2020–21 Big Ten Conference ice hockey season

Sports season

2020–21 Big Ten Conference
ice hockey season

Season| 2020–21
Conference| Big Ten Conference
Division| Division I
Sport| ice hockey
Duration| November 13, 2020–
March 28, 2021
Number of teams| 7
2021 NHL Entry Draft
Top draft pick| Owen Power
Picked by| Buffalo Sabres
Regular Season
Season champions| Wisconsin
Season MVP| Cole Caufield
Top scorer| Cole Caufield
Big Ten tournament
Tournament champions| Minnesota
Runners-up| Wisconsin
Tournament MVP| Jack LaFontaine
Top scorer| Alex Limoges
NCAA tournament
Bids| 4
Record| 1–2
Best Finish| Regional final
Team(s)| Minnesota
Big Ten Conference ice hockey seasons
« 2029–20 2021–22 »

The 2020–21 Big Ten men's ice hockey season was the 31st season of play for the Big Ten Conference's men's ice hockey division and took place during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The start to the regular season was delayed until November 13, 2020, and concluded on March 6, 2021.[1] The conference tournament was held at the Compton Family Ice Arena in Notre Dame, Indiana.

## Season

[edit]

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Big Ten season did not begin until mid-November, 6 weeks later than usual. As a result of the pandemic, the Big Ten only scheduled conference opponents during the regular season with one exception. Arizona State, an independent program, entered into a scheduling alliance with the Big Ten for this season. The group consented to play the full season on the road and forfeit its right to compete in the Big Ten tournament.[2]

The regular season was highlighted by the prominence of Minnesota for most of the year and the scoring exploits of Cole Caufield. Caufield averaged a goal per game pace for the year and led both the Big Ten and the nation in both goals and points. The conference was able to earn 3 at-large bids for member schools, resulting in more than half of the Big Ten making the NCAA tournament.[3] Unfortunately, while the conference was able to avoid too much trouble from COVID during the regular season, both Michigan and Notre Dame had players test positive just before their regional semifinal games and were forced to withdraw.[4] As a result, their matchup with Boston College was ruled a no-contest and the Eagles automatically advanced to the Northeast Regional final. Similarly, on March 26, the NCAA announced Michigan was forced to withdraw as well due to COVID protocols.[5] Minnesota provided the conference with its only tournament victory, defeating Omaha 7–2 before losing in the quarterfinals to in-state rival Minnesota State.

After the season, Michigan made national headlines by having 3 players be drafted in the first five selections of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The Wolverines had an incoming freshman taken 4th overall as well.[6]

## Standings

[edit]

2020–21 Big Ten ice hockey Standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conference record  |  | Overall record
GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | 3/SW | PTS | PT% | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA
#8 Wisconsin † | 24 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 52 | .722 | 92 | 52 |  | 31 | 20 | 10 | 1 | 118 | 80
#7 Minnesota * | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | .727 | 69 | 44 |  | 31 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 117 | 64
#9 Michigan | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | .550 | 69 | 45 |  | 26 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 91 | 51
#17 Notre Dame | 24 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 41 | .542 | 65 | 53 |  | 29 | 14 | 13 | 2 | 84 | 78
Penn State | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 20 | .389 | 48 | 68 |  | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 65 | 81
Ohio State | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | .273 | 39 | 82 |  | 27 | 7 | 19 | 1 | 53 | 101
Michigan State | 22 | 5 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | .250 | 32 | 70 |  | 27 | 7 | 18 | 2 | 40 | 77
Championship: March 16, 2021
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

## Coaches

[edit]

### Records

[edit]

Team  | Head coach  | Season at school  | Record at school  | Big Ten record

|
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Michigan  | Mel Pearson | 4  | 53–45–14  | 30–30–10
Michigan State  | Danton Cole | 4  | 39–60–9  | 25–39–8
Minnesota  | Bob Motzko | 3  | 34–30–11  | 20–18–10
Notre Dame  | Jeff Jackson | 16  | 334–206–64  | 37–26–7
Ohio State  | Steve Rohlik | 8  | 133–95–33  | 66–67–17
Penn State  | Guy Gadowsky | 10  | 145–120–23  | 59–57–14
Wisconsin  | Tony Granato | 5  | 62–72–12  | 36–46–10

## Statistics

[edit]

### Leading scorers

[edit]

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes[7]

Player  | Position  | Team  | GP  | G  | A  | Pts  | PIM

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Cole Caufield | Sophomore | Wisconsin | 24 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 2
Linus Weissbach | Senior | Wisconsin | 24 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 8
Dylan Holloway | Sophomore | Wisconsin | 18 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 4
Alex Steeves | Junior | Notre Dame | 24 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 8
Thomas Bordeleau | Freshman | Michigan | 18 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 10
Ty Pelton-Byce | Senior | Wisconsin | 19 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 2
Graham Saggert | Junior | Notre Dame | 22 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 8
Kent Johnson | Freshman | Michigan | 20 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 2
Roman Ahcan | Junior | Wisconsin | 21 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 22
Sampo Ranta | Junior | Minnesota | 22 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 6
Sammy Walker | Junior | Minnesota | 22 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 8
Ben Meyers | Sophomore | Minnesota | 22 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 12

### Leading goaltenders

[edit]

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[8]

Player  | Class  | Team  | GP  | Min  | W  | L  | T  | GA  | SO  | SV%  | GAA

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Cameron Rowe | Freshman | Wisconsin | 11 | 555 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 1 | .947 | 1.73
Jack LaFontaine | Senior | Minnesota | 22 | 1272 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 38 | 4 | .932 | 1.79
Dylan St. Cyr | Senior | Notre Dame | 18 | 1067 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 38 | 3 | .930 | 2.14
Strauss Mann | Junior | Michigan | 16 | 894 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 33 | 3 | .924 | 2.21
Robbie Beydoun | Senior | Wisconsin | 16 | 884 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 34 | 3 | .927 | 2.31

## Conference tournament

[edit]

Main article: 2021 Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

| Quarterfinals
March 14[9] | | | Semifinals
March 15 | | | Championship
March 16 |

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|  |  |  | | |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| | | | 1 | Wisconsin | 4* | |
|  |
| | | 5 | Penn State | 3 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 3 |

| 5 | Penn State | 6 |
| | 1 | Wisconsin | 4 |
|  |
| | | 2 | Minnesota | 6 |
| 2 | Minnesota | 2* | |

| 7 | Michigan State | 1 |
| | 2 | Minnesota | 3* |
|  |
| | | 3 | Michigan | 2 |
| 3 | Michigan | 4 |

| 6 | Ohio State | 0 |

Note: * denotes overtime periods.

## NCAA tournament

[edit]

Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

### Regional semifinal

[edit]

#### East

[edit]

March 26, 2021
1:00 PM| (1) Wisconsin| 3 – 6
(0–2, 1–2, 2–2)| (4) Bemidji State| Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Attendance: 0

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Game reference

| Robbie Beydoun (40 min)
Cameron Rowe (20 min)| Goalies| Zach Driscoll| Referees:
Brendan Blanchard
Chris Leavitt
Linesmen:
Bob Griffin
Brendan Lewis
| | 0–1| 06:33 – Ross Armour (5) (Rosén)

|
|

| 0–2| 19:44 – Elias Rosén (5) (unassisted)
(C. Caufield, Pelton-Byce) Linus Weissbach (12) – PP – 22:38| 1–2|
| 1–3| 34:42 – Ethan Somoza (3) (Miller, Harris)
| 1–4| 38:39 – SH GW – Owen Sillinger (10) (unassisted)
| 1–5| 46:08 – Ethan Somoza (3) (Harris)
(Holloway, Pelton-Byce) Cole Caufield (29) – PP – 48:19| 2–5|
(Ahcan, Vorlicky) Cole Caufield (30) – 54:56| 3–5|
| 3–6| 59:58 – EN – Brendan Harris (9) (Somoza)
6 min| Penalties| 12 min
33| Shots| 40

#### West

[edit]

March 27, 2021
8:00 PM| (1) Minnesota| 7 – 2
(3–1, 3–0, 1–1)| (4) Omaha| Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, Colorado
Attendance: 125

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Game reference

| Jack LaFontaine| Goalies| Isaiah Saville (27:13)
Austin Roden (32:47)| Referees:
Scott Hansen
Holton Walker
Linesmen:
Kevin Briganti
Kyle Richetelle
| (Munson, Faber) Mason Nevers (1) – 05:48| 1–0|

|
|

(Faber, Johnson) Jack Perbix (4) – 15:35| 2–0|
(McLaughlin, Walker) Scott Reedy (11) – GW – 17:36| 3–0|
| 3–1| 18:04 – Taylor Ward (12) (Weiss, Scanlin)
(Faber, Meyers) Ryan Johnson (2) – 20:41| 4–1|
(LaCombe, Brodzinski) Ben Meyers (12) – 27:13| 5–1|
(Ranta, Faber) Mason Nevers (2) – 36:13| 6–1|
| 6–2| 43:05 – Taylor Ward (13) (Weiss, Proctor)
(Nelson, Faber) Sampo Ranta (19) – 44:17| 7–2|
2 min| Penalties| 4 min
30| Shots| 28

### Regional final

[edit]

#### West

[edit]

March 28, 2021
6:00| (1) Minnesota| 0 – 4
(0–2, 0–0, 0–2)| (2) Minnesota State| Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, Colorado
Attendance: 175

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|
|
|

Game reference

| Jack LaFontaine| Goalies| Dryden McKay| Referees:
Peter Schlittenhardt
Jermey Tufts
Linesmen:
William Kingdom
Nicholas Briganti
| | 0–1| 10:23 – GW – Sam Morton (5) (Sandelin, Zmolek)

|
|

| 0–2| 12:30 – Ryan Sandelin (7) (McNeely, Furry)
| 0–3| 49:50 – Nathan Smith (7) (Borchardt, Napravnik)
| 0–4| 57:41 – EN – Dallas Gerads (8) (Aamodt)
6 min| Penalties| 8 min
22| Shots| 27

## Ranking

[edit]

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

### USCHO

[edit]

Team  | Pre  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | 8  | 9  | 10  | 11  | 12  | 13  | 14  | 15  | 16  | 17  | 18  | 19  | 20  | Final

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Michigan  | 12 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | N/A | 9
Michigan State  | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR
Minnesota  | 14 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | N/A | 7
Notre Dame  | 20 | NR | NR | 16 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | NR | 16 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 19 | 20 | 18 | N/A | 17
Ohio State  | 10 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 18 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR
Penn State  | 9 | 10 | 15 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | NR
Wisconsin  | NR | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | N/A | 8

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20. [10]

### 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

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Michigan  | 12 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9
Michigan State  | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR
Minnesota  | 13 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 7
Notre Dame  | NR | NR | NR | 13 | 15 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR
Ohio State  | 10 | 10 | 10 | 14 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR
Penn State  | 9 | 9 | 14 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR
Wisconsin  | NR | 13 | 15 | NR | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 8

[11]

## Awards

[edit]

### NCAA

[edit]

Award | Recipient

|

Hobey Baker Award | Cole Caufield, Wisconsin
Tim Taylor Award | Thomas Bordeleau, Michigan
Mike Richter Award | Jack LaFontaine, Minnesota
AHCA All-American Teams[12]
West First Team | Position | Team
Jack LaFontaine | G | Minnesota
Cameron York | D | Michigan
Cole Caufield | F | Wisconsin
Sampo Ranta | F | Minnesota
West Second Team | Position | Team
Jackson LaCombe | D | Minnesota
Dylan Holloway | F | Wisconsin
Linus Weissbach | F | Wisconsin

### Big Ten

[edit]

Award | Recipient[13]

|

Player of the Year | Cole Caufield, Wisconsin
Defensive Player of the Year | Cameron York, Michigan
Goaltender of the Year | Jack LaFontaine, Minnesota
Freshman of the Year | Thomas Bordeleau, Michigan
Scoring Champion | Cole Caufield, Wisconsin
Coach of the Year | Tony Granato, Wisconsin
All-Big Ten Teams[13]
First Team |  Position  | Second Team
Jack LaFontaine, Minnesota | G | Strauss Mann, Michigan
Cameron York, Michigan | D | Owen Power, Michigan
Jackson LaCombe, Minnesota | D | Spencer Stastney, Notre Dame
Sampo Ranta, Minnesota | F | Thomas Bordeleau, Michigan
Cole Caufield, Wisconsin | F | Alex Steeves, Notre Dame
Dylan Holloway, Wisconsin | F | Linus Weissbach, Wisconsin
Freshman Team |  Position  |
Cameron Rowe, Wisconsin | G |
Owen Power, Michigan | D |
Brock Faber, Minnesota | D  |
Matty Beniers, Michigan | F |
Thomas Bordeleau, Michigan | F  |
Kent Johnson, Michigan | F  |

### Conference tournament

[edit]

Tournament MOP

Jack LaFontaine | Minnesota
All-Tournament Team
Player | Pos | Team
Jack LaFontaine | G | Minnesota
Mike Koster | D | Minnesota
Ty Emberson | D | Wisconsin
Cole Caufield | F | Wisconsin
Sampo Ranta | F | Minnesota
Sammy Walker | F | Minnesota

## 2021 NHL Entry Draft

[edit]

Main article: 2021 NHL Entry Draft

Round  | Pick  | Player  | College  | NHL team

|
|
|
|

1 | 1 | Owen Power | Michigan | Buffalo Sabres
1 | 2 | Matty Beniers | Michigan | Seattle Kraken
1 | 4 | Luke Hughes† | Michigan | New Jersey Devils
1 | 5 | Kent Johnson | Michigan | Columbus Blue Jackets
1 | 18 | Chaz Lucius† | Minnesota | Winnipeg Jets
1 | 24 | Mackie Samoskevich† | Michigan | Florida Panthers
1 | 25 | Corson Ceulemans† | Wisconsin | Columbus Blue Jackets
2 | 57 | Matthew Knies† | Minnesota | Toronto Maple Leafs
2 | 58 | Tristan Broz† | Minnesota | Pittsburgh Penguins
3 | 66 | Sasha Pastujov† | Notre Dame | Anaheim Ducks
4 | 104 | Brody Lamb† | Minnesota | New York Rangers
4 | 126 | Dylan Duke† | Michigan | Tampa Bay Lightning
7 | 195 | Justin Janicke† | Notre Dame | Seattle Kraken
7 | 206 | Owen McLaughlin† | Penn State | Philadelphia Flyers
7 | 215 | Daniel Laatsch† | Wisconsin | Pittsburgh Penguins

† incoming freshman [14]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "2021-22 Big Ten Schedule". Big Ten. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
2. ^ "ASU/Big Ten Agree to Schedule Arrangement for 2020-21". Arizona State Sun Devils. October 6, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
3. ^ "2021 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey championship selections announced". NCAA.com. March 21, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
4. ^ "BC advances in NCAA men's hockey tournament as Notre Dame has to forfeit Saturday's game - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
5. ^ Paul, Tony; Bianchi, Nolan. "UM hockey forced out of NCAA tournament because of positive tests". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
6. ^ "Michigan Wolverines Strut NCAA Hockey In 2021 NHL Draft". Flo Hockey. July 30, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
7. ^ "2020-2021 Men's Ice Hockey Conference Statistics". Atlantic Hockey. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
8. ^ "2020-21 MEN'S COLLEGE HOCKEY NATIONAL STATISTICS DATABASE". Big Ten Conference. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
9. ^ "Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament Bracket Announced". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. March 6, 2021. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
10. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
11. ^ "USA Today Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
12. ^ "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.
13. ^ a b "Hockey Postseason Honors Announced". Big Ten. March 16, 2021. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
14. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2021 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* official website

* v
* t
* e

Big Ten Conference ice hockey

Teams|

* Michigan Wolverines
* Michigan State Spartans
* Minnesota Golden Gophers
* Notre Dame Fighting Irish
* Ohio State Buckeyes
* Penn State Nittany Lions
* Wisconsin Badgers

Venues|

* Yost Ice Arena (Michigan)
* Munn Ice Arena (Michigan State)
* 3M Arena at Mariucci (Minnesota)
* Compton Family Ice Arena (Notre Dame)
* Value City Arena (Ohio State)
* Pegula Ice Arena (Penn State)
* Kohl Center (Wisconsin)

Championships & awards|

* Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament (list of champions)
* All-Big Ten Teams
* Player of the Year
* Defensive Player of the Year
* Goaltender of the Year
* Freshman of the Year
* Scoring Champions
* Coach of the Year
* Tournament MOP
* All-Tournament Teams

Seasons|

* 2013–14
* 2014–15
* 2015–16
* 2016–17
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023–24

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[GP]: Games played
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[OTW]: Overtime Wins
*[OTL]: Overtime Losses
*[3/SW]: 3x3 Overtime & Shootout Wins
*[PTS]: Points
*[PT%]: Points Percentage
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against