somerville Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-04-08 Nanaimo, British Columbia Penticton (BCHL)
4 Illinois Brett Callahan Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1998-10-16 Westmont, Illinois Jersey (NCDC)
5 Pennsylvania Alex Tertyshny Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-01-03 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Northeast (NAHL)
6 Rhode Island Matt Rickard Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1999-07-28 Coventry, Rhode Island Lone Star (NAHL)
7 Pennsylvania Brian Kramer Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2000-07-20 Wexford, Pennsylvania Robert Morris (AHA)
8 Austria Luis Lindner Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-05-16 Spittal an der Drau, Austria Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC)
9 New York (state) Blake Bennett Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-07-01 Grand Island, New York Corpus Christi (NAHL)
10 Illinois Brian Rigali Graduate F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-03-08 Green Oaks, Illinois UConn (HEA)
11 Finland Julius Janhonen Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-03-05 Espoo, Finland HIFK U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)
12 Minnesota Eric Otto Junior (RS) F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1997-07-19 Burnsville, Minnesota Chicago (USHL)
13 Finland Santeri Hartikainen Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-01-05 Helsinki, Finland Robert Morris (AHA)
16 Florida Reggie Millette Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-04-10 Jacksonville, Florida Austin (NAHL)
17 California Zak Galambos Junior (RS) D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-04-04 Walnut Creek, California Minnesota State (WCHA)
18 Vermont Michal Stinil Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-03-21 East Burke, Vermont Lone Star (NAHL)
19 California Elijiah Barriga (A) Senior (RS) F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1996-05-16 West Covina, California UNLV (ACHA)
20 Saskatchewan Chris Van Os-Shaw Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-05-20 Regina, Saskatchewan Minnesota State (WCHA)
21 Pennsylvania Justin Cole Graduate F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1996-05-01 Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania Cedar Rapids (USHL)
22 Minnesota Parker Revering (C) Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-01-11 Alexandria, Minnesota Brookings (NAHL)
23 North Dakota Aaron Grounds Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-12-24 Jamestown, North Dakota Fargo (USHL)
25 Slovenia Luka Maver (A) Graduate F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1997-10-25 Ljubljana, Slovenia Lincoln (USHL)
26 Quebec Chris Theodore Senior F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-10-15 Beaconsfield, Quebec Cornwall (CCHL)
27 Minnesota Hunter Johannes Junior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1998-07-24 Eden Prairie, Minnesota Jamestown (NAHL)
28 Sweden Jake Stella (A) Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-11-14 Karlstad, Sweden Corpus Christi (NAHL)
29 Alberta Darwin Lakoduk Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 157 lb (71 kg) 2000-01-28 Edmonton, Alberta Penticton (BCHL)
30 Michigan Alec Calvaruso Graduate G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-07-09 Livonia, Michigan Rensselaer (ECAC)
33 Pennsylvania Jarrett Fiske Junior G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-05-28 Erie, Pennsylvania Kemptville (CCHL)
34 Michigan Ryan McInchak Sophomore G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-02-28 Trenton, Michigan New Jersey (NAHL)
37 Sweden Evan Stella Freshman D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-05-11 Karlstad, Sweden Dubuque (USHL)
39 Alberta Justin Young Graduate F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1997-12-23 Leduc, Alberta Alaska (WCHA)
44 Minnesota Austen Long Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1998-02-15 Minneapolis, Minnesota Omaha (USHL)
55 Illinois Chris Dodero (A) Graduate F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 1996-06-08 West Chicago, Illinois Janesville (NAHL)

Standings

[edit]
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#18 American International †* 26 17 7 2 1 2 0 54 97 61 38 22 13 3 134 95
Canisius 26 13 11 2 2 1 1 43 76 67 35 16 16 3 99 97
Army 26 12 11 3 0 1 2 42 75 68 35 14 17 4 98 100
RIT 26 12 10 4 1 3 3 41 69 82 38 18 16 4 92 115
Sacred Heart 26 11 12 3 0 1 3 40 72 70 37 15 18 4 95 100
Air Force 26 11 12 3 3 2 2 37 76 80 36 16 17 3 99 127
Mercyhurst 26 10 12 4 0 1 1 36 75 79 39 16 19 4 114 129
Niagara 26 10 13 3 2 2 1 34 70 79 36 11 22 3 82 122
Bentley 26 10 14 2 1 2 1 34 70 78 36 14 20 2 94 117
Holy Cross 26 10 14 2 3 0 0 29 56 72 37 12 23 2 77 108
Championship: March 19, 2022
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 2 4:00 PM at #7 Boston College* #20 Conte ForumChestnut Hill, Massachusetts (Exhibition)   Calvaruso L 1–4  567
Regular season
October 9 7:05 PM #11 Providence* MassMutual CenterSpringfield, Massachusetts   Kucharski L 1–5  577 0–1–0
October 15 7:05 PM #9 Massachusetts* MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Kucharski L 1–5  1,306 0–2–0
October 16 7:00 PM at #9 Massachusetts* Mullins CenterAmherst, Massachusetts   Kucharski L 2–4  4,664 0–3–0
October 21 7:05 PM Army MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Kucharski W 4–3  195 1–3–0 (1–0–0)
October 22 7:05 PM at Army Tate RinkWest Point, New York   Kucharski L 0–2  1,516 1–4–0 (1–1–0)
October 29 7:05 PM #5 Quinnipiac* MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Kucharski T 2–2 OT 487 1–4–1
October 30 7:00 PM at #5 Quinnipiac* People's United CenterHamden, Connecticut   Calvaruso L 1–2 OT 3,426 1–5–1
November 6 5:05 PM RIT MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Kucharski W 7–3  306 2–5–1 (2–1–0)
November 7 5:05 PM RIT MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Calvaruso L 2–3 OT 180 2–6–1 (2–2–0)
November 12 7:00 PM at #12 Providence* Schneider ArenaProvidence, Rhode Island   Kucharski L 1–2 OT 1,753 2–7–1
November 19 1:05 PM Bentley MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Kucharski W 5–0  293 3–7–1 (3–2–0)
November 20 1:05 PM Bentley MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Calvaruso L 1–2 OT 192 3–8–1 (3–3–0)
November 26 1:00 PM at Canisius LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York   Kucharski L 5–6  552 3–9–1 (3–4–0)
November 27 1:00 PM at Canisius LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York   Calvaruso W 3–2  609 4–9–1 (4–4–0)
January 1 7:35 PM Air Force MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Kucharski W 5–2  182 5–9–1 (5–4–0)
January 2 4:05 PM Air Force MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Kucharski W 4–3  299 6–9–1 (6–4–0)
January 7 7:05 PM at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Kucharski W 2–0  0 7–9–1 (7–4–0)
January 8 5:05 PM at Holy Cross Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts   Calvaruso W 5–2  0 8–9–1 (8–4–0)
January 11 7:05 PM Connecticut* MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Kucharski W 3–1  207 9–9–1
January 14 1:05 PM Mercyhurst MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Kucharski W 5–4  70 10–9–1 (9–4–0)
January 15 1:05 PM Mercyhurst MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Calvaruso W 6–3  79 11–9–1 (10–4–0)
January 21 6:05 PM at Sacred Heart Webster Bank ArenaBridgeport, Connecticut   Kucharski W 4–2  243 12–9–1 (11–4–0)
January 22 1:05 PM at Sacred Heart Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut   Calvaruso W 3–1  253 13–9–1 (12–4–0)
January 27 5:05 PM Holy Cross MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Kucharski W 3–1  191 14–9–1 (13–4–0)
January 30 12:05 PM Holy Cross MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   McInchak L 4–5  137 14–10–1 (13–5–0)
February 4 7:05 PM at RIT Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York   Calvaruso W 7–0  1,786 15–10–1 (14–5–0)
February 5 7:05 PM at RIT Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York   Kucharski T 4–4 SOL 2,200 15–10–2 (14–5–1)
February 10 5:05 PM Army MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Calvaruso W 5–1  252 16–10–2 (15–5–1)
February 12 6:05 PM at Army Tate RinkWest Point, New York   Kucharski L 0–1  1,589 16–11–2 (15–6–1)
February 18 7:05 PM at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania   Kucharski W 5–1  1,214 17–11–2 (16–6–1)
February 19 3:05 PM at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania   Calvaruso L 3–6  779 17–12–2 (16–7–1)
February 25 1:05 PM Niagara MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Kucharski T 1–1 SOL 93 17–12–3 (16–7–2)
February 26 1:05 PM Niagara MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Kucharski W 4–3 OT 262 18–12–3 (17–7–2)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 11 7:00 PM Bentley* MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal game 1)   Calvaruso W 5–2  410 19–12–3
March 12 7:00 PM Bentley* MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal game 2)   Calvaruso W 6–2  310 20–12–3
American International Won Series 2–0
March 18 4:05 PM vs. Mercyhurst* Adirondack Bank CenterUtica, New York (Semifinal)   Calvaruso W 5–4  1,072 21–12–3
March 19 7:35 PM vs. Air Force* Adirondack Bank CenterUtica, New York (Championship)   Calvaruso W 7–0  250 22–12–3
NCAA Tournament
March 25 3:00 PM vs. #2 Michigan* #18 PPL CenterAllentown, Pennsylvania (Midwest Regional semifinal) ESPNU Calvaruso L 3–5  2,155 22–13–3
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[2]

Scoring statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Blake Bennett F 37 19 15 34 20
Justin Young C 36 12 19 31 16
Chris Dodero C/LW 36 13 16 29 6
Chris Theodore LW 35 10 19 29 6
Zak Galambos D 36 5 24 29 49
Jake Stella LW 37 12 16 28 12
Brian Rigali F 32 13 13 26 8
Elijiah Barriga LW 37 9 15 24 16
Luis Lindner F/D 28 4 14 18 8
Chris Van Os-Shaw LW 36 7 8 15 41
Julius Janhonen C 33 6 8 14 4
Luka Maver C 38 6 6 12 16
Brian Kramer D 36 3 8 11 32
Justin Cole F 32 1 10 11 4
Brett Callahan D 25 2 6 8 10
Parker Revering D 25 2 6 8 10
Austen Long RW 24 3 4 7 12
Evan Stella D 36 0 6 6 20
Hunter Johannes F 14 3 2 5 4
Eric Otto F 19 1 4 5 10
Nico Somerville D 24 1 4 5 12
Santeri Hartikainen C/RW 6 0 3 3 0
Aaron Grounds F 15 1 1 2 4
Matthew Rickard D 21 1 1 2 12
Zachary Purcell F 1 0 0 0 0
Jarrett Fiske G 1 0 0 0 0
Ryan McInchak G 1 0 0 0 0
Alexander Tertyshny RW 1 0 0 0 0
Michal Stinil W 1 0 0 0 0
Reggie Millette F 9 0 0 0 0
Darwin Lakoduk F 10 0 0 0 0
Alec Calvaruso G 16 0 0 0 0
Jake Kucharski G 22 0 0 0 2
Bench - - - - - 6
Total 134 228 362 355

[3]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Jarrett Fiske 1 2:09 0 0 0 0 3 0 1.000 0.00
Ryan McInchak 1 33 0 1 0 1 13 0 .929 1.81
Jake Kucharski 22 1334 12 7 3 53 535 2 .910 2.38
Alec Calvaruso 16 925 10 5 0 39 374 2 .906 2.53
Empty Net - 23 - - - 2 - - - -
Total 38 2318 22 13 3 95 925 4 .907 2.46

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 (Final)
USCHO.com 20 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 18 - 18
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]

Awards and honors

[edit]
Player Award Ref
Chris Theodore Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year [5]
Jake Stella Atlantic Hockey Best Defensive Forward [5]
Zak Galambos Atlantic Hockey Best Defenseman [5]
Jake Kucharski Atlantic Hockey Regular Season Goaltending Award [5]
Jake Kucharski Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year [5]
Blake Bennett Atlantic Hockey Most Valuable Player in Tournament [6]
Zak Galambos Atlantic Hockey First Team [7]
Chris Theodore
Jake Stella Atlantic Hockey Second Team [7]
Jake Kucharski Atlantic Hockey Third Team [7]
Luis Lindner Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team [7]
Alec Calvaruso Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament Team [6]
Zak Galambos
Blake Bennett
Chris Dodero

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2020–21 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". American International College Athletics. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  2. ^ "American International 2021-22 Team Schedule". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "American International College 2021-2022 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  4. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2021-22 Regular season Awards". Atlantic Hockey. March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "AIC Overpowers Air Force to Clinch Third-Straight Atlantic Hockey Postseason Championship". Atlantic Hockey. March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2021-22 All-Conference Teams". Atlantic Hockey. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.