2022–23 UMass Minutemen ice hockey season
The 2022–23 UMass Minutemen ice hockey season was the 91st season of play for the program, the 30th at the Division I level, and 29th in Hockey East. The Minutemen represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season were coached by Greg Carvel in his 7th season, and played their home games at Mullins Center. Season
In the offseason, Garrett Wait suffered a potentially career-ending knee injury during a workout. He was medically disqualified from playing during the 2022–23 season. Beside Wait, the Minumemen would have to deal with the loss of several key players as their leaders on offense (Bobby Trivigno), defense (Matthew Kessel) and in goal (Matt Murray) all had to be replaced. Coach Carvel brought in a talent-laden recruiting class to do just that with 4 freshmen who were already NHL draft picks as well as two drafted transfers. UMass was ranked highly entering the season, making the top 10 in both polls and was picked to finish 3rd in Hockey East. Early on, everything looked to be going well for the Minutemen. After an iffy start, the team swept the defending national champions, Denver, and were undefeated through their first 6 games. An overtime loss to Merrimack dented their record slightly but by the beginning of November, UMass was in the top-5 and seemingly well on their way to another NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, once the team got into conference play, the defense began to falter. Massachusetts was unable to provide its netminders with much support, allowing more than 34 shots against per game. The increased opportunities turned into goals and, despite having a nearly identical save percentage, the Minutemen allowed 15 more goals against in 2 fewer games. While those numbers weren't disastrous by themselves, the team had also declined on the offensive side. None of the team's players were able to make up for the loss of its top three forwards and just one player was able to get into double-digit goal totals. The team scored 23 fewer goals than the year before, putting them at a -38 goal differential. Despite the trouble, UMass recovered during the holidays and held a winning record in early January. At the Frozen Fenway, the team began a 6-game losing streak and dropped out of the polls for the first time in years. They were able to recover to finish out the final 8 games at a .500 clip. The Minutemen had done so poorly in their conference games that the team finished 9th in the standings and were forced to start in the first round. They faced Boston College in a battle between two disappointing teams. UMass hardly put up a fight, getting outshot 18–42 and ending its season with a 2–5 loss. Departures

Recruiting

Roster
As of August 6, 2022. Standings

Schedule and results

|-
!colspan=12 style=";" | Exhibition

|-
!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season

|-
!colspan=12 style=";" | 

|-
!colspan=12 style=";" | 

|-
!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season

|-
!colspan=12 style=";" |

Scoring statistics

Goaltending statistics

Rankings

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26. Players drafted into the NHL

2023 NHL Entry Draft

† incoming freshman

References

2022-23
2022–23 Hockey East men's season
2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey by team
2022 in sports in Massachusetts
2023 in sports in Massachusetts