2020-21 Division I Hockey Thread

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Being a collector of hockey jerseys, I found this recent pair of decidedly trivial articles from Boston University's WTBU Radio to be a good read/look on a sunny but frigid day ... hockey weather!

Ranking Hockey East Jerseys: Part 1 – Home Edition

Ranking Hockey East Jerseys: Part 2 — Away Edition

 

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BC Eagles' sophomore scoring machine Hannah Bilka puts on a stick handling & passing clinic against the Providence College women to earn her 50th career point & help tie the game @ 1-1 ...

 

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BC women have now won 9 straight games to earn a 13-3-0 record, after red-shirt junior defender Cayla Barnes scores the GWG in 3-on-3 overtime against Providence.

 

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From: University of Alaska-Fairbanks Athletics

Men's Ice Hockey
2/12/2021 | 9:18:00 AM
Nathan Kyle Pearsall

Hockey Announces First Wave of 2021-22 Games

FAIRBANKS, Alaska - The Alaska Nanooks hockey team and head coach Erik Largen have announced part of their 2021-22 hockey season. After opting-out of the 2020-21 season and their final season in the WCHA, the Nanooks are a full-go in their return to NCAA Ice Hockey.

Alaska will boast a competitive 34-game schedule across different conferences with home games happening in Interior-Alaska. In what will be their first full-season as an independent school since 1993-94, the Nanooks have officially scheduled games with Arizona State, Boston University and Maine. Other game contracts are currently awaiting signature confirmation and will be released at later dates.

Head coach Erik Largen is excited for the future of Nanook hockey, "I am very excited about the schedule we are creating for our first season going independent. We are playing some of the top programs from the NCHC, Big Ten, Hockey East, ECAC, Atlantic Hockey and CCHA. We are going to be traveling to places we have not been before as a program and our fans will be able to see new teams visiting Fairbanks every weekend. The experience and competition for our student-athletes will be second to none." ...

Read more at: Hockey Announces First Wave of 2021-22 Games - University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

 

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From: College Hockey News

February 12, 2021
New Hampshire Keeps The Faith, And Finally Gets Some Rewards

by Adam Wodon/Managing Editor...

It's a season of ups and downs, stops and starts, and a lot of uncertainty.

But through it all, New Hampshire never stopped believing. Not during an eight-game winless streak, not when half its roster seemed sidelined by injury or COVID protocol. And they're not going to stop believing now, certainly, coming off a pair of rousing victories against Massachusetts-Lowell, the latter of which came after scoring three goals in the third period to tie, then winning in OT, 7-6.

There is no telling what happens next, but the Wildcats are looking forward to finding out.

"I'm very proud, despite our record, of the guys we have representing our program, because they show up every day ready to practice, ready to play," UNH coach Mike Souza said. "It's frustrating, no doubt, but I truly believe we'll be better of it as individuals and collectively as a program down the road." ...

Read more at: New Hampshire Keeps The Faith, And Finally Gets Some Rewards

 

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Maine Athletics update:

Maine has informed the America East Conference that they are opting out of the rest of the 2021 season due to HSP

 

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NCAA hockey selection committee may make a comeback

By Alex Hall
ew Hampshire Union Leader
Feb 10, 2021
Updated Feb 10, 2021

In a college hockey season littered with uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, among the most glaring questions is how teams will be selected and seeded for the NCAA tournament.

University of New Hampshire men’s hockey coach Mike Souza said he thinks there will be some clarity on how that will be determined “in the coming days, if not week” during his weekly media availability on Tuesday.

The PairWise ranking system, used to pick the 10 teams which did not receive automatic bids into the tournament, cannot be used due to teams’ differing numbers of games played and the small number of non-conference games this season. This has led to numerous ideas on how selection and seeding could be done.

From what Souza has heard, he said things are trending toward there being a selection committee process similar to what was used before the PairWise rankings. ...

“I don’t really know of another way to do it this year because of this tremendous imbalance — we have such imbalance even in our own league with the amount of games (played),” Souza said of selecting teams for the NCAA tournament via a committee process. “I can’t speak for the other conferences but just in following the other conferences, I think there’s a sense that it might be the best way to do things just because there’s so much unbalance, if you will, and how teams have played. Some have played non-league games, others haven’t, fewer games within your own conference and so on and so forth.” ...

Read more at: NCAA hockey selection committee may make a comeback

 

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The unranked BU Terriers men upset the #1 ranked BC Eagles, with 3 unanswered goals for a 3-1 victory @ Walter Brown Arena. Freshman goaltender Vinny Duplessis earns his first collegiate start AND first victory, stopping 40 of 41 Boston College SOGs.

"My Goalie Vinny" followed up last weekend's performance for BU with a shutout & another 1 GAA performance @ Vermont this weekend. Duplessis is now 3-0 in his freshman season with the 8-2 Terriers, boasting a 0.667 GAA and a 0.974 SV%.

 

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Looking ahead ...

Men's Ice Hockey 2/13/2021 3:00:00 PM
Holy Cross to host 2021 Ice Breaker Tournament

Director of Athletics Marcus Blossom has announced that Holy Cross, in conjunction with College Hockey Inc. and the Hockey Commissioners Association, will host the 2021 Ice Breaker Tournament.

One of the premier NCAA Division I ice hockey tournaments, the event will be played at the Hart Center Rink at the Luth Athletic Complex on Oct. 8-9. Holy Cross, Quinnipiac, Northeastern, and Boston College will all be featured in the four-team tournament. ...

Atlantic Hockey also played an instrumental role in bringing the event to Worcester.

The tournament, which is the traditional start to the college hockey season, will feature a predetermined format. As it stands now, the Crusaders will take on Boston College and Northeastern. The order in which the games will be played has yet to be determined.

All three teams that will descend on the Hart Center next fall are currently ranked in the USCHO.com weekly poll. Boston College sits atop the nation in the No.1 spot, with Quinnipiac and Northeastern coming in at No. 11 and 18 respectively. ...

The 2021 iteration of the tournament will be the first to be played in Massachusetts since Boston University hosted the 2008 event. With the 2020 tournament canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous four hosts include Bowling Green, Mercyhurst, Minnesota Duluth, and Denver.

The Crusaders last played in the Ice Breaker in 2010 when the tournament was hosted by the St. Louis Sports Commission. The event that year featured Holy Cross, Boston University, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin.


Read more at: Holy Cross to host 2021 Ice Breaker Tournament - Holy Cross Athletics

 

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A noteworthy NCAA Div I women's hockey streak was ended on Saturday afternoon: The University of New Hampshire Wildcats scored a goal @ 5:46 of the 3rd period vs. the Northeastern Huskies, ending the NU women's unanswered goal streak at 425 minutes of game play. During that scoring & defensive run, the Lady Huskies netted 43 goals. NU scored 3 more goals in the 3rd against UNH on Saturday for a 6-1 victory, then beat the Wildcats 4-1 on Sunday evening to sweep the weekend @ Matthews Arena. The NU women are now 15-1-1 on the season with an 11-game winning streak, with just one more weekend of regular season conference play to go before the Hockey East post-season opening round.

 

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USCHO Monday 10 (15 Feb 2021): Western Michigan sweeps Minnesota Duluth, Army West Point on a roll, Arizona State gets needed win

USCHO Women's Division I College Hockey Weekend Wrap: February 15

 

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USCHO.com conference weekend previews, as the men get closer to the end of their ir-regular seasons ...

• This Week in ECAC Hockey: Improved St. Lawrence team sees ‘relationships get deeper,’ led by captains, Zetterquist
• This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Michigan gets back on ice after COVID-19 pause, split with Wisconsin as ‘response was phenomenal"
• This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Canisius in upper echelon of conference with Barczewski-Ladd goalie duo ‘getting the job done’
• This Week in WCHA Hockey: Michigan Tech charging ahead, players ‘putting the work in every day’
• This Week in NCHC Hockey: Conference standings coming into focus with teams battling for playoff positioning

 

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A good-read player profile from College Hockey News ...

February 16, 2021

DeRidder Giving Michigan State a Fighting Chance
Goaltender's Improvement Helping Spartans Get Through Difficulties

by Jashvina Shah/Staff Writer

You can’t keep banging your stick on the ice after letting in a practice goal.
You can’t keep banging your stick on the ice after letting in a practice goal.
You can’t keep banging your stick on the ice after letting in a practice goal.

That’s how you create a habit.

More specifically, that’s how Michigan State goaltender Drew DeRidder created his mindset.
He didn’t write it on a blackboard repeatedly, but he did keep telling himself the same thing over and over again.

It’s how he learned to change his mindset.

“He did a great job of realizing that this position is only about the next shot,” Spartans goaltender coach Joe Exter said. “And we instilled that from a moment where you practice games, doesn't matter what you did in the previous shot. It's the next one. That's what you determined on. And it's drilled in daily, and eventually, after, you introduce it, establish the mindset. The goalie takes it himself and realizes the benefit of that mentality.”

Benefitted he has, as DeRidder is in the midst of a career-year for the Spartans. Through 18 games, he holds a .932 save percentage. Last year John Lethemon recorded a save percentage of .935, but over the past decade Michigan State’s goaltending has been inconsistent.

“Drew’s been outstanding and he’s given us a chance in almost every game and that’s what you want out of a starting goaltender,” head coach Danton Cole said. “What he brings is just his competitiveness and his work ethic and his edge. It’s not a uprise to us. one thing Drew is finding a little bit is he’s starting to be more vocal.” ...

Read more at: DeRidder Giving Michigan State a Fighting Chance

 

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R.I.P. to a U.S. college hockey founder ...

February 18, 2021
Vivian, 1st Bowling Green Coach, Dies at 79

CHN Staff Report

Jack Vivian, a founder of the Bowling Green program and an architect of the original CCHA, passed away Wednesday. He was 79.

Vivian coached Bowling Green its first four seasons of NCAA play, 1969-73. In 1971, the original CCHA was born, with Lake Superior State, Ohio, Ohio State and St. Louis.

"Coach Vivian had a hand in nearly every pivotal part of the BG Falcon Hockey program and will be dearly missed," Bowling Green tweeted out Thursday. ...

Read more at: Vivian, 1st Bowling Green Coach, Dies at 79

 

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From this week's convo between USCHO.com's Arlan Marttila & Nicole Haase in their Wednesday Women feature ...

... Conferences have made plans to go ahead with their tournaments. The CHA will have a single-weekend tournament for all six teams, if the virus protocols allow, in Erie, Pa.

Hockey East is going to have a single-elimination tournament involving all of its teams, seeded based on the newly-devised Hockey East Power Index. If the HEPI is still around next season, then I’ll figure out how it works, but for now, let’s just say it has math and Northeastern sits atop the number-crunched heap. The event kicks off with a couple of elimination games on Feb. 24 to get down to eight teams for the quarterfinals. All games will be hosted on the campus of the higher seed.

The WCHA is limiting its tournament to the top four teams with semis and finals on March 6 and 7, respectively. There have been some complaints about the format that doesn’t include all teams. While I can understand that sentiment, the teams that figure to be eliminated have combined for only a single overtime win versus those that are on pace to advance.

ECAC Hockey didn’t have many options, given only four of its dozen teams chose to drop the puck this year. All four are slated to compete in semifinals hosted by the top seed on March 6, followed by a final the next day. ...

Read more at: https://www.uscho.com/2021/02/17/we...-favorites-and-predicting-a-tournament-field/

 

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More Hockey East action on the free streams ...

 

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Some clarity emerging for NCAA Div I post-season plans ...

February 17, 2021
NCAA Committee Clarifies Tournament Selection Process, Sites

CHN Staff Report

The NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Committee has clarified, in a memo sent to all coaches, the procedures for selecting this year's NCAA Tournament.

Despite the unsual circumstances of this season, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, things will be very much the same, the Committee confirmed. There will continue to be four Regionals and a Frozen Four, played in the pre-determined locations and dates.

One of the Regional sites had previously back out, Manchester (N.H.), prompting speculation the Committee might change the format. But, instead, it affirmed the status quo in the memo, and said a new location to replace Manchester would be announced this week. (See all sites and dates)

The Committee also confirmed — as had been speculated and endorsed by College Hockey News, in articles and recent podcasts — that it would still use mathematical procedures, to some degree, to select the field. That's not entirely possible, because the usual method, the Pairwise, is ineffective this year due to a lack of inter-conference games, but there are components of it that can be taken into consideration. ...

Read more at: NCAA Committee Clarifies Tournament Selection Process, Sites

 

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WCHA Postseason Tournament (2021)

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Feb. 16, 2021 – The Men's League of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association will hold its 2021 WCHA Postseason Tournament beginning with its quarterfinal weekend March 12-14 followed by a four-team, one-site championship weekend March 19-20.

The WCHA Postseason will begin with the top four teams each hosting a best-of-three quarterfinal round series. From there, the four highest remaining seeds will meet in a two-round championship weekend at the site of the highest remaining seed March 19-20. The four remaining teams will play single-game semifinals on March 19 with the winners advancing to the WCHA Championship Game on March 20.

The winner of the 2021 WCHA Postseason Tournament receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship.

Pairings and locations for the quarterfinals will be announced at the conclusion of the regular season.
All games will stream live on FloHockey.tv....

Read more at: WCHA Postseason Tournament - Western Collegiate Hockey Association

 

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BU senior forward Jesse Compher leads her Lady Terriers team to a 3-2 win @ BC's Conte Forum/Kelly Rink, scoring two goals (including the GWG with 40 seconds left) after trailing the Eagles 2-0 at the 1st intermission. Excellent hockey game, both teams in "playoff hockey mode" this afternoon as the Hockey East post-season tourney begins next Wednesday.

These two teams now drive up the road to BU's Walter Brown Arena for a Saturday afternoon rematch, to close out their ir-regular seasons.

 

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The UVM Catamounts women give Northeastern all they can handle this evening, but the Lady Huskies hold on & score a late bank shot empty netter for a 3-1 road victory. BU are now 16-1-1 and will face the Lady Cats in the final game of the ir-regular season on Saturday afternoon @ Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington.

 

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Expanded CBS Sports Live free stream lineup for women's & men's Hockey East action on Saturday, Feb. 20th ...

And the UMass & Providence men will try to slip in one more ir-regular season match before the Hockey East post-season tournament begins on Wednesday ...

 

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The #2 ranked Northeastern Lady Huskies wrap up their ir-regular season with a 4-1 victory over UVM, giving the Huskies a 17-1-1 final record. Senior NU goaltender Aerin Frankel stopped 24 of 25 Catamounts shots for the victory, and added an assist to the scoresheet on the Huskies' 1st goal which held up as the game winner. Frankel ends 2020-21 play with just 9 goals against in 10 games in nets, 3 shutouts, and only two games where the opponents scored 2 goals.

Northeastern will enter the women's 10-team Hockey East post-season tourney (starting Wednesday) as the #1 seed with home ice advantage @ Matthews Arena for their attempt to win the Hockey East 2021 championship. With their 1st place conference finish the Lady Huskies automatically qualified for the tournament quarterfinals, so they will have 2 weeks off before their first match on Sunday, March 14th. Hopefully they can stay focused (ETA: and COVID-free) during the down time, so their hard work & exceptional play to date isn't wasted.

 

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The Ladies of Maine & Holy Cross battle a 1-1 tie in regulation, then their 3-on-3 OT session ends without scoring in a rare 5-on-4 power play before Maine wins in the shootout (winning goal by freshman defender Elise Morphy) to close out the Hockey East ir-regular season for the women's side.

The second-to-last women's game saw the BC Eagles gain the weekend sweep over crosstown rivals BU with a 2-0 shutout. Eagles 6'1" junior goaltender Abigail Levy gets the win to wrap up a 14-4-0 season for Boston College & a 2nd place finish in the conference behind Northeastern.

Now come the HEPI calculations to determine post-season tournament seeding & match-ups. Stay tuned.

 

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HOCKEY EAST WOMEN'S GAMEDAY (Saturday, February 20, 2021) ... Recaps, box scores and video highlight links

HOCKEY EAST MEN'S GAMEDAY (Sat. the 20th) ... Ditto

 

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2020-21 Hockey East Women's Rankings
This season's regular season champion and tournament seeding will be determined by the Hockey East Power Index (HEPI). For more details on the system click here.