2020–21 NCHC season
Sports season
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]
Standings
Conference record
Overall record
GP
W
L
T
OTW
OTL
3/SW
PTS
PT%
GF
GA
GP
W
L
T
GF
GA
#5 North Dakota †*
24
18
5
1
2
1
0
54
.750
94
47
29
22
6
1
114
57
#2 St. Cloud State
24
15
9
0
3
3
0
45
.625
78
64
31
20
11
0
101
84
#3 Minnesota Duluth
24
13
9
2
1
2
1
43
.597
72
54
28
15
11
2
84
66
#13 Omaha
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
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
Conference tournament
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
NCAA 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.
West
Northeast
Regional finals
West
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
Northeast
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
Frozen Four
National Championship
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
Shots by period
Team
1
2
3
T
St. Cloud State
3
12
10
25
Massachusetts
7
6
9
22
Statistics
Leading scorers
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes [ 5]
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
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
Ranking
USCHO
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]
USA Today
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
[ 7]
Awards
NCAA
NCHC
Award
Recipient[ 9]
Player of the Year
Shane Pinto , North Dakota
Rookie of the Year
Veeti Miettinen , St. Cloud State
Goaltender of the Year
Adam Scheel , North Dakota
Forward of the Year
Shane Pinto , North Dakota
Defensive Defenseman of the Year
Jacob Bernard-Docker , North Dakota
Offensive Defenseman of the Year
Ronnie Attard , Western Michigan
Defensive Forward of the Year
Shane Pinto , North Dakota
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Kale Bennett , Western Michigan
Three Stars Award
Ludvig Persson , Miami
Sportsmanship Award
Kevin Fitzgerald , St. Cloud State
Herb Brooks Coach of the Year
Brad Berry , North Dakota
All-NCHC Teams [ 10] [ 11]
First Team
Position
Second Team
Adam Scheel , North Dakota
G
Ludvig Persson , Miami
Matt Kiersted , North Dakota
D
Nick Perbix , St. Cloud State
Ronnie Attard , Western Michigan
D
Jacob Bernard-Docker , North Dakota
Shane Pinto , North Dakota
F
Veeti Miettinen , St. Cloud State
Jordan Kawaguchi , North Dakota
F
Chayse Primeau , Omaha
Nick Swaney , Minnesota Duluth
F
Noah Cates , Minnesota Duluth
Honorable Mention
Position
Rookie Team
Isaiah Saville , Omaha
G
Ludvig Persson , Miami
Brandon Scanlin , Omaha
D
Jake Sanderson , North Dakota
Wyatt Kaiser , Minnesota Duluth
D
Wyatt Kaiser , Minnesota Duluth
Collin Adams , North Dakota
F
Veeti Miettinen , St. Cloud State
Cole Koepke , Minnesota Duluth
F
Carter Savoie , Denver
Grant Cruikshank , Colorado College
F
Riese Gaber , North Dakota
Ethen Frank , Western Michigan
F
Conference tournament
NCAA tournament
2021 NHL Entry Draft
† incoming freshman
[ 13]
References
^ "Schedule" . NCHC . Retrieved September 5, 2021 .
^ "NCHC Will Begin Season in Omaha Bubble" . Neutral Zone . October 16, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2021 .
^ "Minnesota Duluth wins epic NCAA hockey game over North Dakota in five overtimes" . Star Tribune . March 28, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021 .
^ "St. Cloud State vs UMass Ice Hockey Game Highlights, 2021 NCAA National Championship" . YouTube.com . NCAA. April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021 .
^ "Player Stats" . HCHC . Retrieved September 25, 2021 .
^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll" . USCHO.com . Retrieved November 26, 2019 .
^ "USA Today Men's Poll" . USCHO.com . Retrieved November 26, 2019 .
^ "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. Retrieved April 10, 2021 .
^ "North Dakota's Berry, Pinto Garner NCHC's Top Honors for 2020-21" . NCHC . March 11, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2021 .
^ "North Dakota Paces 2020-21 NCHC All-Conference Teams" . nchchockey.com . March 8, 2021. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2021 .
^ "Five Teams Represented on 2020-21 NCHC All-Rookie Team" . nchchockey.com . March 8, 2021. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2021 .
^ "North Dakota Wins 2021 Frozen Faceoff Championship" . SB Nation. March 16, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2021 .
^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2021 NHL Draft" . USCHO.com . Retrieved July 24, 2021 .
External links
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