2020–21 Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey season explained

The 2020–21 Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey season was the 65th season of play for the program, the 48th at the Division I level, and the 16th season in the Hockey East conference. The Catamounts represented the University of Vermont and were coached by Todd Woodcroft, in his 1st season.

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 Vermont'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]

Vermont's first season under Todd Woodcroft could hardly have gone worse. Aside from the problems caused by the pandemic, the team's offense was nearly invisible for most of the year. The Catamounts only once scored more than 3 goals (their only win on the season), and were shut out on three separate occasions, a little less than a quarter of their games. One silver lining was that most of the teams they faces were ranked and Vermont is in the process of rebuilding after an abysmal season the year before.

Azzaro Tinling and Whim Stålberg sat out the season.

Departures

Matt Alvaro	Forward	Graduation (Signed with Orlando Solar Bears)
Tom Beretta	Forward	Graduation (Signed with Norfolk Admirals)
Joey Cipollone	Forward	Transferred to Quinnipiac
Johnny DeRoche	Forward	Transferred to Northeastern
Max Kaufman	Forward	Transferred to Boston University
Stefanos Lekkas	Goaltender	Graduation (Signed with Fort Wayne Komets)
Derek Lodermeier	Forward	Graduation (Signed with Jacksonville Icemen)
Riley McCutcheon	Forward	Left program
Corey Moriarty	Defenseman	Graduation
Matthew O'Donnell	Defenseman	Graduation

Recruiting

Mickey Burns	Forward	20	Wayne, NJ
Gabe Carriere	Goaltender	19	Orleans, ON
Noah Jordan	Forward	23	Toronto, ON transfer from Miami
Jordan Kaplan	Forward	23	Bridgewater, NJ transfer from Sacred Heart
Tristan Mullin	Forward	23	Cartwright, MB transfer from Cornell
Cody Schiavon	Defenseman	20	West Kelowna, BC
Whim Stålberg	Forward	21	Göteborg, SWE
Azzaro Tinling	Forward	20	Pointe-Claire, QC
Dovar Tinling	Forward	17	Pointe-Claire, QC
Ray Vītoliņš	Forward	18	Ogre, LAT
Will Zapernick	Forward	20	Edmonton, AB

Roster

As of February 12, 2021.^[3] |}

Schedule and results

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

Scoring statistics

		13	4	3	7	14
		12	1	5	6	4
		11	4	1	5	4
		12	2	3	5	2
		13	1	4	5	18
		13	1	3	4	12
		13	1	2	3	0
		13	1	2	3	10
		7	2	0	2	0
		9	1	1	2	4
		12	1	1	2	4
		13	1	1	2	4
		3	0	1	1	0
		6	0	1	1	8
		10	0	1	1	0
		11	0	1	1	6
		13	0	1	1	6
		13	0	1	1	0
		1	0	0	0	0
		3	0	0	0	0
		3	0	0	0	2
		5	0	0	0	0
		5	0	0	0	0
		6	0	0	0	0
		7	0	0	0	0
		12	0	0	0	15
		12	0	0	0	4
		13	0	0	0	4
Bench	-	13	-	-	-	6
Total			20	32	52	127

^[5]

Goaltending statistics

	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	1.000	0.00
	6	284	0	5	0	12	147	0	.925	2.53
	10	498	1	5	2	28	267	0	.905	3.37
Empty Net	-	6	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-
Total	13	790	1	10	2	42	415	0	.908	3.19

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]

2021 NHL Entry Draft

3	92	Andrei Buyalsky^†	Colorado Avalanche
6	171	Cal Thomas^†	Arizona Coyotes

† incoming freshman^[7]

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 . UVM Athletixs . July 21, 2017.
Web site: Vermont Catamounts (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results . College Hockey Stats . December 5, 2019.
News: Univ. of Vermont 2020-2021 Skater Stats . Elite Prospects . March 7, 2020.
Web site: USCHO Division I Men's Poll . USCHO.com . November 26, 2019.
News: NCAA player rankings, selections in 2021 NHL Draft . USCHO.com . July 24, 2021.