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2020–21 Hockey East men's season

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2020–21 Hockey East men's season
Season2020–21
ConferenceHockey East
DivisionDivision I
Sportmen's ice hockey
DurationNovember 20, 2020–
April 10, 2021
Number of teams11
2021 NHL Entry Draft
Top draft pickJosh Lopina
Picked byAnaheim Ducks
Regular Season
Season championsNone
Season MVPSpencer Knight
Top scorerJonny Evans
Hockey East tournament
Tournament championsMassachusetts
  Runners-upMassachusetts–Lowell
Tournament MVPBobby Trivigno
Top scorerAlex Newhook
Bobby Trivigno
NCAA tournament
Bids3
Record4–2
Best FinishNational Champion
Team(s)Massachusetts
Hockey East men's seasons
« 2019–20 2021–22 »

The 2020–21 Hockey East men's season was the 37th season of play for Hockey East and took place during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The start of the regular season was delayed until on November 20, 2020 and conclude on April 10, 2021.[1] Massachusetts won its first national championship.

Season[edit]

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Hockey East was forced to delay the start to its season until mid-November. Even when team's began to play games, several programs were adversely affected by the virus. Boston University was particularly hard-hit by COVID and couldn't play their first game until January. Due to the strange nature of the season, Hockey East decided to use a Power Index to determine the conference standings.[2] Additionally, all eleven members schools would be included in the conference tournament rather that the normal 8-team format.

Throughout the season, Boston College led in the standings and was in the top 3 for the national rankings. Behind the Eagles, the conference had at least 4 other teams with a national ranking. While it appeared that Hockey East could get as many as 6 bids into the tournament, several programs faded as the year progressed and only three conference teams ended up making the NCAA tournament.[3]

Boston University, who had played well in their small number of games, fell to St. Cloud State in their opening match. BC was advanced to the second round after a COVID withdrawal and opened with a match against the same team. The result was much the same as St. Cloud overcame an early BC lead to take the game by a comfortable margin. In the Eastern region, meanwhile, Hockey East champion Massachusetts ran roughshod over their opponents. The Minutemen blew the door off of Lake Superior State in the first round and then dominated Bemidji State in the quarterfinals, surrendering just 1 goal in 120 minutes.

Entering the Frozen Four, UMass received awful news when several members were placed in COVID protocols due to contact tracing. Even worse was the fact that their starting goaltender, Filip Lindberg, was one of the players and would be forced to miss the rematch with defending national champion Minnesota Duluth.[4] Massachusetts was able to keep the game close despite missing key players and managed to push the game into overtime. backup netminder Matt Murray played a masterful game, keeping UMD from scoring in the final 29 minutes of regulation and an additional 14 minutes of overtime. His stellar play enabled Garret Wait to score the winning goal for UMass and sent the team to their second straight championship match.

Prior to the final game, Lindberg ended up testing negative and drove overnight from Amherst to Pittsburgh so he could play in the title tilt. Lindberg turned in a solid performance but the entire team was responsible for Massachusetts' shutting down St. Cloud State. UMass took the game 5–0, the largest margin of victory in 11 years, and took home the program's first national championship.[5] The win was the first for the conference since 2015 and ended the reign of the NCHC, who had possessed the crown ever since.

Standings[edit]

2020–21 Hockey East Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SOW HEPI GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#6 Boston College 21 16 4 1 3 2 0 58.61 82 46 24 17 6 1 91 58
#11 Boston University 14 10 3 1 3 1 1 56.36 49 37 16 10 5 1 52 45
#1 Massachusetts * 22 13 5 4 1 1 1 55.44 76 42 29 20 5 4 103 48
Connecticut 22 10 10 2 1 4 2 52.01 69 63 23 10 11 2 70 69
#16 Providence 23 10 8 5 0 0 2 50.80 63 61 25 11 9 5 71 67
Northeastern 20 9 8 3 1 0 3 49.94 68 60 21 9 9 3 69 64
#19 Massachusetts–Lowell 16 7 8 1 1 1 0 48.00 46 53 20 10 9 1 59 63
Maine 15 3 10 2 0 1 2 46.66 41 61 16 3 11 2 43 68
Merrimack 18 5 11 2 0 1 0 45.38 47 66 18 5 11 2 47 66
New Hampshire 21 5 13 3 3 2 2 43.66 51 83 23 6 14 3 60 88
Vermont 12 1 9 2 0 0 0 38.02 17 37 13 1 10 2 20 42
Championship: March 20, 2021[6]
No Regular Season Champion Awarded[7]
* indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Coaches[edit]

Todd Woodcroft was hired as the 5th head coach for Vermont after the resignation of Kevin Sneddon.

Records[edit]

Team Head coach Season at school Record at school Hockey East record
Boston College Jerry York 27 624–323–80 363–193–69
Boston University Albie O'Connell 3 29–31–12 22–18–8
Connecticut Mike Cavanaugh 8 93–124–31 36–51–14
Maine Red Gendron 8 100–126–31 62–87–20
Massachusetts Greg Carvel 5 74–70–6 43–46–5
Massachusetts–Lowell Norm Bazin 10 205–110–32 116–71–27
Merrimack Scott Borek 3 16–46–6 11–32–6
New Hampshire Michael Souza 3 27–30–13 17–22–9
Northeastern Jim Madigan 10 165–130–36 104–99–26
Providence Nate Leaman 10 192–113–44 112–72–28
Vermont Todd Woodcroft 1 0–0–0 0–0–0

Statistics[edit]

Leading scorers[edit]

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points[8]

Player Class Team GP G A Pts
Jonny Evans Junior Connecticut 22 14 14 28
Matthew Boldy Sophomore Boston College 19 10 14 24
Zach Solow Senior Northeastern 20 11 13 24
Bobby Trivigno Junior Massachusetts 22 8 16 24
Marc McLaughlin Junior Boston College 21 9 14 23
Jackson Pierson Junior New Hampshire 21 8 15 23
Tyce Thompson Junior Providence 23 10 12 22
Jáchym Kondelík Junior Connecticut 22 3 18 21
Aidan McDonough Sophomore Northeastern 20 10 10 20
Oliver Chau Senior Massachusetts 22 4 16 20

Leading goaltenders[edit]

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
Filip Lindberg Junior Massachusetts 9 558 4 1 4 15 2 .937 1.61
Spencer Knight Sophomore Boston College 18 1087 15 2 1 36 3 .937 1.99
Matt Murray Senior Massachusetts 13 776 9 4 0 26 3 .913 2.01
Jaxson Stauber Sophomore Providence 21 1274 10 6 5 47 4 .915 2.21
Connor Murphy Sophomore Northeastern 20 1195 9 8 3 53 2 .912 2.66

Conference tournament[edit]

Main article: 2021 Hockey East men's ice hockey tournament

Teams are reseeded after the Opening Round and Quarterfinals

Opening Round
March 10[9] 		Quarterfinals
March 14 		Semifinals
March 17 		Championship
March 20
1 Boston College 3
7 Massachusetts–Lowell 5 9 New Hampshire 2
10 Vermont 3 1 Boston College 5
7 Massachusetts–Lowell 6**
2 Boston University 1
7 Massachusetts–Lowell 2
7 Massachusetts–Lowell 0
3 Massachusetts 1
3 Massachusetts 4
8 Maine 2 6 Northeastern 1
9 New Hampshire 7 3 Massachusetts 5
5 Providence 2
4 Connecticut 1
5 Providence 6

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

NCAA tournament[edit]

Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament

Northeast Region[edit]

Regional semifinal[edit]

After seeding, Notre Dame, Boston College's opponent in the first round, was forced to withdraw due to COVID-19 positive tests. BC was automatically advanced to the second round by a no-contest decision.

March 27, 2021
1:00 PM		(2) St. Cloud State6 – 2
(0–0, 3–2, 3–0)		(3) Boston UniversityTimes Union Center, Albany, New York
Attendance: 1,136
Game reference
Dávid HrenákGoaliesDrew CommessoReferees:
Colin Kronfrost
Brett DesRosiers
Linesmen:
Sam Shikowsky
Nick Bradshaw
0–120:08 – Wilmer Skoog (4) (Cockerill)
(Walker, Trejbal) Micah Miller (2) – 32:141–1
(Hammer, Kupka) Nick Perbix (7) – 33:292–1
2–235:28 – PP – Jake Wise (9) (Tuch)
(Walker) Easton Brodzinski (12) – GW – 36:003–2
(unassisted) Jami Krannila (11) – SH PS – 44:174–2
(Walker) Easton Brodzinski (13) – 50:045–2
(Bushy, Krannila) Veeti Miettinen (11) – 55:026–2
23 minPenalties21 min
38Shots36

Regional final[edit]

March 28, 2021
5:30		(1) Boston College1 – 4
(1–0, 0–3, 0–1)		(2) St. Cloud StateTimes Union Center, Albany, New York
Attendance: 1,136
Game reference
Spencer KnightGoaliesDávid HrenákReferees:
Ryan Sweeney
Mike Schubert
Linesmen:
Joe Sherman
Anthony Valley
(Newhook, Hardman) Matt Boldy (11) – 14:231–0
1–129:21 – Luke Jaycox (1) (Okabe, Krannila)
1–235:15 – GW – Will Hammer (2) (Perbix, Cockrell)
1–339:15 – Nolan Walker (9) (Perbix)
1–459:15 – EN – Micah Miller (3) (Bushy)
2 minPenalties4 min
27Shots36

East Region[edit]

Regional semifinals[edit]

March 26, 2021
6:30 PM		(2) Massachusetts5 – 1
(1–1, 2–0, 2–0)		(3) Lake Superior StateWebster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Attendance: 100
Game reference
Filip LindbergGoaliesMareks MitensReferees:
Dan Dreger
Joseph Sullivan
Linesmen:
Tony Anderson
Dana Penkivech
(Harding, Jones) Jake Gaudet (4) – 10:071–0
1–117:14 – Ashton Calder (16) (Veillette, Nordqvist)
(Trivigno) Josh Lopina (9) – GW – 31:032–1
(Farmer, Chau) Carson Gicewicz (14) – 33:003–1
(Chau, Jones) Jake Gaudet (5) – 50:494–1
(Jones) Anthony Del Gaizo (1) – 55:475–1
12 minPenalties8 min
37Shots31

Regional final[edit]

March 27, 2021
4:00 PM		(2) Massachusetts4 – 0
(2–0, 1–0, 1–0)		(4) Bemidji StateWebster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Attendance: 0
Game reference
Filip LindbergGoaliesZach DriscollReferees:
Nick Krebsbach
Ryan Hersey
Linesmen:
Tyler Liffrig
Justin Hills
(Chau, Bohlinger) Carson Gicewicz (15) – SH GW – 14:241–0
(Kessel) Carson Gicewicz (16) – 19:082–0
(Gaudet, M. Del Gaizo) Carson Gicewicz (17) – 26:343–0
(M. Del Gaizo) Oliver Chau (5) – EN – 56:564–0
23 minPenalties6 min
28Shots18

Frozen Four[edit]

National semifinal[edit]

April 8, 2021
9:00 PM		(E2) Massachusetts3 – 2 (OT)
(1–1, 0–1, 1–0, 1–0)		(MW3) Minnesota DuluthPPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 3,660
Game reference
Matt MurrayGoaliesZach StejskalReferees:
Brett DesRosiers
Brett Sheva
Linesmen:
Justin Cornell
Pat Richardson
(Kessel, Chau) Zac Jones (9) – PP – 15:331–0
1–117:50 – Tanner Laderoute (3) (Olson, Kelley)
1–231:01 – Cole Koepke (15) (Cates, Swaney)
(Lopina, Trivigno) Anthony Del Gaizo (2) – 48:252–2
(Trivigno, Lopina) Garrett Wait (9) – GW – 74:303–2
2 minPenalties4 min
28Shots38

National Championship[edit]

April 10, 2021
7:00 PM		(E2) Massachusetts5 – 0(NE2) St. Cloud StatePPG 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

Ranking[edit]

Main article: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings

USCHO[edit]

Team Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Final
Boston College 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 N/A 6
Boston University NR 20 20 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 15 15 13 11 8 10 9 11 10 N/A 11
Connecticut NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 20 NR NR NR NR NR NR N/A NR
Maine NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR N/A NR
Massachusetts 7 7 7 8 10 10 10 9 8 6 9 10 10 9 10 9 6 7 6 6 N/A 1
Massachusetts–Lowell 11 12 11 10 8 15 17 15 15 15 16 20 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 19 N/A 19
Merrimack NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR N/A NR
New Hampshire NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR N/A NR
Northeastern 19 18 16 15 17 12 12 13 14 14 13 14 14 18 16 17 18 20 NR NR N/A NR
Providence 17 15 13 12 19 19 15 15 16 16 18 17 16 16 15 14 15 17 14 16 N/A 16
Vermont NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR N/A NR

[10]

USA Today[edit]

Team Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Final
Boston College 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 3 7 6
Boston University NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 15 15 13 12 8 11 10 11 11 12 12
Connecticut NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 15 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
Maine NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
Massachusetts 7 7 8 9 12 13 10 9 8 6 8 10 9 9 9 9 6 8 7 5 2 1
Massachusetts–Lowell 11 12 12 10 9 15 NR NR 13 15 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
Merrimack NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
New Hampshire NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
Northeastern NR NR NR 15 14 10 11 10 15 13 13 12 14 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
Providence NR 15 13 12 NR NR 13 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 14 NR NR NR
Vermont NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

[11]

Awards[edit]

NCAA[edit]

AHCA All-American Teams[12]
East First Team Pos Team
Spencer Knight G Boston College
David Farrance D Boston University
Matthew Boldy F Boston College
Bobby Trivigno F Massachusetts
East Second Team Pos Team
Drew Helleson D Boston College
Zac Jones D Massachusetts
Jonny Evans F Connecticut

Hockey East[edit]

Award Recipient[13]
Player of the Year Spencer Knight, Boston College
Best Defensive Forward Marc McLaughlin, Boston College
Best Defensive Defenseman Drew Helleson, Boston College
Rookie of the Year Josh Lopina, Massachusetts
Nikita Nesterenko, Boston College
Goaltending Champion Spencer Knight, Boston College
Len Ceglarski Sportmanship Award Patrick Grasso, New Hampshire
Three Stars Award Jonny Evans, Connecticut
Aidan McDonough, Northeastern
Marc McLaughlin, Boston College
Scoring Champion Jonny Evans, Connecticut
Charlie Holt Team Sportsmanship Award Massachusetts
Bob Kullen Award (Coach of the Year) Jerry York, Boston College
Hockey East All-Star Teams[14][15]
First Team   Position   Second Team
Spencer Knight, Boston College G Filip Lindberg, Massachusetts
David Farrance, Boston University D Jordan Harris, Northeastern
Drew Helleson, Boston College D Zac Jones, Massachusetts
Matthew Boldy, Boston College F Jackson Pierson, New Hampshire
Jonny Evans, Connecticut F Zach Solow, Northeastern
Bobby Trivigno, Massachusetts F Tyce Thompson, Providence
Third Team   Position   Rookie Team
Tomáš Vomáčka, Connecticut G Drew Commesso, Boston University
Marc Del Gaizo, Massachusetts D Eamon Powell, Boston College
Matthew Kessel, Massachusetts D —
Angus Crookshank, New Hampshire F Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, Northeastern
Jáchym Kondelík, Connecticut F Alex Jefferies, Merrimack
Marc McLaughlin, Boston College F Josh Lopina, Massachusetts
— F Nikita Nesterenko, Boston College
— F Luke Tuch, Boston University

Conference tournament[edit]

William Flynn Tournament Most Valuable Player
Bobby Trivigno Massachusetts
All-Tournament team
Player Pos Team
Filip Lindberg G Massachusetts
Anthony Baxter D UMass Lowell
Zac Jones D Massachusetts
Matt Brown F UMass Lowell
Jake Gaudet F Massachusetts
Bobby Trivigno F Massachusetts

NCAA tournament[edit]

Most Outstanding Player
Bobby Trivigno Massachusetts
All-Tournament team
Player Pos Team
Filip Lindberg G Massachusetts
Zac Jones D Massachusetts
Matthew Kessel D Massachusetts
Bobby Trivigno F Massachusetts

2021 NHL Entry Draft[edit]

Main article: 2021 NHL Entry Draft
Round Pick Player College NHL team
1 10 Tyler Boucher† Boston University Ottawa Senators
2 40 Scott Morrow† Massachusetts Carolina Hurricanes
3 88 Stiven Sardarian† New Hampshire Buffalo Sabres
3 91 Taige Harding† Providence Chicago Blackhawks
3 92 Andrei Buyalsky† Vermont Colorado Avalanche
3 94 Aidan Hreschuk† Boston College Carolina Hurricanes
4 98 Josh Lopina Massachusetts Anaheim Ducks
4 101 Guillaume Richard† Providence Washington Capitals
4 115 Ryan Ufko† Massachusetts Nashville Predators
6 171 Cal Thomas† Vermont Arizona Coyotes
6 186 Shane Lachance† Boston University Edmonton Oilers
6 192 Alex Gagne† New Hampshire Tampa Bay Lightning
7 205 Arsenii Sergeev† Connecticut Calgary Flames
7 213 Andre Gasseau† Boston College Boston Bruins
7 217 Ty Gallagher† Boston University Boston Bruins
7 220 Taylor Makar† Massachusetts Colorado Avalanche

† incoming freshman [16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "2020-21 Hockey East Men's Composite Schedule". Hockey East. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "Hockey East Unveils 2021 Tournament and Seeding Format" (PDF). Hockey East. February 10, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "2021 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey championship selections announced". NCAA.com. March 21, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  4. ^ "Fanti Out for UMD Due to COVID Protocols". College Hockey News. April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "St. Cloud State vs UMass Ice Hockey Game Highlights, 2021 NCAA national championship". YouTube.com. NCAA. April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  6. ^ "Hockey East Unveils 2021 Tournament and Seeding Format - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  7. ^ "2021 Hockey East Women's Tournament Field Set". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  8. ^ "2020-21 Hockey East Conference-Only Category Leaders". Hockey East. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  9. ^ "2021 Hockey East Men's Tournament Field Set - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  10. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  11. ^ "USA Today Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "Spencer Knight Named Hockey East Player of the Year - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  14. ^ "Hockey East Names 2020-21 Men's All-Star Teams - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  15. ^ "Hockey East Names Men's Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  16. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2021 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.

External links[edit]

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