The 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began on November 14, 2020, and concluded with the Frozen Four on April 10, 2021. Due to the cancellation of the previous year's tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic, this was the 73rd season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held, and was US college hockey's 127th year overall.
Due to concerns related to the pandemic, the start of the season was delayed until what would have normally been the eighth week of play. Despite having to contend with contend with cancellations and delays due to the pandemic, the season was completed. Massachusetts won their first national championship, ending the four-year run of NCHC teams.
Polls
Regular season Due to difficulties in scheduling, Arizona State entered into a scheduling alliance with the Big Ten while LIU did the same with Atlantic Hockey. Both teams remained independent programs and will not be considered for conference championships.
Standings
PairWise Rankings The PairWise Rankings (PWR) are a statistical tool designed to approximate the process by which the NCAA selection committee decides which teams get at-large bids to the 16-team NCAA tournament. Although the NCAA selection committee does not use the PWR as presented by USCHO, the PWR has been accurate in predicting which teams will make the tournament field.
For Division I men, all teams are included in comparisons starting in the 2013–14 season (formerly, only teams with a Ratings Percentage Index of .500 or above, or teams under consideration, were included). The PWR method compares each team with every other such team, with the winner of each “comparison” earning one PWR point. After all comparisons are made, the points are totaled up and rankings listed accordingly.
With 61 Division I men's teams, the greatest number of PWR points any team could earn is 60, winning the comparison with every other team. Meanwhile, a team that lost all of its comparisons would have no PWR points.
Teams are then ranked by PWR point total, with ties broken by the teams’ RPI ratings, which starting in 2013-14 is weighted for home and road games and includes a quality wins bonus (QWB) for beating teams in the top 20 of the RPI (it also is weighted for home and road).
When it comes to comparing teams, the PWR uses three criteria which are combined to make a comparison: RPI, record against common opponents and head-to-head competition. Starting in 2013–14, the comparison of record against teams under consideration was dropped because all teams are now under comparison.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most teams played a very small selection of intraconference games, if any at all. As a result, the PairWise rankings would not be used as the primary measuring tool for determining which teams would receive at-large bids for the NCAA tournament. The ranking would only be used to differentiate between teams within their own conferences. The PWR will likely be used as the primary ranking system once a full NCAA season is played.
+ NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Final PairWise Rankings Rank Team PWR RPI Conference 1 60 .6037* WCHA 2 59 .5769 NCHC 3 57 .5765* Atlantic Hockey 3 57 .5751 Big Ten 5 56 .5672 Hockey East 6 55 .5613* Hockey East 7 54 .5593 WCHA 8 53 .5510 Big Ten 9 52 .5476 WCHA 10 51 .5463 WCHA 11 50 .5430 Atlantic Hockey 12 49 .5426 Atlantic Hockey 12 49 .5413 ECAC Hockey 14 47 .5391 Hockey East 15 46 .5375 NCHC 16 45 .5364 ECAC Hockey 17 44 .5311 Big Ten 18 43 .5303 WCHA 19 42 .5233 NCHC 20 41 .5137 Atlantic Hockey 21 40 .5136 Hockey East 22 39 .5123 Hockey East 23 38 .5100 NCHC 24 37 .5096 Hockey East 25 36 .5092 Big Ten 26 35 .5086 NCHC 27 34 .5026 Atlantic Hockey 28 33 .4976 ECAC Hockey 29 32 .4934 Hockey East 30 30 .4920 Independent 30 30 .4914 WCHA 32 29 .4825 NCHC 33 28 .4814 Atlantic Hockey 34 27 .4784 Atlantic Hockey 35 26 .4782 Atlantic Hockey 35 26 .4725 Big Ten 37 24 .4701 ECAC Hockey 38 22 .4669 Hockey East 38 22 .4669 Atlantic Hockey 40 21 .4513 Hockey East 41 20 .4559 Hockey East 42 19 .4495 Big Ten 43 18 .4435 NCHC 44 17 .4396 Big Ten 45 16 .4375 NCHC 46 15 .4331 Independent 47 14 .4260 Atlantic Hockey 48 13 .4198 Atlantic Hockey 49 12 .4139 WCHA 50 11 .4014 Hockey East 51 10 .4007 WCHA 52 0 .0000 WCHA 52 0 .0000 WCHA 52 0 .0000 ECAC Hockey 52 0 .0000 ECAC Hockey 52 0 .0000 ECAC Hockey 52 0 .0000 ECAC Hockey 52 0 .0000 ECAC Hockey 52 0 .0000 ECAC Hockey 52 0 .0000 ECAC Hockey 52 0 .0000 ECAC Hockey *A team's RPI has been adjusted to remove negative effect from defeating a weak opponent Note: A team's record is based only on games against other Division I hockey schools which are eligible for the NCAA tournament Final PairWise Rankings
Player stats
Scoring leaders
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Class Team GP G A Pts PIM Sophomore Wisconsin 31 30 22 52 4 Senior Quinnipiac 29 8 39 47 22 Senior Wisconsin 31 12 29 41 2 Senior North Dakota 28 10 26 36 24 Sophomore Wisconsin 23 11 24 35 19 Senior North Dakota 29 14 20 34 10 Junior Massachusetts 29 11 23 34 12 Senior Bowling Green 31 11 23 34 26 Senior Northern Michigan 29 12 21 33 0 Sophomore North Dakota 28 15 17 32 4 Junior Notre Dame 29 15 17 32 8
Leading goaltenders The following goaltenders lead the NCAA in goals against average, minimum 1/3 of team's minutes played.
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 Junior Massachusetts 15 918:43 10 1 4 19 5 .949 1.24 Junior Minnesota State 26 1522:07 21 4 0 39 10 .924 1.54 Junior North Dakota 26 1590:38 20 4 1 46 4 .931 1.74 Senior Minnesota 29 1705:52 22 7 0 51 5 .934 1.79 Sophomore Michigan Tech 24 1393:58 14 9 0 42 3 .934 1.81 Junior Michigan 21 1205:00 11 9 1 38 5 .930 1.89 Senior Quinnipiac 29 1715:45 17 8 4 54 5 .926 1.89 Senior Army 20 1253:29 14 4 1 40 2 .922 1.91 Senior Lake Superior State 25 1380:55 14 6 3 45 2 .930 1.96 Senior Massachusetts 14 850:57 10 4 0 28 3 .917 1.97
Tournament bracket
* denotes overtime period† Michigan and Notre Dame were removed from the tournament due to positive COVID-19 test results.
Awards
NCAA Award RecipientHobey Baker Award Cole Caufield, WisconsinSpencer Penrose Award Mike Hastings, Minnesota StateTim Taylor Award Thomas Bordeleau, MichiganMike Richter Award Jack LaFontaine, MinnesotaDerek Hines Unsung Hero Award Josh Kosack, UnionLowes' Senior CLASS Award Jordan Kawaguchi, North DakotaTournament Most Outstanding Player Bobby Trivigno, MassachusettsAHCA All-American Teams East First Team Position West First TeamSpencer Knight, Boston College GJack LaFontaine, MinnesotaDavid Farrance, Boston University DRonnie Attard, Western MichiganBrennan Kapcheck, American International DCameron York, MichiganMatthew Boldy, Boston College FCole Caufield, WisconsinBobby Trivigno, Massachusetts FShane Pinto, North DakotaOdeen Tufto, Quinnipiac FSampo Ranta, Minnesota East Second Team Position West Second TeamTrevin Kozlowski, Army GDryden McKay, Minnesota StateDrew Helleson, Boston College DMatt Kiersted, North DakotaZac Jones, Massachusetts DJackson LaCombe, MinnesotaColin Bilek, Army FDylan Holloway, WisconsinWill Calverley, RIT FJordan Kawaguchi, North DakotaJonny Evans, Connecticut FLinus Weissbach, Wisconsin
Big Ten Award RecipientPlayer of the Year Cole Caufield, WisconsinDefensive Player of the Year Cameron York, Michigan Goaltender of the Year Jack LaFontaine, MinnesotaFreshman of the Year Thomas Bordeleau, MichiganScoring Champion Cole Caufield, WisconsinCoach of the Year Tony Granato, WisconsinTournament Most Outstanding Player Jack LaFontaine, MinnesotaAll-Big Ten Teams First Team Position Second TeamJack LaFontaine, Minnesota GStrauss Mann, MichiganCameron York, Michigan DOwen Power, MichiganJackson LaCombe, Minnesota DSpencer Stastney, Notre DameSampo Ranta, Minnesota FThomas Bordeleau, MichiganCole Caufield, Wisconsin FAlex Steeves, Notre DameDylan Holloway, Wisconsin FLinus Weissbach, Wisconsin Freshman Team Position Cameron Rowe, Wisconsin GOwen Power, Michigan DBrock Faber, Minnesota DMatty Beniers, Michigan FThomas Bordeleau, Michigan FKent Johnson, Michigan F
Atlantic Hockey
East Award RecipientPlayer of the Year Brennan Kapcheck, American InternationalRookie of the Year Lincoln Hatten, ArmyBest Defensive Forward Chris Dodero, American InternationalBest Defenseman Brennan Kapcheck, American InternationalIndividual Sportsmanship Award Justin Cole, American InternationalRegular Season Scoring Trophy Jakov Novak, BentleyRegular Season Goaltending Award Trevin Kozlowski, ArmyCoach of the Year Brian Riley, ArmyTournament MVP Justin Cole, American InternationalAll-Atlantic Hockey Teams First Team Position Second TeamTrevin Kozlowski, Army GStefano Durante, American InternationalBrennan Kapcheck, American International DJohn Zimmerman, ArmyThomas Farrell, Army DMatt Slick, Holy CrossColin Bilek, Army FElijah Barriga, American InternationalTobias Fladeby, American International FChris Dodero, American InternationalMarc Johnstone, Sacred Heart FBraeden Tuck, Sacred Heart Rookie Team Position Nick Grabko, Bentley G Nico Somerville, American International DDrew Bavaro, Bentley DLincoln Hatten, Army FAaron Grounds, American International FEric Otto, American International F
West Award RecipientPlayer of the Year Will Calverley, RIT Nick Prkusic, Robert MorrisRookie of the Year Randy Hernández, Robert MorrisBest Defensive Forward Will Calverley, RITBest Defenseman Nick Jenny, Robert MorrisIndividual Sportsmanship Award Nick Jenny, Robert MorrisRegular Season Scoring Trophy Will Calverley, RITRegular Season Goaltending Award Jacob Barczewski, CansiusCoach of the Year Derek Schooley, Robert MorrisTournament MVP Justin Cole, American InternationalAll-Atlantic Hockey Teams First Team Position Second TeamJacob Barczewski, Cansius GNoah West, Robert Morris— GZach LaRocque, Air ForceNick Jenny, Robert Morris DJoseph Maziarz, MercyhurstDan Willett, RIT DBrendan Michaelian, Robert MorrisWill Calverley, RIT FRandy Hernández, Robert MorrisNick Prkusic, Robert Morris FJon Bendorf, MercyhurstKeaton Mastrodonato, Cansius FCarson Brière, Mercyhurst Rookie Team Position Noah West, Robert Morris G Brian Kramer, Robert Morris DJosef Mysak, Niagara DRandy Hernández, Robert Morris FCarson Brière, Mercyhurst FAustin Heidemann, Mercyhurst F
ECAC Award RecipientPlayer of the Year Odeen Tufto, QuinnipiacBest Defensive Forward Zach Tsekos, ClarksonBest Defensive Defenseman Pierson Brandon, ColgateRookie of the Year Ethan Haider, ClarksonKen Dryden Award Keith Petruzelli, QuinnipiacStudent-Athlete of the Year Kyle Betts, CornellTim Taylor Award Rand Pecknold, QuinnipiacMost Outstanding Player in Tournament David Jankowski, St. LawrenceAll-ECAC Hockey Teams First Team Position Rookie Team Keith Petruzelli, Quinnipiac G Ethan Haider, Clarkson Zach Metsa, Quinnipiac D Pierson Brandon, Colgate Connor McCarthy, Clarkson D Luc Salem, St. Lawrence Odeen Tufto, Quinnipiac F Ty Smilanic, Quinnipiac Zach Tsekos, Clarkson F Alex Young, Colgate Cameron Buhl, St. Lawrence F Greg Lapointe, St. Lawrence Josh McKechney, Colgate F
Hockey East