2022–23 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey season

2022–23 Wisconsin Badgers
men's ice hockey season
Conference7th Big Ten
Home iceKohl Center
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall13–23–0
Conference6–18–0
Home9–9–0
Road3–13–0
Neutral1–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachTony Granato
Assistant coachesMark Osiecki
Andy Brandt
Brad Winchester
Captain(s)Dominick Mersch
Alternate captain(s)Brock Caufield
Mathieu De St. Phalle
Jack Gorniak
Anthony Kehrer
Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

The 2022-23 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey season was the 74th season of play for the program and 22nd in the Big Ten. The Badgers represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. They were coached by Tony Granato in his seventh season and played their home games at Kohl Center.

Season

After an abysmal season, Wisconsin was hoping for a resurgence in 2023. Unfortunately for the Badgers, this season the Big Ten was the strongest conference in the nation, boasting upwards of 6 teams ranked in the top 20. Wisconsin was the odd man out and though they did see improvements on both the offensive and defensive side of the puck, it wasn't enough to keep them out of the conference cellar. From the start of the season the Badgers had to face a murderer's row of opponents and played their first 8 games against ranked teams. While they did win two of those games, both were against non-conference competition and only marginally helped the team's cause.

Wisconsin managed to put together a 5-game winning streak in the middle of the season but four of those victories came against two of the lowest-ranked teams in the country and the team followed that up by going 3–11 over the next fourteen games. It wasn't really until the end of the regular season that the Badgers showed any signs of life when they managed to split three consecutive series, all against ranked teams. While it didn't help they at all in regards to their playoff position, it did at least show that they had the potential to make waves in the conference tournament.

In the postseason meeting at Michigan, the Badger's offense show up and scored 9 goals in two games. However, the defense was porous and allowed the Wolverines to score 13 goals.[1]

Shortly after the end of the season, head coach Tony Granato was relieved of his position. The move did not come as a surprise to Granato, who said:

“Based on the end of last year, I knew we had to win this year,”[2]

It was the fifth losing season for the Badgers under Granato in seven years.

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Roman Ahcan Goaltender  United States Graduation (signed with Cleveland Monsters)
Tarek Baker Forward  United States Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Caden Brown Forward  Canada Returned to juniors mid-season (Waterloo Black Hawks)
Ryder Donovan Forward  United States Left program (transferred to St. Thomas)
Josh Ess Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Tyler Inamoto Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Ontario Reign)
Max Johnson Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Wheeling Nailers)
Jake Martin Defenseman  United States Left program (retired)
Brayden Morrison Forward  Canada Returned to juniors mid-season (Dubuque Fighting Saints)
Jesper Peltonen Defenseman  Finland Graduation (signed with EHC Kloten)
Cameron Rowe Goaltender  United States Transferred to Western Michigan

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Ben Dexheimer Defenseman  United States 20 Edina, MN
Jack Horbach Forward  United States 20 Naperville, IL
Tyson Jugnauth Defenseman  Canada 18 Toronto, ON; selected 100th overall in 2022
Cruz Lucius Forward  United States 18 Lawrence, KS; selected 124th overall in 2022
Kyle McClellan Goaltender  United States 23 Manchester, MO; transfer from Mercyhurst
Robby Newton Forward  United States 21 Milwaukee, WI
Ty Smilanic Forward  United States 20 Elizabeth, CO; transfer from Quinnipiac; selected 74th overall in 2020
Charlie Stramel Forward  United States 17 Rosemount, MN

Roster

As of September 8, 2022.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2 Wisconsin Daniel Laatsch Sophomore D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-02-13 Altoona, Wisconsin Sioux City (USHL) PIT, 215th overall 2021
3 Wisconsin Sam Stange Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 2001-04-20 Eau Claire, Wisconsin Sioux Falls (USHL) DET, 97th overall 2020
4 Alberta Corson Ceulemans Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 2003-05-05 Beaumont, Alberta Brooks (AJHL) CBJ, 25th overall 2021
5 Minnesota Shay Donovan Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-05-26 Duluth, Minnesota Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (NAHL) —
6 Wisconsin Zach Urdahl Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-10-13 Eau Claire, Wisconsin Des Moines (USHL) —
7 Minnesota Mike Vorlicky Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 2000-07-17 Edina, Minnesota Edina (USHS–MN) —
9 Alberta Brayden Morrison Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-05-04 Calgary, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL) —
11 Wisconsin Jack Gorniak (A) Graduate F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1999-09-15 West Salem, Wisconsin West Salem (USHS–WI) MTL, 123rd overall 2018
12 Illinois Mathieu De St. Phalle (A) Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2000-03-20 Lake Forest, Illinois Chicago (USHL) —
13 Illinois Jack Horbach Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2002-05-04 Naperville, Illinois Madison (USHL) —
16 Wisconsin Robby Newton Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-07-16 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Janesville (NAHL) —
18 Illinois Owen Lindmark Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-05-17 Naperville, Illinois NTDP (USHL) FLA, 137th overall 2019
19 Wisconsin Brock Caufield (A) Graduate F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1999-03-09 Stevens Point, Wisconsin Green Bay (USHL) —
20 Minnesota Ben Dexheimer Freshman D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 2002-06-21 Edina, Minnesota Madison (USHL) —
21 Wisconsin Carson Bantle Junior F 6' 5" (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 2002-01-22 Onalaska, Wisconsin Michigan Tech (WCHA) ARI, 142nd overall 2020
22 Missouri Caden Brown Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 2003-06-22 St. Louis, Missouri NTDP (USHL) —
23 Minnesota Liam Malmquist Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2000-10-08 Edina, Minnesota Penticton (BCHL) —
24 Manitoba Anthony Kehrer (A) Junior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2002-03-04 Winnipeg, Manitoba Sioux City (USHL) —
25 Illinois Dominick Mersch (C) Graduate F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 1998-12-16 Park Ridge, Illinois Lincoln (USHL) —
26 Minnesota Luke LaMaster Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 197 lb (89 kg) 1999-10-17 Duluth, Minnesota Sioux City (USHL) —
27 British Columbia Tyson Jugnauth Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 162 lb (73 kg) 2004-04-17 Kelowna, British Columbia West Kelowna (BCHL) SEA, 100th overall 2022
28 Minnesota Charlie Stramel Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2004-10-15 Rosemount, Minnesota NTDP (USHL) —
29 Colorado Ty Smilanic Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2002-01-20 Denver, Colorado Quinnipiac (ECAC) MTL, 74th overall 2020
31 Missouri Kyle McClellan Junior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-03-18 Manchester, Missouri Mercyhurst (AHA) —
33 Minnesota Ben Garrity Junior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 2000-01-20 Rosemount, Minnesota Minot (NAHL) —
35 Minnesota Jared Moe Senior G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1999-07-22 New Prague, Minnesota Minnesota (Big Ten) WPG, 184th overall 2018
51 Minnesota Cruz Lucius Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2004-04-05 Grant, Minnesota NTDP (USHL) CAR, 124th overall 2022

Standings

2022–23 Big Ten ice hockey Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#2 Minnesota † 24 19 4 1 2 1 0 57 106 50 40 29 10 1 168 90
#3 Michigan * 24 12 10 2 3 3 0 38 82 79 41 26 12 3 171 128
#7 Ohio State 24 11 11 2 0 0 1 36 69 63 40 21 16 3 131 101
Notre Dame 24 10 10 4 2 0 3 35 52 60 37 16 16 5 85 97
#19 Michigan State 24 10 12 2 1 1 2 34 65 80 38 18 18 2 107 115
#8 Penn State 24 10 13 1 0 3 0 34 71 75 39 22 16 1 129 106
Wisconsin 24 6 18 0 0 0 0 18 54 92 36 13 23 0 94 126
Championship: March 18, 2023
† indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 2 2:00 PM at Lakehead* Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin (Exhibition)   McClellan L 2–3 OT 1,770
Regular Season
October 7 6:00 PM at #14 Ohio State Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio   Moe L 1–3  3,519 0–1–0 (0–1–0)
October 8 4:00 PM at #14 Ohio State Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio   Moe L 3–4  3,041 0–2–0 (0–2–0)
October 14 7:04 PM #10 St. Cloud State* Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BSW Moe L 1–5  7,030 0–3–0
October 15 7:04 PM #10 St. Cloud State* Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BSW McClellan L 1–2  9,894 0–4–0
October 21 7:00 PM at #10 Minnesota Duluth* AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9 Moe W 5–2  6,573 1–4–0
October 22 6:00 PM at #10 Minnesota Duluth* AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9 Moe W 3–0  7,038 2–4–0
October 28 6:00 PM #16 Penn State Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BSW+ Moe L 1–2  6,004 2–5–0 (0–3–0)
October 29 6:00 PM #16 Penn State Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BSW+ Moe L 0–4  6,933 2–6–0 (0–4–0)
November 4 6:00 PM at Michigan State Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan BTN+ Moe L 0–5  5,038 2–7–0 (0–5–0)
November 5 5:00 PM at Michigan State Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan BTN+ McClellan L 1–5  5,318 2–8–0 (0–6–0)
November 11 7:00 PM Long Island* Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BSW+ Moe W 3–2  6,058 3–8–0
November 12 7:00 PM Long Island* Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BSW Moe W 4–3 OT 7,650 4–8–0
November 18 7:00 PM Lindenwood* Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BSW+ McClellan W 4–3  5,550 5–8–0
November 19 7:00 PM Lindenwood* Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BSW Moe W 5–1  6,974 6–8–0
December 2 7:00 PM #5 Michigan Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BSD, BSW+ Moe W 6–3  7,464 7–8–0 (1–6–0)
December 3 4:00 PM #5 Michigan Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BSD+, BSW+ Moe L 2–4  8,619 7–9–0 (1–7–0)
December 9 8:00 PM at #3 Minnesota 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota (Rivalry) BTN Moe L 1–7  8,961 7–10–0 (1–8–0)
December 10 6:00 PM at #3 Minnesota 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota (Rivalry) BSN, BSW McClellan L 4–6  9,713 7–11–0 (1–9–0)
Holiday Face–Off
December 28 7:30 PM vs. Lake Superior State* Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Holiday Face–Off Semifinal) BSW+ Moe W 4–0  6,533 8–11–0
December 29 7:30 PM vs. Clarkson* Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Holiday Face–Off Championship) BSW Moe L 1–3  6,584 8–12–0
Regular Season
January 6 7:00 PM #20 Notre Dame Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BSW+ Moe W 2–0  7,256 9–12–0 (2–9–0)
January 7 5:30 PM #20 Notre Dame Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BTN McClellan L 4–6  7,256 9–13–0 (2–10–0)
January 13 7:00 PM USNTDP* Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin (Exhibition)   McClellan L 1–6  6,313
January 20 7:00 PM #7 Ohio State Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BSGL, BSW Moe W 4–0  7,414 10–13–0 (3–10–0)
January 21 7:00 PM #7 Ohio State Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BSGL, BSW+ Moe L 0–2  9,766 10–14–0 (3–11–0)
January 27 5:00 PM at Notre Dame Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Moe L 3–5  5,022 10–15–0 (3–12–0)
January 28 6:00 PM at Notre Dame Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Moe L 1–3  5,022 10–16–0 (3–13–0)
February 3 6:00 PM at #6 Michigan Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan   Moe L 2–6  5,800 10–17–0 (3–14–0)
February 4 6:00 PM at #6 Michigan Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan   Moe L 4–7  5,800 10–18–0 (3–15–0)
February 10 7:00 PM #1 Minnesota Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin (Rivalry) BSW+ Moe L 1–4  8,018 10–19–0 (3–16–0)
February 11 5:00 PM #1 Minnesota Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin (Rivalry) BTN McClellan W 3–1  11,075 11–19–0 (4–16–0)
February 17 8:00 PM #17 Michigan State Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BTN McClellan L 2–6  8,416 11–20–0 (4–17–0)
February 18 7:00 PM #17 Michigan State Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BTN+, BSW Moe W 6–2  10,703 12–20–0 (5–17–0)
February 24 6:00 PM at #10 Penn State Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania   Moe L 1–6  6,371 12–21–0 (5–18–0)
February 25 4:00 PM at #10 Penn State Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania   McClellan W 2–1  6,557 13–21–0 (6–18–0)
Big Ten Tournament
March 3 6:00 PM at #4 Michigan* Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 1) BTN+ McClellan L 5–6 OT 3,704 13–22–0
March 4 6:00 PM at #4 Michigan* Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 2) BTN+ Moe L 4–7  5,541 13–23–0
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time.
Source:[4]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Cruz Lucius RW 34 11 23 34 18
Mathieu De St. Phalle F 36 13 17 30 20
Brock Caufield RW 36 11 12 23 4
Corson Ceulemans D 33 8 15 23 38
Carson Bantle LW 35 9 7 16 14
Tyson Jugnauth D 32 5 10 15 30
Jack Gorniak C/LW 31 5 7 12 30
Charlie Stramel F 33 5 7 12 59
Zach Urdahl LW 34 6 5 11 14
Sam Stange RW 34 3 8 11 2
Ben Dexheimer D 35 0 11 11 12
Owen Lindmark C 36 4 5 9 10
Jack Horbach C/RW 32 4 4 8 40
Liam Malmquist F 33 4 3 7 12
Dominick Mersch C 35 2 5 7 15
Daniel Laatsch D 36 1 6 7 6
Mike Vorlicky D 32 0 7 7 34
Luke LaMaster D 34 1 2 3 37
Ty Smilanic C 14 1 1 2 7
Anthony Kehrer D 26 1 0 1 14
Robby Newton F 7 0 1 1 0
Shay Donovan D 11 0 1 1 2
Jared Moe G 30 0 1 1 2
Brayden Morrison C 1 0 0 0 0
Kyle McClellan G 12 0 0 0 0
Caden Brown C 13 0 0 0 4
Total 94 157 251 424

[5]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Jared Moe 31 1577:02 10 17 0 87 763 4 .898 3.31
Kyle McLellan 15 570:59 3 6 0 34 257 0 .883 3.57
Empty Net - 24:52 - - - 5 - - - -
Total 36 2172:53 13 23 0 126 1020 4 .894 3.48

Rankings

Main article: 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey 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 26 27 (Final)
USCHO.com 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
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 NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[6]

Players drafted into the NHL

2023 NHL Entry Draft

Round Pick Player NHL team
1 21 Charlie Stramel Minnesota Wild
2 47 Brady Cleveland † Detroit Red Wings
3 66 William Whitelaw † Columbus Blue Jackets
5 137 Jack Phelan † Detroit Red Wings
6 177 Zach Schulz † New York Islanders

† incoming freshman [7]

References

  1. ^ "SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 4, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "'I knew we had to win this year': Tony Granato not surprised by his departure from Wisconsin men's hockey program". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  3. ^ "2022–23 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Wisconsin Athletics. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  4. ^ "2022-23 Men's Hockey Schedule". Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  5. ^ "Univ. of Wisconsin 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 9, 2022.