| 2020–21 NCHC season | |
|---|---|
| Season | 2020–21 |
| Conference | NCHC |
| Division | Division I |
| Sport | ice hockey |
| Duration | December 1, 2020– April 10, 2021 |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| 2021 NHL Entry Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Connor Kelley |
| Picked by | Chicago Blackhawks |
| Regular Season | |
| Season champions | North Dakota |
| SeasonMVP | Shane Pinto |
| Top scorer | Jordan Kawaguchi |
| NCHC Tournament | |
| Tournament champions | North Dakota |
| Runners-up | St. Cloud State |
| TournamentMVP | Riese Gaber |
| Top scorer | Collin Adams Jordan Kawaguchi |
| NCAA tournament | |
| Bids | 4 |
| Record | 5–4 |
| Best Finish | Runner-Up |
| Team(s) | St. Cloud State |
| NCHC seasons «2019–20 2021–22 » | |
The2020–21 NCHC season was the 8th season of play forNational Collegiate Hockey Conference and took place during the2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The start of the season was delayed until December 1, 2020 and concluded on April 10, 2021.[1]St. Cloud State made its first championship appearance, finishing as the national runner-up.
Due to the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic, all NCHC teams scrapped their non-conference schedules. The league ended up delaying the start to the season until the beginning of December, 2 months later than usual. All eight member teams began the year playing at theBaxter Arena inOmaha, Nebraska.[2] All games in the month of December were set at the Mavericks' home arena and the pattern for the remainder of the season was set. North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth lived up to their preseason billing while Denver and Western Michigan both eventually fell from the rankings. The later two were quickly replaced by St. Cloud State and Omaha. From the time the clubs returned home in January to the end of the season, very little movement was seen as far as their national rankings.
By the time the conference tournament began, the NCHC was all but guaranteed to receive 4 bids to the NCAA tournament. Even after Omaha was upset in the quarterfinals by Denver, they only fell from 12 to 14 and did end up with one of the final at-large bids. North Dakota, the #1 team for much of the season, received the top overall seed after winning the conference title and opened NCAA play against #16American International. They did not, however, have the easiest path into the quarterfinals as Duluth ended up getting advanced due to a withdrawal byMichigan.
The NCHC proved to be the strongest conference by having the most teams in every round of the NCAA tournament. One of the biggest games, outside of the championship, was the quarterfinal match between North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth that set a new NCAA record for the longest game in tournament history. The match required 5 extra periods and went on so long that UMD starting goaltender Zach Stejskal had to be replaced due to cramping.[3] The Bulldogs did eventually win the game on a goal by Freshman Luke Mylymok and make their 4th consecutive Frozen Four. While St. Cloud State had a chance to extend the conference's championship run to five, they were defeated in the final byMassachusetts.[4]
| Conference record | Overall record | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | 3/SW | PTS | PT% | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| #5North Dakota †* | 24 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 54 | .750 | 94 | 47 | 29 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 114 | 57 | |
| #2St. Cloud State | 24 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 45 | .625 | 78 | 64 | 31 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 101 | 84 | |
| #3Minnesota Duluth | 24 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 43 | .597 | 72 | 54 | 28 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 84 | 66 | |
| #13Omaha | 24 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 40 | .556 | 79 | 69 | 26 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 85 | 81 | |
| Denver | 22 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 31 | .470 | 61 | 60 | 24 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 67 | 66 | |
| Western Michigan | 24 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 33 | .458 | 73 | 84 | 25 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 77 | 89 | |
| Colorado College | 22 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 | .273 | 35 | 77 | 23 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 36 | 79 | |
| Miami | 24 | 5 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | .250 | 46 | 83 | 25 | 5 | 18 | 2 | 48 | 89 | |
| Championship: March 16, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Frozen Faceoff Championship Trophy) Rankings:USCHO.com Top 20 Poll | ||||||||||||||||||
Entering the season,Scott Sandelin needed 9 more wins to become 45th coach in NCAA history to record 400 victories for a career.
| Team | Head coach | Season at school | Record at school | NCHC record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado College | Mike Haviland | 7 | 63–136–20 | 31–95–19 |
| Denver | David Carle | 3 | 45–21–11 | 22–19–8 |
| Miami | Chris Bergeron | 2 | 8–21–5 | 5–16–3 |
| Minnesota Duluth | Scott Sandelin | 21 | 391–321–89 | 94–60–15 |
| North Dakota | Brad Berry | 6 | 116–57–23 | 67–41–13 |
| Omaha | Mike Gabinet | 4 | 40–58–8 | 23–43–6 |
| St. Cloud State | Brett Larson | 3 | 43–21–9 | 29–32–5 |
| Western Michigan | Andy Murray | 10 | 157–144–40 | 70–83–15 |
| Quarterfinals March 12–13 | Semifinals March 15 | Championship March 16 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | North Dakota | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Miami | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | North Dakota | 2* | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Denver | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Cloud State | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Colorado College | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | North Dakota | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Cloud State | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Minnesota-Duluth | 5* | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Western Michigan | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Cloud State | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Minnesota-Duluth | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Omaha | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Denver | 5 | ||||||||||||
* denotes overtime periods
| March 26, 2021 7:30 PM | (1) North Dakota | 5 – 1 (4–0, 0–0, 1–1) | (4) American International | Scheels Arena,Fargo, North Dakota Attendance: 1,435 |
| Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Scheel | Goalies | Stefano Durante(20 min) Jake Kucharski(40 min) | Referees: Bobby Lukkason Brady Johnson Linesmen: Tyler Landman Nathan Voll | |||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 min | Penalties | 12 min | ||||||||||||||||||
| 33 | Shots | 25 | ||||||||||||||||||
After seeding,Michigan, Minnesota Duluth's opponent in the first round, was forced to withdraw due toCOVID-19 positive tests. UMD was automatically advanced to the second round by a no-contest decision.
| March 27, 2021 8:00 PM | (1) Minnesota | 7 – 2 (3–1, 3–0, 1–1) | (4) Omaha | Budweiser Events Center,Loveland, Colorado Attendance: 125 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack LaFontaine | Goalies | Isaiah Saville(27:13) Austin Roden(32:47) | Referees: Scott Hansen Holton Walker Linesmen: Kevin Briganti Kyle Richetelle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 min | Penalties | 4 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30 | Shots | 28 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| March 27, 2021 1:00 PM | (2) St. Cloud State | 6 – 2 (0–0, 3–2, 3–0) | (3) Boston University | Times Union Center,Albany, New York Attendance: 1,136 |
| Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dávid Hrenák | Goalies | Drew Commesso | Referees: Colin Kronfrost Brett DesRosiers Linesmen: Sam Shikowsky Nick Bradshaw | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23 min | Penalties | 21 min | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 38 | Shots | 36 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| March 27, 2021 6:30 PM | (1) North Dakota | 2 – 3(5OT) (0–0, 0–0, 2–2, 0–0, 0–0, 0–0, 0–0, 0–1) | (3) Minnesota–Duluth | Scheels Arena, Fargo, North Dakota Attendance: 1,494 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Scheel | Goalies | Zach Stejskal(124:37) Ryan Fanti(17:36) | Referees: Joe Carusoe C. J. Hanafin Linesmen: Ryan Knapp Brian Oliver | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| 6 min | Penalties | 6 min | |||||||||||||||
| 65 | Shots | 54 | |||||||||||||||
| March 28, 2021 5:30 | (1) Boston College | 1 – 4 (1–0, 0–3, 0–1) | (2) St. Cloud State | Times Union Center, Albany, New York Attendance: 1,136 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Knight | Goalies | Dávid Hrenák | Referees: Ryan Sweeney Mike Schubert Linesmen: Joe Sherman Anthony Valley | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| 2 min | Penalties | 4 min | |||||||||||||||
| 27 | Shots | 36 | |||||||||||||||
| April 8, 2021 5:00 PM | (W2) Minnesota State | 4 – 5 (1–2, 2–1, 1–2) | (NE2) St. Cloud State | PPG Paints Arena,Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania Attendance: 3,660 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dryden McKay | Goalies | Dávid Hrenák | Referees: Peter Schlittenhardt Jeremy Tufts Linesmen: Nicholas Briganti William Kingdon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 min | Penalties | 4 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 29 | Shots | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| April 8, 2021 9:00 PM | (E2) Massachusetts | 3 – 2(OT) (1–1, 0–1, 1–0, 1–0) | (MW3) Minnesota Duluth | PPG Paints Arena,Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania Attendance: 3,660 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Murray | Goalies | Zach Stejskal | Referees: Brett DesRosiers Brett Sheva Linesmen: Justin Cornell Pat Richardson | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| 2 min | Penalties | 4 min | |||||||||||||||
| 28 | Shots | 38 | |||||||||||||||
| April 10, 2021 7:00 PM | (E2) Massachusetts | 5 – 0 | (NE2) St. Cloud State | PPG Paints Arena,Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania Attendance: 3,963 |
| Game reference |
|---|
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | UMA | Aaron Bohlinger (1) –GW | Sullivan and Farmer | 7:26 | 1–0 UMA |
| UMA | Reed Lebster (2) | Kiefiuk | 18:56 | 2–0 UMA | |
| 2nd | UMA | Philip Lagunov (6) –SH | unassisted | 25:10 | 3–0 UMA |
| UMA | Matthew Kessel (10) –PP | Chau and Gaudet | 33:45 | 4–0 UMA | |
| 3rd | UMA | Bobby Trivigno (11) | Lebster | 46:00 | 5–0 UMA |
| Penalty summary | |||||
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
| 1st | UMA | Anthony Del Gaizo | Slashing | 15:27 | 2:00 |
| 2nd | STC | Seamus Donohue | Tripping | 20:24 | 2:00 |
| UMA | Ryan Sullivan | Tripping | 23:57 | 2:00 | |
| UMA | Jake Gaudet | Elbowing | 30:31 | 2:00 | |
| STC | Bench (served by Zach Okabe) | Too Many Men | 32:35 | 2:00 | |
| 3rd | None | ||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes[5]
| Player | Class | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Pinto | Sophomore | North Dakota | 23 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 2 |
| Nick Swaney | Senior | Minnesota Duluth | 24 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 10 |
| Jordan Kawaguchi | Senior | North Dakota | 23 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 24 |
| Collin Adams | Senior | North Dakota | 24 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 8 |
| Jackson Cates | Junior | Minnesota Duluth | 24 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 4 |
| Chayse Primeau | Junior | Omaha | 24 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 2 |
| Veeti Miettinen | Freshman | St. Cloud State | 24 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 0 |
| Ronnie Attard | Sophomore | Western Michigan | 24 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 8 |
| Drew Worrad | Junior | Western Michigan | 24 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 6 |
| Carter Savoie | Freshman | Denver | 22 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 23 |
| Tyler Weiss | Junior | Omaha | 24 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 34 |
Minimum 1/3 of team's minutes played in conference games.
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% =Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Class | Team | GP | Min | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Scheel | Junior | North Dakota | 21 | 1202 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 4 | .928 | 1.80 |
| Ryan Fanti | Sophomore | Minnesota Duluth | 17 | 1027 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 39 | 0 | .906 | 2.28 |
| Ludvig Persson | Freshman | Miami | 17 | 926 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 37 | 2 | .930 | 2.40 |
| Magnus Chrona | Sophomore | Denver | 16 | 915 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 37 | 1 | .908 | 2.43 |
| Dávid Hrenák | Senior | St. Cloud State | 20 | 1161 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 51 | 2 | .907 | 2.63 |
| Team | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado College | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR |
| Denver | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR |
| Miami | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR |
| Minnesota Duluth | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | N/A | 3 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | N/A | 5 |
| Omaha | NR | NR | NR | NR | 18 | 17 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | N/A | 13 |
| St. Cloud State | NR | NR | NR | NR | 13 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | N/A | 2 |
| Western Michigan | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR |
USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.[6]
| Team | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado College | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Denver | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 14 | NR | NR | 15 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Miami | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Minnesota Duluth | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 3 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Omaha | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 14 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 |
| St. Cloud State | NR | NR | NR | NR | 11 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| Western Michigan | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Award | Recipient | |
|---|---|---|
| Lowes' Senior CLASS Award | Jordan Kawaguchi,North Dakota | |
| AHCA All-American Teams[8] | ||
| West First Team | Pos | Team |
| Ronnie Attard | D | Western Michigan |
| Shane Pinto | F | North Dakota |
| West Second Team | Pos | Team |
| Matt Kiersted | D | North Dakota |
| Jordan Kawaguchi | F | North Dakota |
| All-Tournament Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | Team |
| Nolan Walker | F | St. Cloud State |
| Round | Pick | Player | College | NHL team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 36 | Shai Buium† | Denver | Detroit Red Wings |
| 2 | 54 | Jack Peart† | St. Cloud State | Minnesota Wild |
| 2 | 61 | Sean Behrens† | Denver | Colorado Avalanche |
| 3 | 70 | Carter Mazur† | Denver | Detroit Red Wings |
| 3 | 80 | Brent Johnson† | North Dakota | Washington Capitals |
| 4 | 109 | Jackson Blake† | North Dakota | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 4 | 114 | Redmond Savage† | Miami | Detroit Red Wings |
| 4 | 119 | Joaquim Lemay† | Omaha | Washington Capitals |
| 4 | 125 | Cameron Berg† | Omaha | New York Islanders |
| 6 | 182 | Nate Benoit† | North Dakota | Minnesota Wild |
| 7 | 204 | Connor Kelley | Minnesota Duluth | Chicago Blackhawks |
† incoming freshman[13]