2021–22 NAHL season
Sports season
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The 2021–22 NAHL season was the 38th season of the North American Hockey League. The regular season ran from September 2021 to April 2022 with a 60-game schedule for each team. The Lone Star Brahmas won the regular season championship. The New Jersey Titans defeated the Anchorage Wolverines 3–0 in the Championship game to capture the Robertson Cup.
SportIce hockey
DurationRegular season
September 8, 2021 – April 18, 2022
Postseason
April 21 – May 24, 2022
September 8, 2021 – April 18, 2022
Postseason
April 21 – May 24, 2022
Games60
| 2021–22 NAHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | North American Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | Regular season September 8, 2021 – April 18, 2022 Postseason April 21 – May 24, 2022 |
| Games | 60 |
| Teams | 29 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Lone Star Brahmas |
| Top scorer | Ryan O'Neill (St. Cloud Norsemen) |
| Robertson Cup Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | New Jersey Titans |
| Runners-up | Anchorage Wolverines |
Member changes
- The El Paso Rhinos, which had joined the NA3HL in 2020, founded a tier II club that began play this season.[1]
- The Corpus Christi IceRays, Springfield Jr. Blues and Jamestown Rebels, who had each suspended play for the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resumed play this year.[2][3][4]
- On March 5, 2021, the NAHL approved the relocation of the Amarillo Bulls to Mason City, Iowa where they became the North Iowa Bulls.[5] In the wake of their departure, the Kansas City Scouts announced that they would be moving to Amarillo, Texas and take up residence in the Amarillo Civic Center, becoming the Amarillo Wranglers in the process.[6] While the NAHL was planning on returning to Kansas City for the 2022–23 season, those plans were eventually put on hold.
- Also in March of 2021, the Anchorage Wolverines were admitted as an expansion franchise for this season.[7]
Regular season
The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:[8]
Note: x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched regular season title
Standings
Central Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – St. Cloud Norsemen | 60 | 41 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 85 | 230 | 153 |
| x – Austin Bruins | 60 | 31 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 68 | 178 | 186 |
| x – Aberdeen Wings | 60 | 31 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 67 | 186 | 184 |
| x – Bismarck Bobcats | 60 | 29 | 27 | 1 | 3 | 62 | 210 | 206 |
| Minot Minotauros | 60 | 28 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 59 | 173 | 184 |
| North Iowa Bulls | 60 | 22 | 28 | 4 | 6 | 54 | 194 | 234 |
East Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – New Jersey Titans | 60 | 41 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 85 | 226 | 163 |
| x – Johnstown Tomahawks | 60 | 34 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 74 | 225 | 184 |
| x – Jamestown Rebels | 60 | 35 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 73 | 181 | 164 |
| x – Northeast Generals | 60 | 35 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 71 | 199 | 200 |
| Maryland Black Bears | 60 | 29 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 70 | 189 | 176 |
| Maine Nordiques | 60 | 22 | 27 | 6 | 5 | 55 | 200 | 243 |
| Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks | 60 | 12 | 42 | 5 | 1 | 30 | 153 | 258 |
Midwest Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 60 | 37 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 77 | 238 | 179 |
| x – Springfield Jr. Blues | 60 | 36 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 76 | 211 | 177 |
| x – Anchorage Wolverines | 60 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 74 | 208 | 166 |
| x – Minnesota Wilderness | 60 | 35 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 72 | 216 | 203 |
| Janesville Jets | 60 | 34 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 69 | 227 | 208 |
| Minnesota Magicians | 60 | 25 | 26 | 6 | 3 | 59 | 197 | 231 |
| Chippewa Steel | 60 | 25 | 31 | 2 | 2 | 54 | 168 | 206 |
| Kenai River Brown Bears | 60 | 14 | 41 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 147 | 256 |
South Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xyz – Lone Star Brahmas | 60 | 38 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 86 | 197 | 144 |
| x – New Mexico Ice Wolves | 60 | 38 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 81 | 193 | 145 |
| x – Wichita Falls Warriors | 60 | 35 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 78 | 220 | 150 |
| x – Shreveport Mudbugs | 60 | 34 | 31 | 1 | 4 | 73 | 170 | 154 |
| Odessa Jackalopes | 60 | 29 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 63 | 193 | 193 |
| Amarillo Wranglers | 60 | 27 | 29 | 1 | 3 | 58 | 149 | 182 |
| Corpus Christi IceRays | 60 | 25 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 53 | 166 | 213 |
| El Paso Rhinos | 60 | 15 | 41 | 2 | 2 | 34 | 131 | 233 |
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games. [9]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan O'Neill | St. Cloud Norsemen | 57 | 30 | 50 | 80 | 6 |
| Jake Black | Johnstown Tomahawks | 60 | 41 | 38 | 79 | 36 |
| Cy LeClerc | Janesville Jets | 60 | 31 | 46 | 77 | 8 |
| Cade Neilson | Aberdeen Wings | 58 | 26 | 49 | 75 | 88 |
| Alexander Malinowski | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 58 | 33 | 42 | 75 | 25 |
| Cole Dubicki | Springfield Jr. Blues | 64 | 22 | 52 | 74 | 56 |
| Nicholas Niemo | Lone Star Brahmas | 60 | 38 | 36 | 74 | 55 |
| Kristaps Skrastins | Amarillo Wranglers | 58 | 36 | 34 | 70 | 109 |
| Artur Turansky | Lone Star Brahmas | 60 | 28 | 38 | 66 | 46 |
| Paul Minnehan | Northeast Generals | 57 | 23 | 41 | 64 | 31 |
| Dillan Bentley | New Mexico Ice Wolves | 58 | 30 | 34 | 64 | 38 |
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | OTL | SOL | GA | SV | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Smith | Lone Star Brahmas | 34 | 2012:37 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 63 | 699 | .910 | 1.88 |
| Matthew Smith | Springfield Jr. Blues | 20 | 1108:39 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 483 | .926 | 1.95 |
| Devon Bobak | Shreveport Mudbugs | 42 | 2531:42 | 27 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 86 | 1,098 | .922 | 2.04 |
| Béni Halász | New Mexico Ice Wolves | 43 | 2578:36 | 26 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 91 | 1,147 | .921 | 2.12 |
| Nolan Suggs | Jamestown Rebels | 39 | 2284:41 | 25 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 85 | 1,183 | .928 | 2.23 |
Robertson Cup playoffs
Teams are reseeded prior to the semifinal round based upon regular season records.
| Division Semifinals (Best-of-5) | Division Finals (Best-of-5) | Semifinal (Best-of-3) | Championship (Best-of-1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C1 | St. Cloud Norsemen | 4 | 1 | 3* | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C4 | Bismarck Bobcats | 1 | 2** | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C1 | St. Cloud Norsemen | 4 | 6 | 3*** | 3 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Aberdeen Wings | 5* | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Austin Bruins | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Aberdeen Wings | 4 | 3 | 6 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | St. Cloud Norsemen | 1 | 2 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Anchorage Wolverines | 2 | 6 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | New Jersey Titans | 1 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Northeast Generals | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | New Jersey Titans | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3*** | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Jamestown Rebels | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Johnstown Tomahawks | 1 | 5* | 1 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Jamestown Rebels | 4 | 4 | 2** | 1 | 4* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Anchorage Wolverines | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | New Jersey Titans | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW1 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 3* | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW4 | Minnesota Wilderness | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW4 | Minnesota Wilderness | 1 | 7 | 3 | 1 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Midwest Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW3 | Anchorage Wolverines | 4 | 2 | 4** | 5 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW2 | Springfield Jr. Blues | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW3 | Anchorage Wolverines | 2 | 2 | 4* | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | New Jersey Titans | 1 | 3* | 4** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | New Mexico Ice Wolves | 3 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Lone Star Brahmas | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4* | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Shreveport Mudbugs | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Lone Star Brahmas | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S2 | New Mexico Ice Wolves | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4* | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S2 | New Mexico Ice Wolves | 1 | 5*** | 3 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Wichita Falls Warriors | 2* | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)