Of the 16 teams in last season's national tournament, six came from New England. With the way the competition looks this season, the number in this year's tournament should eclipse six without issue.
Numerous storylines surround Division 1 men's college hockey in New England. New coaches lead both Boston University and Boston College, many top freshmen enter onto the scene and the ECAC is primed for parity.
Plus, new arenas will welcome fans throughout the next year.
Here are the eight burning questions facing Division 1 men's college hockey in New England.
How do Boston College and Boston University stack up with new men on the bench?
A new era is beginning on Commonwealth Avenue.
Archrivals Boston College and Boston University both have new coaches, but neither are unfamiliar with their surroundings as alums of their respective programs and former right-hand men to the coaches they succeed.
Jay Pandolfo (Winchester, Mass.) moves into the head coaching role after returning to BU from the Boston Bruins organization to assist Albie O’Connell (Watertown, Mass.) last season. The Terriers won the Beanpot while going 15-3-1 over their final 19 games and now look to be a legitimate Hockey East title contender with eight of their top nine scorers returning.
“Before last year, I hadn’t been a part of college hockey for a long time, and this year it’s going to be really exciting,” Pandolfo said. “We have 17 upperclassmen which isn’t typical for a BU team, so it’s making my job a lot easier.”
BC will have more of an uphill climb under Greg Brown (Hartford, C.T.), the former All-American defenseman who takes over for the legendary Jerry York (Watertown, Mass.). The Eagles’ top five players from a year ago graduated and/or signed pro, so there will be plenty of fresh faces looking to improve upon their lowest place in the standings (eighth) since York’s first season in 1994-95.
Brown coached the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints last season after a four-year stint on David Quinn’s (Cranston, R.I.) staff with the New York Rangers. In 14 years as York’s assistant/associate head coach, he was a part of six league championships, three national titles and seven total Frozen Four appearances.
“Jay and I both lived in this rivalry for a long time as players and just being familiar with the city,” Brown said. “When you have the location and the whole atmosphere, you’re combating each other as far as recruits, in every game. It’s great to be back in it.”
Who is the team to beat in Hockey East?
After winning its first-ever Hockey East regular season title and returning to the NCAA tournament during Jerry Keefe’s (Billerica, Mass.) inaugural season as head coach, Northeastern looks to hold the title of “team to beat” entering the new year.
Not only do the Huskies boast the nation’s top returning goal scorer in the country -- senior Aidan McDonough (Milton, Mass.), who potted 25 goals -- and their top four overall scorers from last year’s 25-win club, but Mike Richter Award winner Devon Levi deferred his own professional opportunities in favor of a second full season in goal after stopping 95.2 percent of the pucks he saw en route to winning the Mike Richter Award as the nation’s top netminder.
There are several experienced defensemen returning even with senior captain Jordan Harris (Haverhill, Mass.) graduating to the Montreal Canadiens organization, plus three NHL draftees among the team’s incoming freshmen.
With all that in mind, Northeastern could emerge quickly as the top team in all of New England.
Can AIC continue its unprecedented Atlantic Hockey run?
Led by three-time Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year Eric Lang, American International will be looking to make history during the 20th season of the conference in 2022-23.
The Yellow Jackets have won a record four consecutive regular-season championships, while their run of three tournament titles is just the second in league history and the first since Air Force from 2007-09. No program has ever won four playoffs in a row.
There’s no reason to believe that Lang doesn’t have the conference favorites again. Senior forward Blake Bennett looks to build upon a red-hot postseason and totaling 20 goals, while defenseman Luis Lindner returns with reigning AHA All-Rookie honors in hand.
AIC must replace the likes of graduating AHA Player of the Year Chris Theodore, top defenseman Zak Galambos (transferred to Western Michigan) and Best Defensive Forward Jake Stella (UMass Lowell). There will also be a newcomer in goal, but Troy Kobryn, formerly of Merrimack, is one of three transfers with Division 1 experience.
How do the top ECAC teams look?
Harvard has plenty of talent returning as it defends the Whitelaw Cup for the first time since 2017, boasting a total of 14 NHL draft picks, as well as four of its top five scorers, four of its top five defensemen and starting goaltender Mitchell Gibson from a season ago.
Matthew Coronato led the Crimson in scoring as a freshman, while senior defenseman Henry Thrun (Southborough, Mass.) now has the opportunity to build upon earning second-team All-America honors. A fourth-round draftee of the Minnesota Wild over the summer, freshman Ryan Healey (Hull, Mass.) will join Thrun on the back end.
After winning the ECAC regular-season title in March, Quinnipiac was a game away from reaching the Frozen Four after falling to Harvard in the league’s title game. Not all of the Bobcats’ firepower was lost as graduate defenseman Zach Metsa and forward Ethan de Jong are fifth-year returnees. A two-time All-ECAC pick, Metsa worked in front of ECAC Rookie of the Year-winning goaltender Yaniv Perets and led the nation with his plus-38 rating in 2021-22.
Where are the top freshmen coming from?
Unsurprisingly, BC’s freshman class includes four players coming straight from the U.S. National Team Development Program. Leading that group is Cutter Gauthier, who was drafted fifth overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in July. Gauthier is the fourth top-10 pick in BC history and the first since current Calgary Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin (Boston, Mass.) in 2015.
BU forwards Ryan Greene, Devin Kaplan and defenseman Lane Hutson were all drafted in the top three rounds, as were Northeastern’s Cameron Lund (Bridgewater, Mass.) and his sophomore teammate Jack Hughes (Westwood, Mass.). Hutson and Kaplan are also NTDP products.
In Atlantic Hockey, forward Stephen Castagna joins Bentley after captaining the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs and finishing as their second-leading scorer a year ago.
Which schools will benefit most from the NCAA Transfer Portal?
It’s no secret that transfers have made an impact across the college athletics world in recent years. Hockey is no exception.
Aside from AIC -- which Lang has made a longtime home for transfer talent dating back to the pre-portal era -- welcoming in eight newcomers from other D1 rosters, Merrimack and Vermont lead the way among New England’s programs with five transfers apiece.
Merrimack was a major player in the portal this offseason, attracting three 25-point scorers from their previous schools including RIT’s two-time All-Atlantic Hockey forward Will Calverley.
Similarly to the Warriors’ Scott Borek, Todd Woodcroft hasn’t shied away from acquiring transfers in the early goings of his build of the Vermont program, but the third-year coach is hoping another step can be achieved this season.
After a former national champion at UMass (Philip Lagunov) was the Catamounts’ leading scorer last year, who could take on a leading role alongside captain Jacques Bouquot (South Windsor, Conn.)? Former Michigan Tech defenseman Eric Gotz is a good candidate, especially after previous captain Andrew Lucas was among a group of four transfers to league foe UConn.
Only three New England programs (BU, Harvard and Yale) won’t have a new transfer rostered this season.
When will Connecticut and Sacred Heart open their new arenas?
The anticipation is building in the Nutmeg State. This season will feature historic moments for UConn and Sacred Heart as both programs are scheduled to open new arenas in January.
Sacred Heart’s first skate at the $70 million Martire Family Arena in Fairfield, Conn., is scheduled for Jan. 14, 2023 against Boston College, while UConn is also slated to make its return to an on-campus arena in Storrs in mid-January.
New England hasn’t seen a new arena opened to host a Division 1 program since Bentley began playing in its on-campus home in 2018. The last time two new D1 arenas were opened in the same year was 2014 (RIT’s Gene Polisseni Center and HarborCenter in Buffalo, N.Y., for Canisius).
The Huskies (Hartford’s XL Center) and Pioneers (Bridgeport’s Total Mortgage Arena) have most recently played their games in AHL buildings, but the long-awaited luxury of having an on-campus home will be felt for both programs shortly after the calendar turns to 2023.
Who’s new in D1?
The Division 1 college hockey scene gained a New England-based member this offseason as Stonehill has elevated its entire athletics department to the highest level, including the men’s (formerly of the Division 2 Northeast-10 Conference) and first-year women’s hockey programs.
The announcement was made in April, leaving the Skyhawk men little time to lay the groundwork for the move and prepare for the season. Stonehill’s Oct. 8 opener will be against fellow independent Long Island before the remainder of its schedule consists of former NE10 and Division 3 opponents.
Lindenwood University (St. Charles, Mo.) is also in its first year as a Division 1 independent, while Augustana University (Sioux Falls, S.D.) will join the CCHA next season.
