How former UConn men's hockey transfers fared this past season

This past season, six former UConn men’s hockey players were still in the college ranks — putting the five-player exodus this offseason into perspective. The group ranged from the top leagues in Division I all the way down to the Division III level.

Logan Terness — Ohio State

Terness’ first season at Ohio State went oddly similar to his final campaign at UConn. The net-minder opened the year strong as the starting goalie and even earned the Big Ten First Star of the Week on Oct. 31 after pitching a shutout at Omaha.

Then Terness’ season went south after a bad performance. He gave up five goals before being pulled against Michigan State the very next game, and followed it up by allowing another five goals the night after.

After starting the first 16 games, Terness began splitting time with a freshman in December. Though he never re-gained his iron grip on the position, Terness finished the season with a respectable 3.10 goals against average and .904 save percentage in 27 games.

Artem Shlaine — Northern Michigan

Despite playing in just 27 of 35 games, Shlaine led Northern Michigan with 10 goals and finished second on the team with 23 points. He was a lethal option on the power play, netting seven of his goals on the unit.

Shlaine’s best weekend came in early November when he scored a hat trick against Lake Superior State and then had a pair of assists in the second game for a five-point series. At one point, Shlaine went 11 games without scoring but finished the season strong by notching four goals in the last five games.

After two years at Northern Michigan, Shlaine entered the transfer portal again and will finish his collegiate career at Arizona State.

Carter Berger — Western Michigan

The lone former Husky to make the Division I NCAA Tournament, Berger had 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) for Western Michigan — which somehow only ranked ninth on the team.

The Broncos finished 13th in Pairwise and faced Michigan State in the opening round, where they fell in a close 5-4 defeat.

Berger earned the team’s most valuable defenseman award at the end of the season. He’s exhausted his collegiate eligibility, though it’s not clear what his plans are for the future since he hasn’t signed a pro deal.

Gavin Puskar — Brown

While Puskar played in 26 of 30 games at Brown, he failed to record a point and entered the transfer portal for the second time with one year of eligibility remaining. At the moment, he has not yet found a new home.

Sasha Teleguine — Lake Superior State

After spending all of the 2022-23 season in the BCHL, Teleguine returned to the college ranks on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In 34 games, he had two goals and one assist.

Teleguine has two years of eligibility remaining.

Cassidy Bowes — Endicott

Bowes put up nine goals and five assists as a senior with Endicott — none bigger than the opening score of the the Commonwealth Coast Conference title game. The Gulls won the league for the second consecutive season and earned an automatic bid into the Division III NCAA Tournament. After reaching the Frozen Four in 2023, they fell to Elmira in the first round.

Bowes still has his fifth year of eligibility remaining, should he choose to use it.

Former commits

While these players never laced up for UConn, they were once committed to the program.

Nate Hanley (Union): Hanley put up four goals and 22 assists in his sophomore season in Schenectady. He had two helpers in a 4-1 win over UConn in October.

Sean Donaldson (Cornell): Donaldson failed to record a point in 10 games with the Big Red.

Brandon Santa Juana (Bowling Green): As a freshman, Santa Juana had two goals and nine assists in 36 games.

Ignat Belov (Hobart): The big forward out of Belarus won his second straight Division III national title with Hobart, beating Trinity at home in the championship game. Belov finished with 37 points — second-most on the team — thanks to 16 goals and 21 assists.

Johnny Mulera (Salve Regina): After beginning his career at Maine, Mulera transferred to Division III Salve Regina. Though his side lost to Bowes’ Endicott squad in the CCC final, Mulera had 12 goals and 19 assists as a senior.

Arseni Smekhnov (Wisconsin-River Falls): Another member of the Division III ranks, Smekhnov totaled five goals and six assists in his sophomore campaign.