2020–21 Colgate Raiders men's ice hockey season explained

The 2020–21 Colgate Raiders Men's ice hockey season was the 91st season of play for the program and the 60th season in the ECAC Hockey conference. The Raiders represented the Colgate University and played their home games at Class of 1965 Arena, and were coached by Don Vaughan, in his 28th season as their head coach.

Season

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of Colgate's players would lose a season of play.^[1] However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.^[2]

The start to Colgate's season was a bit rough as the team won 1 of their first six games. They recovered afterwards and nearly reached a .500 record by early February but the team flagged afterwards and ended the season last in the conference. The Raiders met St. Lawrence in the ECAC Tournament and outplayed the Saints but still managed to lose 4–5 in overtime. The poor finish should be taken with a grain of salt, however, as eight of the twelve ECAC teams had cancelled their seasons. This resulted in Colgate playing 21 out of 22 games against Clarkson, Quinnipiac and St. Lawrence, two of which were ranked throughout the season. The only real takeaway from the season for Colgate was that the team has some work to do if they want to compete against Clarkson and Quinnipiac.

Mitchel Benson, William Friend, and Henry Marshall sat out the season.

Departures

Jared Cockrell	Forward	Graduate transfer to St. Cloud State
Ross Craig	Defenseman	Graduation
Bobby McMann	Forward	Graduation (Signed with Wichita Thunder)
Paul Meyer	Defenseman	Graduation (Signed with Orlando Solar Bears)
Jacob Panetta	Defenseman	Graduation (Signed with Jacksonville Icemen)
Tyler Penner	Forward	Graduation (Signed with Birmingham Bulls)
Nick Quillan	Defenseman	Left program
Ben Sharf	Forward	Graduation
John Snodgrass	Forward	Graduation

Recruiting

Nick Anderson	Defenseman	21	Wayzata, MN
Pierson Brandon	Defenseman	20	Irvington, NY
P. J. Garrett	Defenseman	20	Duxbury, MA
Levi Glasman	Forward	21	Lacombe, AB
Carter Gylander	Goaltender	19	Beaumont, AB Selected 191st overall in 2019
Elliott McDermott	Defenseman	20	Kingston, ON
Ross Mitton	Forward	20	Copiague, NY
Alex Young	Forward	19	Calgary, AB Selected 196th overall in 2020

Roster

As of December 17, 2020.^[3]

Schedule and Results

|-!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season|-!colspan=12 style=";" | ^[4]

Scoring statistics

		22	7	6	13	12
		21	6	7	13	17
		22	4	6	10	14
		22	3	7	10	14
		22	0	10	10	16
		22	3	5	8	6
		22	3	5	8	10
		21	2	6	8	10
		22	4	2	6	10
		20	2	4	6	6
		22	2	4	6	10
		18	1	5	6	8
		22	3	2	5	2
		17	2	3	5	4
		22	3	1	4	10
		20	1	3	4	8
		21	1	3	4	38
		21	1	2	3	4
		22	0	1	1	6
		1	0	0	0	0
		5	0	0	0	0
		8	0	0	0	0
		10	0	0	0	6
		19	0	0	0	0
Bench	-	-	-	-	-	8
Total			48	82	130	219

^[5]

Goaltending statistics

	19	1048	6	9	4	47	428	1	.901	2.69
	8	296	0	2	1	18	113	0	.863	3.64
Empty Net	-	13	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-
Total	22	1358	6	11	5	66	541	1	.891	2.91

Rankings

See main article: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings.

Poll	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21 (Final)
USCHO.com	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	bgcolor=FFFFFF	-	NR
USA Today	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.^[6]

Awards and honors

Pierson Brandon	ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman	^[7]
Josh McKechney	ECAC Hockey First Team	^[8]
Pierson Brandon	ECAC Hockey Rookie Team	^[9]
Alex Young	ECAC Hockey Rookie Team	^[9]

Notes and References

Web site: NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility . CBS Sports . August 21, 2020. January 25, 2021.
Web site: DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately . NCAA . December 16, 2020. January 25, 2021.
Web site: 2020–21 Men's Ice Hockey Roster . Colgate Athletics . July 3, 2017.
Web site: Colgate Raiders (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results . collegehockeystats.net . November 26, 2019.
News: Colgate Univ. 2020-2021 Skater Stats . Elite Prospects . July 3, 2020.
Web site: USCHO Division I Men's Poll . USCHO.com . November 26, 2019.
Web site: Pierson Brandon Named Best Defensive Defenseman . ECAC Hockey . March 14, 2021 . April 4, 2021.
Web site: ECAC Hockey Announces First Team All-League . ecachockey.com . March 17, 2021 . April 4, 2021.
Web site: ECAC Hockey Announces 2021 All-Rookie Team . ecachockey.com . March 17, 2021 . April 4, 2021.