2020–21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey 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 Notre Dame'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]

Notre Dame had an up and down season, routinely following up stellar performances with disappointing efforts. The team hovered around the bottom of the top-20 for most of the season and were never more than 2 games away from a .500 record. After alternating multi-game winning streaks through January and February, Notre Dame was ranked #19 and there was belief that the Irish could make the NCAA Tournament despite being just 14–12–2.[3] A solid performance in their conference tournament would definitely improve the team's chances, and with the Fighting Irish hosting the entire tournament their odds were even better.[4] Unfortunately, the team laid an egg in the opening game against Penn State and lost 3–6.

Notre Dame could only watch and hope but when St. Lawrence won the ECAC Tournament it appeared that the door had shut on Notre Dame's season. In less than 24 hours everything changed; St. Lawrence's head coach tested positive for COVID-19 the following day and the team was forced to withdraw from the national tournament.[5] The ECAC automatic bid was given to Quinnipiac (who were likely to make the tournament anyway), opening up one more spot in the bracket. The final open spot came down essentially to how schools performed against the best teams in their conference; Notre Dame splitting their season series against Michigan and Minnesota gave them the edge and the Fighting Irish received the final at-large bid.[6]

While the team's selection was not without controversy, the Fighting Irish lost the ability to prove they were the right choice when members of the team tested positive for COVID-19.[7] Because their withdrawal happened two days before the game had been scheduled, there was no opportunity for another team to be installed as a replacement and the match was declared a 'no contest'.

Brady Bjork, Ryan Carmichael and Christian DiCesare sat out the season.

As of January 3, 2021.[8]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Dylan St. Cyr	Senior	G	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1999-05-23	Northville, Michigan	USNTDP (USHL)	—
2		Nate Clurman (C)	Junior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1998-05-08	Boulder, Colorado	Langley (BCHL)	COL, 161st overall 2016
3		Ryan Carmichael	Sophomore	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	191 lb (87 kg)	1999-03-03	Greenwich, Connecticut	Lincoln Stars (USHL)	—
4		Nick Leivermann	Junior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1998-09-14	Eden Prairie, Minnesota	Penticton (BCHL)	COL, 187th overall 2017
5		Matt Hellickson (A)	Senior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	1998-03-21	Rogers, Minnesota	Sioux City (USHL)	NJD, 214th overall 2017
6		Jake Boltmann	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	2001-10-19	Edina, Minnesota	Lincoln (USHL)	CGY, 80th overall 2020
8		Matt Steeves	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	1997-10-04	Eden Prairie, Minnesota	Muskegon (USHL)	—
9		Grant Silianoff	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	167 lb (76 kg)	2001-01-04	Edina, Minnesota	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
10		Cam Burke	Junior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-01-08	Boxborough, Massachusetts	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
12		Ryder Rolston	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2001-10-31	Birmingham, Michigan	Waterloo (USHL)	COL, 139th overall 2020
13		Colin Theisen (A)	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	1997-04-24	Monroe, Michigan	Dubuque (USHL)	—
14		Jesse Lansdell	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	1998-08-05	Surrey, British Columbia	Vernon (BCHL)	—
15		Michael Graham	Junior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1997-11-27	Eden Prairie, Minnesota	Muskegon (USHL)	—
16		Alex Steeves	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	1999-12-10	Eden Prairie, Minnesota	Dubuque (USHL)	—
17		Pierce Crawford (A)	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1997-06-23	Park Ridge, Illinois	Youngstown (USHL)	—
18		Graham Slaggert	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-04-06	South Bend, Indiana	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
19		Landon Slaggert	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-06-25	South Bend, Indiana	USNTDP (USHL)	CHI, 79th overall 2020
20		Jake Pivonka	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	2000-02-28	Naperville, Illinois	USNTDP (USHL)	NYI, 103rd overall 2018
21		Max Ellis	Sophomore	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2000-01-18	Plymouth, Michigan	Muskegon (USHL)	—
22		Jack MacNab	Sophomore	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	1998-07-03	Indianapolis, Indiana	Central Illinois (USHL)	—
23		Brady Bjork	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	173 lb (78 kg)	1999-05-17	Mequon, Wisconsin	St. Cloud (NAHL)	—
24		Spencer Stastney	Junior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	2000-01-04	Mequon, Wisconsin	USNTDP (USHL)	NSH, 131st overall 2018
25		Solag Bakich	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	189 lb (86 kg)	1998-01-08	Dallas, Texas	Waterloo (USHL)	—
26		Zach Plucinski	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	206 lb (93 kg)	2000-07-26	Eagle River, Alaska	Omaha (USHL)	—
27		Trevor Janicke	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2000-12-25	Maple Grove, Minnesota	Central Illinois (USHL)	ANA, 132nd overall 2019
28		Christian DiCesare	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1998-03-28	Morristown, New Jersey	Omaha (USHL)	—
29		Charlie Raith	Junior	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1997-04-30	Winnetka, Illinois	Central Illinois (USHL)	—
30		Ryan Bischel	Sophomore	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1999-07-05	Medina, Minnesota	Fargo (USHL)	—
33		Nick Sanford	Senior	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	189 lb (86 kg)	1996-12-15	Morristown, New Jersey	Boston Jr. Bruins (USPHL)	—

[10]

[11]

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.[12]