2022–23 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey season
College ice hockey team season
The 2022–23 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey season was the 79th season of play for the program and 10th in the NCHC . The Bulldogs represented the University of Minnesota Duluth in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season were coached by Scott Sandelin in his 23rd season and played their home games at AMSOIL Arena .
Season
With great deal of roster turnover, particularly on the defense, the Bulldogs were an enigma coming into the season. Gone were 4 of their 6 regulars on the blue line as was last year's starting goalie (Ryan Fanti ) and 4 of their top 6 scorers. Coach Sandelin brought in a large recruiting class led by 1st-round pick Isaac Howard to fill the open positions and, despite the uncertainty, UMD was expected to continue its high level of play.[ 1]
After a good start, Duluth began encountering problems on both sides of the puck. Minnesota Duluth was hamstrung from the start of the season when Kyler Kleven suffered an injury in training camp and ended up missing the entire season. While he wasn't a high offensive producer, Blake Biondi was. The junior winger had led the Bulldogs in goals the year before but came into the season nursing a shoulder injury. He muddled through the first half of the year, collecting just 3 goals in 17 games before reinjuring his shoulder in early December. Biondi ended up having surgery on both shoulders and missed the remainder of the year.[ 2]
While UMD suffered with a weakened offense, the team had made its bread and butter on defense and goaltending in recent years. The newcomers on the blueline played well but not quite up to the same standards to which the Bulldogs had grown accustomed. The goaltending, however, became a glaring weakness for the team. Neither Zach Stejskal nor grad transfer Matthew Thiessen played particularly well and the decline in the crease caused Duluth no small measure of problems.
UMD got swept in the second weekend of the season, however, as that came on the road against last year's national runner-up, Minnesota State , no one was ready to hit the 'panic button'. The team's situation grew dire after the following week when they dropped both games at home to Wisconsin , the worst team in the Big Ten . Duluth suddenly found itself at the bottom of the polls with an underperforming roster. The Bulldogs were able to arrest their slide by taking advantage of Cornell in the Big Red's season debut but that reprieve didn't last. Duluth earned a split in four consecutive weeks, however, they faced Colorado College in two separate weekends. The Tigers were one of the weakest teams in the NCHC but still managed to shutout Duluth twice. By the beginning of December the team was going nowhere and, as they sunk further down the national rankings, the program's 7-year run of NCAA tournament appearance was getting ready to end.
When the Bulldogs began the second half of their season, they showed a renewed vigor against Bemidji State but that level of fight didn't last. The team alternated wins and losses in the second half and, though they had some triumphs over strong teams, they weren't able to get their heads above .500. Entering postseason play, UMD had no chance to make the national tournament without first winning the NCHC tournament. While the team had go on the rod in the quarterfinals, they had some measure of good news by getting to play St. Cloud State . While the Huskies were already tournament bound, UMD had taken three out of four meetings between the two during the year and were hoping for a repeat performance. The first match of the series was a defensive struggle with St. Cloud eking out a win in the end. Zach Stejskal turned in a masterful game, stopping 30 shots in the final two periods to lead the Bulldogs to a win. In the deciding game, it began similar to the first with neither team managing to score in the opening period. Luke Loheit's 8th goal gave UMD a lead early in the second, but the Huskies didn't take that lying down. St. Cloud fired 21 shots in the middle frame and found the back of the net three times. Duluth's weak offense wasn't able to overcome the deficit and the Bulldogs' disappointing season came to a close.[ 3]
Departures
Recruiting
Player
Position
Nationality
Age
Notes
Kyle Bettens
Forward
Canada 21
Winnipeg, MB
Riley Bodnarchuk
Defenseman
Canada 21
Okotoks, AB
Derek Daschke
Defenseman
United States 24
Troy, MI ; graduate transfer from Miami
Aiden Dubinsky
Defenseman
United States 18
Highland Park, IL
Isaac Howard Forward
United States 18
Hudson, WI ; selected 31st overall in 2022
Luke Johnson
Forward
United States 20
St. Cloud, MN
Joseph Pierce
Defenseman
United States 19
Ely, MN
Zachary Sandy
Goaltender
United States 19
Fargo, ND
Jack Smith
Forward
United States 20
St. Cloud, MN ; selected 102nd overall in 2020
Cole Spicer
Forward
United States 18
Grand Forks, ND ; selected 117th overall in 2022
Ben Steeves
Forward
United States 20
Bedford, NH
Matthew Thiessen
Goaltender
Canada 22
Steinbach, MB ; transfer from Maine ; selected 192nd overall in 2018
Roster
As of July 28, 2022.[ 4]
No. S/P/C
Player
Class
Pos
Height
Weight
DoB
Hometown
Previous team
NHL rights
2
Darian Gotz Junior
D 5' 11" (1.8 m)
189 lb (86 kg)
2000-10-19
Hermantown, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL —
3
Isaac Howard Freshman
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
182 lb (83 kg)
2004-03-30
Hudson, Wisconsin NTDP (USHL TBL 2022
5
Wyatt Kaiser Junior
D 6' 0" (1.83 m)
183 lb (83 kg)
2002-07-31
Ham Lake, Minnesota Andover (USHS–MN CHI 2020
6
Ben Steeves Freshman
F 5' 9" (1.75 m)
167 lb (76 kg)
2002-05-10
Bedford, New Hampshire Sioux City (USHL —
7
Blake Biondi Junior
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
181 lb (82 kg)
2002-04-24
Hermantown, Minnesota Hermantown (USHS–MN MTL 2020
8
Jesse Jacques Graduate
F 6' 2" (1.88 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
1998-09-10
Hermantown, Minnesota Green Bay (USHL —
10
Derek Daschke Graduate
D 6' 2" (1.88 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
1998-01-06
Troy, Michigan Miami (NCHC —
11
Cole Spicer Freshman
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
2004-06-13
Grand Forks, North Dakota NTDP (USHL BOS 2022
12
Jack Smith Freshman
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
183 lb (83 kg)
2002-07-06
St. Cloud, Minnesota Sioux Falls (USHL MTL 2020
13
Tanner Laderoute C Graduate
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
1997-06-04
Edmonton, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL —
15
Quinn Olson A Senior
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
2001-05-09
Calgary, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL BOS 2019
16
Luke Loheit A Senior
F 6' 1" (1.85 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
2000-07-26
Minnetonka, Minnesota Penticton (BCHL OTT 2018
17
Dominic James Sophomore
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
2002-07-03
Plymouth, Michigan Lincoln (USHL CHI 2022
18
Joey Pierce Freshman
D 6' 0" (1.83 m)
208 lb (94 kg)
2002-10-02
Ely, Minnesota Lincoln (USHL —
19
Riley Bodnarchuk Freshman
D 6' 3" (1.91 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
2001-06-01
Okotoks, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL —
20
Owen Gallatin Sophomore
D 5' 8" (1.73 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
2002-06-17
Hugo, Minnesota Fargo (USHL —
21
Luke Mylymok Junior
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
183 lb (83 kg)
2001-09-29
Wilcox, Saskatchewan Salmon Arm (BCHL —
22
Kyler Kleven Sophomore
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
2000-10-12
Moorhead, Minnesota Waterloo (USHL —
23
Will Francis Sophomore
D 6' 5" (1.96 m)
207 lb (94 kg)
2000-11-16
St. Paul, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL ANA 2019
24
Kyle Bettens Freshman
F 6' 3" (1.91 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
2001-07-04
Winnipeg, Manitoba Youngstown (USHL —
28
Aiden Dubinsky Freshman
D 6' 0" (1.83 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
2004-04-28
Highland Park, Illinois Tri-City (USHL —
31
Zach Sandy Freshman
G 6' 0" (1.83 m)
177 lb (80 kg)
2002-12-07
Fargo, North Dakota Minot (NAHL —
33
Carter Loney Sophomore
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
161 lb (73 kg)
2002-08-02
Columbus, Ohio Sioux City (USHL —
35
Zach Stejskal Junior
G 6' 4" (1.93 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
1999-12-20
Cohasset, Minnesota Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (NAHL —
36
Matthew Thiessen Senior
G 6' 2" (1.88 m)
214 lb (97 kg)
2000-06-09
Steinbach, Manitoba Maine (HEA VAN 2018
37
Luke Johnson Freshman
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
167 lb (76 kg)
2001-10-15
St. Cloud, Minnesota Lincoln (USHL —
Standings
Conference record
Overall record
GP
W
L
T
OTW
OTL
SW
PTS
GF
GA
GP
W
L
T
GF
GA
#6 Denver †
24
19
5
0
2
1
0
56 94
53
40
30
10
0
150
86
#11 Western Michigan 24
15
8
1
2
0
0
44 86
60
39
23
15
1
148
102
#20 Omaha
24
13
9
2
2
2
1
42 71
64
37
19
15
3
109
97
#5 St. Cloud State *
24
12
9
3
2
1
3
41 85
68
41
25
13
3
133
95
Minnesota Duluth 24
10
14
0
1
4
0
33 65
81
37
16
20
1
95
114
#17 North Dakota
24
10
10
4
3
0
2
33 75
70
39
18
15
6
127
110
Colorado College 24
6
15
3
0
2
2
25 37
60
38
13
22
3
79
99
Miami 24
3
18
3
0
2
0
14 39
96
36
8
24
4
73
137
Championship : March 18, 2023 † indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup)USCHO.com Top 20 Poll
Schedule and results
Date
Time
Opponent#
Rank#
Site
TV
Decision
Result
Attendance
Record
Regular Season
October 1
6:00 PM
Arizona State *
#5
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Stejskal
W 3–2 OT
5,910
1–0–0
October 2
4:00 PM
Arizona State *
#5
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Thiessen
W 4–1 5,153
2–0–0
October 14
7:07 PM
at #5 Minnesota State *
#4
Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota KEYC
Stejskal
L 0–6 4,612
2–1–0
October 15
6:07 PM
at #5 Minnesota State *
#4
Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota KEYC
Stejskal
L 1–2 5,039
2–2–0
October 21
7:00 PM
Wisconsin *
#10
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Stejskal
L 2–5 6,573
2–3–0
October 22
6:00 PM
Wisconsin *
#10
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Thiessen
L 0–3 7,038
2–4–0
October 28
7:00 PM
#20 Cornell *
#19
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Stejskal
W 3–2 4,158
3–4–0
October 29
7:00 PM
#20 Cornell *
#19
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Stejskal
W 4–2 4,395
4–4–0
November 4
8:30 PM
at Colorado College
#19
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado ATTRM
Stejskal
L 0–5 3,411
4–5–0 (0–1–0)
November 5
7:00 PM
at Colorado College
#19
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Thiessen
W 3–1 3,412
5–5–0 (1–1–0)
November 11
7:00 PM
Omaha
#20
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Thiessen
L 2–3 5,941
5–6–0 (1–2–0)
November 12
6:00 PM
Omaha
#20
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Thiessen
W 3–2 OT
6,103
6–6–0 (2–2–0)
November 18
6:00 PM
at #14 Western Michigan
Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan
Thiessen
W 5–4 2,753
7–6–0 (3–2–0)
November 19
5:00 PM
at #14 Western Michigan
Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan
Thiessen
L 3–5 3,294
7–7–0 (3–3–0)
December 2
7:00 PM
Colorado College
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota ATTRM , MY9
Thiessen
L 0–3 6,184
7–8–0 (3–4–0)
December 3
7:00 PM
Colorado College
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Thiessen
W 4–0 5,794
8–8–0 (4–4–0)
December 9
7:00 PM
#1 Denver
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Thiessen
L 2–3 6,487
8–9–0 (4–5–0)
December 10
7:00 PM
#1 Denver
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Thiessen
L 3–4 OT
6,354
8–10–0 (4–6–0)
December 31
2:00 PM
St. Thomas *
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota (Exhibition)MY9
Thiessen
W 2–1 5,746
January 6
7:07 PM
at Bemidji State *
Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota FloHockey
Stejskal
T 1–1 OT
2,136
8–10–1
January 7
6:07 PM
Bemidji State *
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Stejskal
W 5–2 5,821
9–10–1
January 13
7:07 PM
at Omaha
Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska CBSSN
Stejskal
L 2–3 6,398
9–11–1 (4–7–0)
January 14
7:07 PM
at Omaha
Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska
Stejskal
L 1–6 6,451
9–12–1 (4–8–0)
January 20
7:07 PM
at North Dakota
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota Midco
Thiessen
L 2–4 11,643
9–13–1 (4–9–0)
January 21
6:07 PM
at North Dakota
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota Midco
Stejskal
W 2–1 11,773
10–13–1 (5–9–0)
January 27
7:00 PM
#1 St. Cloud State
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Thiessen
W 3–5 6,579
11–13–1 (6–9–0)
January 28
7:00 PM
#1 St. Cloud State
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9 , FOX 9+
Stejskal
W 3–6 7,205
12–13–1 (7–9–0)
February 3
7:00 PM
#10 Western Michigan
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Stejskal
L 2–3 OT
6,316
12–14–1 (7–10–0)
February 4
6:00 PM
#10 Western Michigan
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Thiessen
L 1–4 6,391
12–15–1 (7–11–0)
February 17
8:00 PM
at #3 Denver
Magness Arena • Denver , Colorado
Stejskal
L 2–6 6,218
12–16–1 (7–12–0)
February 18
7:00 PM
at #3 Denver
Magness Arena • Denver , Colorado Altitude 2 , TSN2
Thiessen
W 6–5 6,361
13–16–1 (8–12–0)
February 24
7:00 PM
Miami
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Thiessen
W 3–2 5,903
14–16–1 (9–12–0)
February 25
8:30 PM
Miami
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9
Thiessen
L 1–4 5,590
14–17–1 (9–13–0)
March 3
7:30 PM
at #6 St. Cloud State
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota FOX 9+
Stejskal
W 4–3 -
15–17–1 (10–13–0)
March 4
6:00 PM
at #6 St. Cloud State
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota FOX 9+
Stejskal
L 3–4 OT
5,636
15–18–1 (10–14–0)
NCHC Tournament
March 10
6:30 PM
at #8 St. Cloud State *
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 1)FOX 9+
Stejskal
L 1–3 2,620
15–19–1
March 11
5:00 PM
at #8 St. Cloud State *
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 2)FOX 9+
Stejskal
W 5–1 -
16–19–1
March 12
5:00 PM
at #8 St. Cloud State *
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 3)FOX 9+
Stejskal
L 1–3 -
16–20–1
*Non-conference game. # Rankings from USCHO.com Poll . All times are in Central Time . [ 5]
Scoring statistics
Name
Position
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
PIM
Ben Steeves F 35
21
7
28 36
Dominic James C /LW 35
10
18
28 20
Quinn Olson C /LW 37
7
17
24 32
Wyatt Kaiser D 35
5
18
23 48
Luke Loheit RW 35
8
11
19 53
Isaac Howard LW 35
6
11
17 25
Owen Gallatin D 37
6
11
17 27
Derek Daschke C /LW 37
2
14
16 6
Carter Loney C 37
4
9
13 27
Jesse Jacques F 37
4
5
9 16
Kyle Bettens C /RW 33
5
3
8 12
Darian Gotz D 37
5
3
8 16
Luke Mylymok C /W 31
3
5
8 17
Tanner Laderoute F 37
2
5
7 6
Blake Biondi C 17
3
3
6 4
Cole Spicer C 32
3
3
6 2
Jack Smith C /RW 24
0
5
5 10
Aiden Dubinsky D 29
0
5
5 8
Luke Johnson C /W 25
1
2
3 11
Joey Pierce D 26
0
3
3 8
Matthew Thiessen G 19
0
1
1 0
Will Francis D 28
0
1
1 22
Riley Bodnarchuk D 19
0
0
0 8
Zach Stejskal G 22
0
0
0 0
Total
95
160
255
414
[ 6]
Goaltending statistics
Name
Games
Minutes
Wins
Losses
Ties
Goals Against
Saves
Shut Outs
SV % GAA
Matthew Thiessen 19
999:01
8
9
0
44
419
1
.905
2.64
Zach Stejskal 22
1217:47
8
11
1
60
544
0
.901
2.96
Empty Net
-
24:06
-
-
-
10
-
-
-
-
Total
37
2240:54
16
20
1
114
963
1
.894
3.05
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
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
USA Today
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
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26. [ 7]
Awards and honors
Players drafted into the NHL
† incoming freshman
[ 9]
References
^ "2022-23 NCAA Hockey Rankings – USCHO – Preseason" . USCHO.com. September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022 .^ "8 Thoughts: Bulldogs Return, Need to Heat Up" . KDAL . January 6, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023 .^ "SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2023" . College Hockey Inc . March 12, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023 .^ "2022–23 Men's Hockey Roster" . University of Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs . Retrieved September 1, 2017 .^ "2022-23 Men's Hockey Schedule" . Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs . Retrieved September 10, 2022 .^ "Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth 2022-2023 Skater Stats" . Elite Prospects . Retrieved July 16, 2020 .^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll" . USCHO.com . Retrieved November 26, 2019 .^ a b "NCHC Reveals 2022-23 All-Conference Teams" . NCHC . March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023 .^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft" . USCHO.com . Retrieved June 30, 2023 .
