The 2020–21 Atlantic Hockey season was the 18th season of play for Atlantic Hockey and took place during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The start of the regular season was delayed until November 19, 2020 and concluded on February 27, 2021.[1]
| 2020–21 Atlantic Hockey season | |
|---|---|
| Season | 2020–21 |
| Conference | Atlantic Hockey |
| Division | Division I |
| Sport | ice hockey |
| Duration | November 19, 2020– March 26, 2021 |
| Number of teams | 11 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | American International |
| Season MVP | Brennan Kapcheck Will Calverley Nick Prkusic |
| Top scorer | Will Calverley |
| Atlantic Hockey Tournament | |
| Tournament champions | American International |
| Runners-up | Canisius |
| Tournament MVP | Justin Cole |
| Top scorer | Mason Krueger |
| NCAA tournament | |
| Bids | 1 |
| Record | 0–1 |
| Best Finish | Regional semifinal |
| Team(s) | American International |
| Atlantic Hockey seasons « 2019–20 2021–22 » | |
Season
editCOVID-19
editThe entire Atlantic Hockey season was held under the cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic. The season's start was delayed for more than a month while university and health officials could decide on a safe way to play games. In the end, the conference was divided into two regions, East and West, with the two groups of teams only playing one another. This was done to reduce the amount of travel and exposure that the players and staff members would experience throughout the season.[2] As a result of this arrangement, the conference standings would not be altered, however, tournament seeding would continue with east and west teams until the semifinal round.
Non-Conference
editUnlike other seasons, the 20-21 season would see only a small number of non-conference games being played. This, like many other alterations, was due to COVID-19. This would cause the Pairwise Rankings, which were normally used to determine the at-large bids for the NCAA tournament, to be rendered useless. However, due to the perception of Atlantic Hockey as the weakest of the six Division I conferences, only the eventual tournament champion would go on to make the national tournament.[3]
Standings
edit| Conference record | Overall record | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | OW | OL | SW | PTS | PT% | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| #15 American International †* | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | .889 | 47 | 18 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 67 | 40 | |
| Army | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 30 | .667 | 42 | 33 | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 71 | 48 | |
| Robert Morris | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 29 | .644 | 58 | 48 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 85 | 69 | |
| Canisius | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | .615 | 42 | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 59 | 46 | |
| RIT | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | .590 | 43 | 40 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 68 | 70 | |
| Sacred Heart | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 20 | .513 | 35 | 38 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 43 | 59 | |
| Mercyhurst | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 23 | .479 | 54 | 50 | 21 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 64 | 67 | |
| Bentley | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16 | .356 | 35 | 48 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 42 | 51 | |
| Niagara | 15 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15 | .333 | 39 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 57 | 70 | |
| Air Force | 13 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | .231 | 32 | 49 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 35 | 56 | |
| Holy Cross | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .194 | 22 | 38 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 30 | 52 | |
| Championship: March 20, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll | ||||||||||||||||||
Coaches
editRecords
edit| Team | Head coach | Season at school | Record at school | Atlantic Hockey record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | Frank Serratore | 24 | 407–368–92 | 208–120–63 |
| American International | Eric Lang | 5 | 67–69–14 | 57–42–13 |
| Army | Brian Riley | 17 | 189–294–81 | 157–208–75 |
| Bentley | Ryan Soderquist | 19 | 247–325–81 | 187–195–72 |
| Canisius | Trevor Large | 4 | 41–56–13 | 34–39–10 |
| Holy Cross | Bill Riga | 6 | 80–104–34 | 70–68–30 |
| Mercyhurst | Rick Gotkin | 33 | 564–447–95 | 227–178–55 |
| Niagara | Jason Lammers | 4 | 40–59–12 | 33–39–12 |
| RIT Tigers | Wayne Wilson | 22 | 382–265–71 | 209–131–48 |
| Robert Morris | Derek Schooley | 16 | 191–153–42 | 125–99–39 |
| Sacred Heart | C. J. Marottolo | 12 | 136–227–43 | 109–158–37 |
Statistics
editLeading scorers
editGP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes[4]
| Player | Position | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Prkusic | Senior | Robert Morris | 26 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 14 |
| Randy Hernández | Freshman | Robert Morris | 26 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 2 |
| Grant Herbert | Junior | Robert Morris | 26 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 18 |
| Will Calverley | Junior | RIT | 17 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 4 |
| Keaton Mastrodonato | Sophomore | Canisius | 20 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 6 |
| Carson Brière | Freshman | Mercyhurst | 22 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 10 |
| Jake Hamacher | Senior | RIT | 19 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 4 |
| Elijah Gonsalves | Sophomore | RIT | 19 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 22 |
| Nick Jenny | Senior | Robert Morris | 26 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 4 |
| Brennan Kapcheck | Senior | American International | 15 | 0 | 17 | 17 | 8 |
| Dan Willett | Senior | RIT | 19 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 8 |
Leading goaltenders
editMinimum 1/3 of team's minutes played in conference games.
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average[5]
| Player | Class | Team | GP | Min | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevin Kozlowski | Senior | Army | 14 | 773 | 25 | 0 | .922 | 1.94 |
| Stefano Durante | Senior | American International | 9 | 491 | 17 | 0 | .906 | 2.07 |
| Chad Veltri | Sophomore | Niagara | 16 | 976 | 38 | 0 | .924 | 2.33 |
| Zack LaRocque | Senior | Air Force | 10 | 377 | 15 | 0 | .910 | 2.39 |
| Jacob Barczewski | Senior | Canisius | 16 | 718 | 29 | 0 | .923 | 2.42 |
Conference tournament
editTeams are reseeded for the semifinals
| First round March 8–9 | Quarterfinals March 12–14 | Semifinals March 19 | Championship March 20 | ||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | American International | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Bentley | 7 | E4 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| E5 | Air Force | 3 | East Division | E1 | American International | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| W5 | Niagara | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Army | 4 | 4*** | — | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Sacred Heart | 0 | 3 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | American International | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Canisius | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Robert Morris | 3* | 2 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Mercyhurst | 2 | W5 | Niagara | 2 | 3** | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| W5 | Niagara | 3 | West Division | E2 | Army | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| W2 | Canisius | 4* | |||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Canisius | 5 | 6 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | RIT | 2 | 2 | — | |||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
NCAA tournament
editMidwest Regional semifinal
edit| March 26, 2021 7:30 PM | (1) North Dakota | 5 – 1 (4–0, 0–0, 1–1) | (4) American International | Scheels Arena, Fargo, North Dakota Attendance: 1,435 |
| Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Scheel | Goalies | Stefano Durante (20 min) Jake Kucharski (40 min) | Referees: Bobby Lukkason Brady Johnson Linesmen: Tyler Landman Nathan Voll | |||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 min | Penalties | 12 min | ||||||||||||||||||
| 33 | Shots | 25 | ||||||||||||||||||
Ranking
editUSCHO
edit| Team | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR |
| American International | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 19 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | N/A | 15 |
| Army | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 19 | NR | N/A | NR |
| Bentley | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR |
| Canisius | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR |
| Holy Cross | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR |
| Mercyhurst | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR |
| Niagara | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR |
| RIT | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR |
| Robert Morris | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 20 | NR | NR | 20 | 17 | 17 | NR | 19 | 19 | 19 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR |
| Sacred Heart | NR | NR | NR | NR | 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
edit| Team | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| American International | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
| Army | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Bentley | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Canisius | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Holy Cross | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Mercyhurst | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Niagara | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| RIT | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Robert Morris | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Sacred Heart | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Awards
editNCAA
edit| AHCA All-American Teams[8] | ||
|---|---|---|
| East First Team | Position | Team |
| Brennan Kapcheck | D | American International |
| East Second Team | Team | Position |
| Trevin Kozlowski | G | Army |
| Colin Bilek | F | Army |
| Will Calverley | F | RIT |
Conference
editConference tournament
edit| Tournament MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| Justin Cole | American International | |
| All-Tournament team | ||
| Player | Pos | Team |
| Stefano Durante | G | American International |
| Logan Gestro | D | Canisius |
| Brennan Kapcheck | D | American International |
| Elijiah Barriga | F | American International |
| Justin Cole | F | American International |
| J. D. Pogue | F | Canisius |
References
edit- ^ "Composite Schedule". Atlantic Hockey. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ "Atlantic Hockey Announces Return to Play in Pods". Neutralzone.com. October 16, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
- ^ "2021 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey championship selections announced". NCAA.com. March 21, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "2020-2021 Men's Ice Hockey Conference Statistics". Atlantic Hockey. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
- ^ "2020-2021 Men's Ice Hockey Conference Statistics". Atlantic Hockey. Retrieved September 14, 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.
- ^ a b "Atlantic Hockey Names 2020-21 Regular season Award Winners". Atlantic Hockey. March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ a b "Atlantic Hockey Announces All-Conference and All-Rookie Winners". Atlantic Hockey. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.