2020–21 Atlantic Hockey season

Ice Hockey season

Sports season
Regular seasonSeason championsAmerican InternationalSeason MVPBrennan Kapcheck
Will Calverley
Nick PrkusicTop scorerWill CalverleyAtlantic Hockey TournamentTournament championsAmerican International  Runners-upCanisiusTournament MVPJustin ColeTop scorerMason KruegerNCAA tournamentBids1Record0–1Best FinishRegional semifinalTeam(s)American InternationalAtlantic Hockey seasons
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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]

Season

COVID-19

The 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

Unlike 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

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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

Records

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

Leading scorers

GP = 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

Minimum 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

Teams 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 Bentley — — —
E5 Air Force 3 East DivisionE1 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 DivisionE2 Army 3
W2 Canisius 4*
W2 Canisius 5 6 —
W3 RIT 2 2 —

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

NCAA tournament

Midwest Regional semifinal

March 26, 2021
7:30 PM		(1) North Dakota5 – 1
(4–0, 0–0, 1–1)		(4) American InternationalScheels Arena, Fargo, North Dakota
Attendance: 1,435
Game reference
Adam ScheelGoaliesStefano Durante (20 min)
Jake Kucharski (40 min)		Referees:
Bobby Lukkason
Brady Johnson
Linesmen:
Tyler Landman
Nathan Voll
(Bernard-Docker, Sanderson) Jasper Weatherby (13) – 08:581–0
(unassisted) Jasper Weatherby (14) – GW – 11:542–0
(Kleven, Caulfield) Grant Mismash (10) – 14:163–0
(Gaber, Bast) Collin Adams (12) – 16:224–0
4–157:46 – Tobias Fladeby (10) (Theodore, Callahan)
(Kawaguchi) Collin Adams (13) – 58:085–1
12 minPenalties12 min
33Shots25

Ranking

USCHO

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

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

[7]

Awards

NCAA

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

East Pod

Award Recipient[9]
Player of the Year Brennan Kapcheck, American International
Rookie of the Year Lincoln Hatten, Army
Best Defensive Forward Chris Dodero, American International
Best Defenseman Brennan Kapcheck, American International
Individual Sportsmanship Award Justin Cole, American International
Regular season Scoring Trophy Jakov Novak, Bentley
Regular season Goaltending Award Trevin Kozlowski, Army
Coach of the Year Brian Riley, Army
All-Atlantic Hockey Teams[10]
First Team   Position   Second Team
Trevin Kozlowski, Army G Stefano Durante, American International
Brennan Kapcheck, American International D John Zimmerman, Army
Thomas Farrell, Army D Matt Slick, Holy Cross
Colin Bilek, Army F Elijah Barriga, American International
Tobias Fladeby, American International F Chris Dodero, American International
Marc Johnstone, Sacred Heart F Braeden Tuck, Sacred Heart
Rookie Team   Position  
Nick Grabko, Bentley G
Nico Somerville, American International D
Drew Bavaro, Bentley D
Lincoln Hatten, Army F
Aaron Grounds, American International F
Eric Otto, American International F


West Pod

Award Recipient[9]
Player of the Year Will Calverley, RIT
Nick Prkusic, Robert Morris
Rookie of the Year Randy Hernández, Robert Morris
Best Defensive Forward Will Calverley, RIT
Best Defenseman Nick Jenny, Robert Morris
Individual Sportsmanship Award Nick Jenny, Robert Morris
Regular season Scoring Trophy Will Calverley, RIT
Regular season Goaltending Award Jacob Barczewski, Cansius
Coach of the Year Derek Schooley, Robert Morris
All-Atlantic Hockey Teams[10]
First Team   Position   Second Team
Jacob Barczewski, Cansius G Noah West, Robert Morris
— G Zach LaRocque, Air Force
Nick Jenny, Robert Morris D Joseph Maziarz, Mercyhurst
Dan Willett, RIT D Brendan Michaelian, Robert Morris
Will Calverley, RIT F Randy Hernández, Robert Morris
Nick Prkusic, Robert Morris F Jon Bendorf, Mercyhurst
Keaton Mastrodonato, Cansius F Carson Brière, Mercyhurst
Rookie Team   Position  
Noah West, Robert Morris G
Brian Kramer, Robert Morris D
Josef Mysak, Niagara D
Randy Hernández, Robert Morris F
Carson Brière, Mercyhurst F
Austin Heidemann, Mercyhurst F

Conference tournament

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

  1. ^ "Composite Schedule". Atlantic Hockey. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  2. ^ "Atlantic Hockey Announces Return to Play in Pods". Neutralzone.com. October 16, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  3. ^ "2021 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey championship selections announced". NCAA.com. March 21, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  4. ^ "2020-2021 Men's Ice Hockey Conference Statistics". Atlantic Hockey. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  5. ^ "2020-2021 Men's Ice Hockey Conference Statistics". Atlantic Hockey. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "USA Today Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ a b "Atlantic Hockey Names 2020-21 Regular season Award Winners". Atlantic Hockey. March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Atlantic Hockey Announces All-Conference and All-Rookie Winners". Atlantic Hockey. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.

External links

  • Official website
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Atlantic Hockey
Teams (arenas)
Seasons
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Awards
  • NCAA
  • List of champions
  • Harborcenter (conference tournament site)