2021 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament

2021 WCHA Men's ice hockey tournament
2021 WCHA Men's ice hockey tournament
Dates	March 12–20, 2020
Teams	8
Finals site	Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center; Mankato, Minnesota
Champions	Lake Superior State (1st title)
Winning coach	Damon Whitten (1st title)
Most Outstanding Player	Ashton Calder (Lake Superior State)
	WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments ← 2020

The 2021 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 62nd and final tournament in the history of the men's Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The tournament was held between March 12 and March 20, 2021. Quarterfinal games were played on home campus sites while semifinal- and championship-round games were held at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, the home venue for Minnesota State. By winning the tournament, Lake Superior State received the WCHA's automatic bid for the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

After the 2020–21 season, the men's WCHA disbanded after seven of its members left to reestablish the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Two other members dropped men's hockey after the season. The WCHA remains in operation as a women-only league.^[1]

Format

The first round of the postseason tournament featured a best-of-three games format, while the semifinals and final were single games held at the campus site of the highest remaining seed. The top eight conference teams participated in the tournament. Teams were seeded No. 1 through No. 8 according to their final conference standings, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The higher seeded teams each earned home ice and hosted one of the lower seeded teams.^[2]

Conference standings

2020–21 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Standings v t e
	Conference record										Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	OTW	OTL	3/SW	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#4 Minnesota State †	14	13	1	0	1	1	0	39	56	15	27	22	5	1	100	46
#14 Lake Superior State *	14	9	5	0	2	2	0	27	39	34	29	19	7	3	86	63
#18 Bowling Green	14	8	5	1	0	2	0	27	46	34	31	20	10	1	108	67
#10 Bemidji State	14	8	5	1	3	2	0	24	42	34	29	16	10	3	82	70
Michigan Tech	14	7	7	0	1	0	0	20	38	35	30	17	12	1	78	63
Northern Michigan	14	6	7	1	2	2	1	20	40	47	29	11	17	1	79	103
Alabama–Huntsville	14	3	11	0	1	0	0	8	18	49	22	3	18	1	31	80
Ferris State	14	0	13	1	0	1	1	3	28	59	25	1	23	1	55	103
Alaska	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-
Alaska Anchorage	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-
Championship: March 20, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Bracket

Quarterfinals March 12–14					Semifinals March 19			Championship March 20

1	Minnesota State	3	3	—

8	Ferris State	0	1	—
					1	Minnesota State	1

					6	Northern Michigan	5
2	Lake Superior State	6	4	—

7	Alabama-Huntsville	1	1	—
								6	Northern Michigan	3
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
								2	Lake Superior State	6
3	Bowling Green	3	5	1

6	Northern Michigan	4	0	5
					2	Lake Superior State	4

					4	Bemidji State	1
4	Bemidji State	3	4	—

5	Michigan Tech	1	1	—

Note: * denotes overtime periods

Results

Quarterfinals

(1) Minnesota State vs. (8) Ferris State

March 12, 2021
6:07 PM

Minnesota State

3 – 0
(0–0, 0–0, 3–0)

Ferris State

Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, Mankato, Minnesota
Attendance: 250

Game reference

Dryden McKay

Goalies

Logan Stein

Referees:
Bruce Vida
Ryan Gordon
Linesmen:
Matt Tyree
Kyle Domin

(Smith, Borchardt) Julian Napravnik (10) – GW – 48:49	1–0
(Zmolek, Livingstone) Jared Spooner (3) – 49:42	2–0
(McMahan) Walker Duehr (8) – 55:28	3–0

2 min

Penalties

4 min

27

Shots

15

March 13, 2021
4:07 pm

Minnesota State

3 – 1
(0–0, 1–0, 2–1)

Ferris State

Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, Mankato, Minnesota
Attendance: 250

Game reference

Dryden McKay

Goalies

Logan Stein

Referees:
Bruce Vida
Ryan Gordon
Linesmen:
Matt Tyree
Kyle Domin

(Spooner, McMahan) Walker Duehr (9) – 29:03	1–0
(Gerads) Sam Morton (4) – GW – 42:19	2–0
(Gerads) Jake Livingstone (4) – EN – 59:15	3–0
	3–1	53:00 – PP – Marshall Moise (4) (Norris, Pokorny)

2 min

Penalties

4 min

31

Shots

24

Minnesota State Won Series 2–0

(2) Lake Superior State vs. (7) Alabama–Huntsville

March 12, 2021
7:07 PM

Lake Superior State

6 – 1
(2–0, 4–1, 0–0)

Alabama–Huntsville

Taffy Abel Arena, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Attendance: 0

Game reference

Mareks Mitens (40:00)
Ethan Langenegger (20:00)

Goalies

David Fessenden (36:20)
Derek Krall (23:40)

Referees:
Scott Roth
Shane Paskey
Linesmen:
Eric Froberg
Jamie Grace

(Calder, Boudon) Pete Veillette (12) – 03:14	1–0
(Nordqvist, Riedell) Brandon Puricelli (5) – GW – 45:17	2–0
	2–1	21:35 – PP – Lucas Bahn (2) (Neudecker, Corrow)
(unassisted) Pete Veillette (13) – 21:41	3–1
(Calder, Boudon) Lukas Kaelble (1) – 33:50	4–1
(Nordqvist, Posa) Alexandro Ambrosio (1) – 36:20	5–1
(Eriksson) Miroslav Mucha (5) – 38:40	6–1

24 min

Penalties

20 min

27

Shots

14

March 13, 2021
5:07 pm

Lake Superior State

4 – 1
(0–0, 3–1, 1–1)

Alabama–Huntsville

Taffy Abel Arena, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Attendance: 0

Game reference

Seth Eisele

Goalies

David Fessenden

Referees:
Scott Roth
Shane Paskey
Linesmen:
Eric Froberg
Jamie Grace

(Jeffers, Eriksson) Louis Boudon (8) – PP – 20:18	1–0
(Puricelli, Eriksson) Will Riedell (6) – PP GW – 27:15	2–0
(Oliver, Veillette) Hampus Eriksson (5) – PP – 30:25	3–0
(Manz) Brandon Puricelli (6) – 53:20	4–0
	4–1	18:41 – PP – Mick Henegan (1) (Merkley, Scoville)

10 min

Penalties

18 min

35

Shots

17

Lake Superior State Won Series 2–0

(3) Bowling Green vs. (6) Northern Michigan

March 12, 2021
7:00 PM

Bowling Green

3 – 4
(1–0, 0–4, 2–0)

Northern Michigan

Slater Family Ice Arena, Bowling Green, Ohio
Attendance: 630

Game reference

Eric Dop

Goalies

Rico DiMatteo

Referees:
Rick Nelson
Mike Forys
Linesmen:
Marty Shaffer
Paul Tunison

(Theocharidis, Craggs) Taylor Schneider (8) – 13:32	1–0
	1–1	29:48 – PP – Alex Frye (4) (Van Unen, Schultz)
	1–2	30:37 – Mikey Colella (2) (unassisted)
	1–3	33:26 – PP – Griffin Loughran (5) (Vanderbeck, Van Unen)
	1–4	37:05 – GW – Brandon Schultz (5) (Vanderbeck)
(Wells, Wright) Taylor Schneider (9) – 41:45	2–4
(Cullen, Theocharidis) Taylor Schneider (10) – 49:29	3–4

10 min

Penalties

10 min

33

Shots

21

March 13, 2021
7:07 PM

Bowling Green

3 – 4
(2–0, 0–0, 3–0)

Northern Michigan

Slater Family Ice Arena, Bowling Green, Ohio
Attendance: 630

Game reference

Eric Dop

Goalies

Rico DiMatteo (44:42)
John Hawthorne (15:18)

Referees:
Rick Nelson
Mike Forys
Linesmen:
Marty Shaffer
Paul Tunison

(Johnson, Kruse) Cameron Wright (8) – GW – 11:48	1–0
(Craggs, Cullen) Ethan Scardina (1) – 19:21	2–0
(Craggs, Johnson) Evan Dougherty (7) – 43:05	3–0
(Cullen, Theocharidis) Evan Dougherty (8) – 44:42	4–0
(Theocharidis, Craggs) Alex Barber (9) – PP – 47:40	5–0

6 min

Penalties

23 min

50

Shots

23

March 14, 2021
5:07 PM

Bowling Green

3 – 4
(0–2, 1–1, 0–2)

Northern Michigan

Slater Family Ice Arena, Bowling Green, Ohio
Attendance: 630

Game reference

Eric Dop

Goalies

Rico DiMatteo

Referees:
Rick Nelson
Mike Forys
Linesmen:
Marty Shaffer
Paul Tunison

	0–1	05:33 – Vincent de Mey (7) (Marritt, Keefer)
	0–2	17:56 – GW – Mikey Colella (3) (Ghantous, Nardi)
	0–3	37:04 – PP – Joseph Nardi (11) (Van Unen, Vanderbeck)
(Dougherty, Barber) Sam Craggs (4) – PP – 38:48	1–3
	1–4	46:02 – PP – Mikey Colella (4) (Ghantous, Vanderbeck)
	1–5	58:08 – EN – Garrett Klee (3) (unassisted)

36 min

Penalties

24 min

40

Shots

34

Northern Michigan Won Series 2–1

(4) Bemidji State vs. (5) Michigan Tech

March 12, 2021
7:07 PM

Bemidji State

3 – 1
(2–1, 1–0, 0–0)

Michigan Tech

Sanford Center, Bemidji, Minnesota
Attendance: 250

Game reference

Zach Driscoll

Goalies

Blake Pietila

Referees:
Robert Lukkason
Brady Johnson
Linesmen:
Nathan Voll
Tyler Landman

	0–1	02:33 – Brian Halonen (8) (Ashbrook, Nardella)
(Harris, Looft) Aaron Miller (6) – 08:00	1–1
(Jubenvill, L. Sillinger) Alex Ierullo (7) – GW – 14:22	2–1
(O. Sillinger, Ierullo) Lukas Sillinger (6) – 31:42	3–1

6 min

Penalties

2 min

26

Shots

34

March 13, 2021
6:07 PM

Bemidji State

4 – 1
(0–1, 2–0, 2–0)

Michigan Tech

Sanford Center, Bemidji, Minnesota
Attendance: 250

Game reference

Zach Driscoll

Goalies

Blake Pietila

Referees:
Robert Lukkason
Brady Johnson
Linesmen:
Nathan Voll
Tyler Landman

	0–1	12:09 – Tommy Parrottino (6) (Swoyer, Thorne)
(Kirkup) Brad Johnson (3) – 36:58	1–1
(Rosén, Miller) Ethan Somoza (7) – GW – 37:49	2–1
(Zmolek) Alex Adams (2) – EN – 57:42	3–1
(Ierullo, Johnson) Ross Armour (4) – EN – 59:29	4–1

8 min

Penalties

2 min

31

Shots

34

Bemidji State Won Series 2–0

Semifinals

(1) Minnesota State vs. (6) Northern Michigan

March 19, 2021
2:07 PM

Minnesota State

1 – 5
(0–1, 0–4, 1–0)

Northern Michigan

Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, Mankato, Minnesota
Attendance: 250

Game reference

Dryden McKay (31:05)
Ryan Edquist (28:55)

Goalies

Rico DiMatteo

Referees:
Bruce Vida
T. J. Likens
Linesmen:
Tyler Landman
Nathan Voll

	0–1	01:16 – PP – André Ghantous (8) (Nardi)
	0–2	20:24 – GW – Alex Frye (5) (Newhouse, Schultz)
	0–3	28:56 – Joseph Nardi (12) (Sorensen)
	0–4	31:05 – A. J. Vanderbeck (8) (Frye, Schultz)
	0–5	32:57 – PP – André Ghantous (9) (Nardi, Vanderbeck)
(Furry, Gerads) Reggie Lutz (8) – PP – 42:49	1–5

4 min

Penalties

4 min

29

Shots

20

(2) Lake Superior State vs. (4) Bemidji State

March 19, 2021
7:37 PM

Lake Superior State

4 – 1
(1–0, 2–0, 1–1)

Bemidji State

Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, Mankato, Minnesota
Attendance: 250

Game reference

Mareks Mitens

Goalies

Zach Driscoll

Referees:
Rick Nelson
Mike Forys
Linesmen:
Matt Tyree
Kyle Domin

(Manz, Jeffers) Brandon Puricelli (7) – 13:28	1–0
(Eriksson, Mucha) Jacob Bengtsson (2) – GW – 35:31	2–0
(Miura, Mucha) Hampus Eriksson (6) – 38:14	3–0
(Eriksson) Lukas Kaelble (2) – 44:14	4–0
	4–1	56:00 – PP EA – Ethan Somoza (5) (O. Sillinger, Rosén)

8 min

Penalties

4 min

21

Shots

27

Championship

(2) Lake Superior State vs. (6) Northern Michigan

March 20, 2021
7:07 PM

Lake Superior State

6 – 3
(2–0, 2–1, 2–2)

Northern Michigan

Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, Mankato, Minnesota
Attendance: 250

Game reference

Mareks Mitens

Goalies

Rico DiMatteo

Referees:
Robert Lukkason
Brady Johnson
Linesmen:
Nathan Voll
Tyler Landman

(Puricelli, Nordqvist) Dustin Manz (2) – 01:20	1–0
(Manz, Jeffers) Brandon Puricelli (8) – 12:02	2–0
(Mucha, Henrikson) Jacob Nordqvist (3) – 30:50	3–0
(Veillette, Boudon) Ashton Calder (13) – GW – 33:30	4–0
	4–1	39:14 – PP – André Ghantous (10) (Vanderbeck, Van Unen)
	4–2	43:05 – A. J. Vanderbeck (5) (Frye)
(Veillette, Kaelble) Ashton Calder (14) – SH – 51:04	5–2
	5–3	55:52 – David Keefer (2) (Erkkila)
(unassisted) Ashton Calder (15) – EN – 57:24	6–3

4 min

Penalties

2 min

30

Shots

28

Tournament awards

Most Outstanding Player

Ashton Calder (Lake Superior State)
^[3]

References

^ Christensen, Joe (July 2, 2021). "WCHA's men's hockey era officially ends after 70 years". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
^ "WCHA Postseason Tournament". wcha.com. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
^ "Minnesota State's Mike Hastings Wins 2021 Spencer Penrose Award". WCHA. April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.

[1] Christensen, Joe (July 2, 2021). "WCHA's men's hockey era officially ends after 70 years". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved July 3, 2021.

[2] "WCHA Postseason Tournament". wcha.com. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.

[3] "Minnesota State's Mike Hastings Wins 2021 Spencer Penrose Award". WCHA. April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.

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