2020–21 NCHC season explained

Color:color:white; background:#b5121b;
Color Text:white
Season:2020–21
Season:2020–21
Conference:National Collegiate Hockey Conference
Shortconference:NCHC
Division:Division I
Sport:ice hockey
Pixels:225 px
Duration:December 1, 2020–
April 10, 2021
No Of Teams:8
Draft:
Top Pick:Connor Kelley
Picked By:Chicago Blackhawks
Regular Season:
Season Champs:North Dakota
Mvp:Shane Pinto
Mvp Link:NCHC Player of the Year
Top Scorer:Jordan Kawaguchi
Tournament:
Tournament Champs:North Dakota
Tournament Place:St. Cloud State
Mvp2:Riese Gaber
Mvp Link2:Frozen Faceoff MVP
Top Scorer2:Collin Adams
Jordan Kawaguchi
Ncaa:
Bids:4
Conf Rec:5–4
Best:Runner-Up
Ncaa Team:St. Cloud State
Prevseason:2019–20
Nextseason:2021–22
Labelstyle:background:#eeeeee;

The 2020–21 NCHC season was the 8th season of play for National Collegiate Hockey Conference and took place during the 2020–21 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.

Season

Due to the ongoing COVID-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 the Baxter Arena in Omaha, 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 #16 American International. They did not, however, have the easiest path into the quarterfinals as Duluth ended up getting advanced due to a withdrawal by Michigan.

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 by Massachusetts.[4]

Coaches

Entering the season, Scott Sandelin needed 9 more wins to become 45th coach in NCAA history to record 400 victories for a career.

Records

TeamHead coachSeason at schoolRecord at schoolNCHC record
Colorado College 763–136–2031–95–19
Denver 345–21–11 22–19–8
Miami 28–21–55–16–3
Minnesota Duluth 21391–321–89 94–60–15
North Dakota 6116–57–2367–41–13
Omaha 440–58–8 23–43–6
St. Cloud State 343–21–9 29–32–5
Western Michigan 10157–144–4070–83–15

Conference tournament

See main article: 2021 NCHC Tournament.

NCAA tournament

See main article: 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Regional semifinals

Midwest

After seeding, Michigan, Minnesota Duluth's opponent in the first round, was forced to withdraw due to COVID-19 positive tests. UMD was automatically advanced to the second round by a no-contest decision.

Northeast

Regional finals

Northeast

National Championship

Scoring summary
PeriodTeamGoalAssist(s)TimeScore
1stalign=center style=";" UMAAaron Bohlinger (1) – GWSullivan and Farmeralign=center 7:26align=center 1–0 UMA
align=center style=";" UMAReed Lebster (2)Kiefiukalign=center 18:56align=center 2–0 UMA
2ndalign=center style=";" UMAPhilip Lagunov (6) – SHunassistedalign=center 25:10align=center 3–0 UMA
align=center style=";" UMAMatthew Kessel (10) – PPChau and Gaudetalign=center 33:45align=center 4–0 UMA
3rdalign=center style=";" UMABobby Trivigno (11)Lebsteralign=center 46:00align=center 5–0 UMA
Penalty summary
PeriodTeamPlayerPenaltyTimePIM
1stalign=center style=";" UMAAnthony Del GaizoSlashingalign=center 15:27align=center 2:00
2ndalign=center style=";" STCSeamus DonohueTrippingalign=center 20:24align=center 2:00
align=center style=";" UMARyan SullivanTrippingalign=center 23:57align=center 2:00
align=center style=";" UMAJake GaudetElbowingalign=center 30:31align=center 2:00
align=center style=";" STCBench (served by Zach Okabe)Too Many Menalign=center 32:35align=center 2:00
3rdalign=center colspan=5 None
Shots by period
Team123T
align=center style=";" St. Cloud State align=center 3 align=center 12 align=center 10 align=center 25
align=center style=";" Massachusetts align=center 7 align=center 6 align=center 9 align=center 22
Goaltenders
TeamNameSavesGoals againstTime on ice
align=center style=";" STC align=center 17 align=center 5 align=center 60:00
align=center style=";" UMA align=center 25 align=center 0 align=center 60:00

Statistics

Leading scorers

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes[5]

PlayerClassTeamGPGAPtsPIM
Sophomore 23 15 13 28 2
Senior 24 13 14 27 10
Senior 23 7 20 27 24
Senior 24 9 15 24 8
Junior 24 10 13 23 4
Junior 24 9 14 23 2
Freshman 24 10 12 22 0
Sophomore 24 8 14 22 8
Junior 24 5 17 22 6
Freshman 22 12 8 20 23
Junior 24 6 14 20 34

Leading goaltenders

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

PlayerClassTeamGPMinWLTGASOSV%GAA
Junior 21 1202 16 3 1 36 4 .928 1.80
Sophomore 17 1027 9 6 2 39 0 .906 2.28
Freshman 17 926 5 9 2 37 2 .930 2.40
Sophomore 16 915 6 10 0 37 1 .908 2.43
Senior 20 1161 12 8 0 51 2 .907 2.63

Ranking

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

USCHO

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]

USA Today

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 NRNR 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
[7]

Awards

NCAA

Award Recipient
Jordan Kawaguchi, North Dakota
AHCA All-American Teams[8]
West First Team Pos Team
align=center Western Michigan
align=center North Dakota
West Second Team Pos Team
align=center D North Dakota
align=center F North Dakota

NCHC

Award Recipient[9]
Shane Pinto, North Dakota
Veeti Miettinen, St. Cloud State
Adam Scheel, North Dakota
Shane Pinto, North Dakota
Jacob Bernard-Docker, North Dakota
Ronnie Attard, Western Michigan
Shane Pinto, North Dakota
Kale Bennett, Western Michigan
Three Stars Award Ludvig Persson, Miami
Kevin Fitzgerald, St. Cloud State
Brad Berry, North Dakota
All-NCHC Teams[10] [11]
  Position   Second Team
Adam Scheel, North Dakotaalign=center GLudvig Persson, Miami
Matt Kiersted, North Dakotaalign=center DNick Perbix, St. Cloud State
Ronnie Attard, Western Michiganalign=center DJacob Bernard-Docker, North Dakota
Shane Pinto, North Dakotaalign=center FVeeti Miettinen, St. Cloud State
Jordan Kawaguchi, North Dakotaalign=center FChayse Primeau, Omaha
Nick Swaney, Minnesota Duluthalign=center FNoah Cates, Minnesota Duluth
Honorable Mention   Position   Rookie Team
Isaiah Saville, Omahaalign=center GLudvig Persson, Miami
Brandon Scanlin, Omahaalign=center DJake Sanderson, North Dakota
Wyatt Kaiser, Minnesota Duluthalign=center DWyatt Kaiser, Minnesota Duluth
Collin Adams, North Dakotaalign=center FVeeti Miettinen, St. Cloud State
Cole Koepke, Minnesota Duluthalign=center FCarter Savoie, Denver
Grant Cruikshank, Colorado Collegealign=center FRiese Gaber, North Dakota
Ethen Frank, Western Michiganalign=center F

Conference tournament

Frozen Faceoff MVP
North Dakota
Frozen Faceoff All-Tournament Team[12]
Player Pos Team
North Dakota
St. Cloud State
North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota

NCAA tournament

2021 NHL Entry Draft

See main article: 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

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 Minnesota Duluth Chicago Blackhawks
† incoming freshman[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Schedule . NCHC . September 5, 2021.
  2. Web site: NCHC Will Begin Season in Omaha Bubble . Neutral Zone . October 16, 2020. April 15, 2021.
  3. Web site: Minnesota Duluth wins epic NCAA hockey game over North Dakota in five overtimes . Star Tribune . March 28, 2021 . April 16, 2021.
  4. Web site: St. Cloud State vs UMass Ice Hockey Game Highlights, 2021 NCAA National Championship . NCAA . YouTube.com . April 11, 2021 . April 17, 2021.
  5. News: Player Stats . HCHC . September 25, 2021.
  6. Web site: USCHO Division I Men's Poll . USCHO.com . November 26, 2019.
  7. Web site: USA Today Men's Poll . USCHO.com . November 26, 2019.
  8. News: Boston College, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin lead way with three All-American college hockey players apiece for ’20-21 season . USCHO.com . April 9, 2021 . April 10, 2021.
  9. Web site: North Dakota's Berry, Pinto Garner NCHC's Top Honors for 2020-21 . NCHC . March 11, 2021 . April 5, 2021.
  10. Web site: North Dakota Paces 2020-21 NCHC All-Conference Teams . nchchockey.com . March 8, 2021 . April 5, 2021 . April 22, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210422091622/https://www.nchchockey.com/news_article/show/1150999 . dead .
  11. Web site: Five Teams Represented on 2020-21 NCHC All-Rookie Team . nchchockey.com . March 8, 2021 . April 5, 2021 . April 12, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210412222102/https://www.nchchockey.com/news_article/show/1150886 . dead .
  12. News: North Dakota Wins 2021 Frozen Faceoff Championship . SB Nation . March 16, 2021 . April 18, 2021.
  13. News: NCAA player rankings, selections in 2021 NHL Draft . USCHO.com . July 24, 2021.