2020–21 Hockey East men's season

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.

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 »

Season

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
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 College21164132058.6182462417619158
#11 Boston University14103131156.3649371610515245
#1 Massachusetts *22135411155.44764229205410348
Connecticut221010214252.01696323101127069
#16 Providence23108500250.8063612511957167
Northeastern2098310349.946860219936964
#19 Massachusetts–Lowell1678111048.0046532010915963
Maine15310201246.6641611631124368
Merrimack18511201045.3847661851124766
New Hampshire21513332243.6651832361436088
Vermont1219200038.0217371311022042
Championship: March 20, 2021[6]
No Regular Season Champion Awarded[7]
* indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Coaches

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

Records
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

Leading scorers

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

Player Class Team GP G A Pts
Jonny EvansJuniorConnecticut22141428
Matthew BoldySophomoreBoston College19101424
Zach SolowSeniorNortheastern20111324
Bobby TrivignoJuniorMassachusetts2281624
Marc McLaughlinJuniorBoston College2191423
Jackson PiersonJuniorNew Hampshire2181523
Tyce ThompsonJuniorProvidence23101222
Jáchym KondelíkJuniorConnecticut2231821
Aidan McDonoughSophomoreNortheastern20101020
Oliver ChauSeniorMassachusetts2241620

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
Filip LindbergJuniorMassachusetts9558414152.9371.61
Spencer KnightSophomoreBoston College1810871521363.9371.99
Matt MurraySeniorMassachusetts13776940263.9132.01
Jaxson StauberSophomoreProvidence2112741065474.9152.21
Connor MurphySophomoreNortheastern201195983532.9122.66

Conference tournament
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 UMass Lowell 5 9 New Hampshire 2
10 Vermont 3 1 Boston College 5
7 UMass Lowell 6**
2 Boston University 1
7 UMass Lowell 2
7 UMass 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 UConn 1
5 Providence 6

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

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

Regional semifinal

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
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

Regional semifinals
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
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

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

USCHO
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 22222222231111112112N/A6
Boston University NR2020NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR1515131181091110N/A11
Connecticut NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR20NRNRNRNRNRNRN/ANR
Maine NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRN/ANR
Massachusetts 77781010109869101091096766N/A1
Massachusetts–Lowell 11121110815171515151620NRNRNRNRNRNRNR19N/A19
Merrimack NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRN/ANR
New Hampshire NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRN/ANR
Northeastern 191816151712121314141314141816171820NRNRN/ANR
Providence 1715131219191515161618171616151415171416N/A16
Vermont NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRN/ANR

[10]

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
Boston College 2222222223111222211376
Boston University NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR151513128111011111212
Connecticut NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR15NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
Maine NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
Massachusetts 77891213109868109999687521
Massachusetts–Lowell 11121210915NRNR1315NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
Merrimack NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
New Hampshire NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
Northeastern NRNRNR15141011101513131214NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
Providence NR151312NRNR13NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR14NRNRNR
Vermont NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR

[11]

Awards
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