| 2020–21 USHL Season | |
|---|---|
| League | United States Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | November 6, 2020 – April 24, 2021 |
| Number of games | 49–54 |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| Regular season | |
| Anderson Cup | Chicago Steel |
| Clark Cup Playoffs | |
| Western champions | Fargo Force |
| Western runners-up | Sioux City Musketeers |
| Eastern champions | Chicago Steel |
| Eastern runners-up | Muskegon Lumberjacks |
| Clark Cup Playoffs MVP | Adam Fantilli[1] |
| Clark Cup Champions | |
| Champions | Chicago Steel |
The 2020–21 USHL season was the 42nd season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league.
Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous season was curtailed on March 12, 2020, without holding a playoff or awarding a Clark Cup champion.[2][3] As pandemic-related restrictions were still in effect, the start of the 2020–21 season was delayed to November 2020.[4]
During the offseason, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders' home arena was damaged during the August 10 derecho, forcing the team to suspend operations for at least the 2020–21 season. The Madison Capitols chose to not participate due to pandemic restrictions in Madison, Wisconsin.[4]
The regular season ran from November 6, 2020, to April 24, 2021, with a 54-game schedule for each team.[5] Due to pandemic safety protocols, several games were postponed or cancelled, with six of the fourteen teams completing all 54 games. For the second consecutive season, the Chicago Steel were awarded the Anderson Cup for accumulating 81 points in 54 games for a 0.750 points percentage. The Steel also won the Clark Cup playoff championship.[1]
Regular season[edit]
Due to the unbalanced schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic, the league ranked teams on points percentage.
Final standings:[6]
Eastern Conference[edit]
|
Western Conference[edit]
|
x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched conference title; z = clinched regular season title
Clark Cup playoffs[edit]
Final results:[7]
| Conference Semifinals (Best-of-3) | Conference Finals (Best-of-3) | Clark Cup Championship (Best-of-5) | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Chicago | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Dubuque | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Chicago | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
| E2 | Muskegon | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Muskegon | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Green Bay | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Chicago | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Fargo | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Tri-City | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Fargo | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Sioux City | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
| W4 | Fargo | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Omaha | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Sioux City | 2 | ||||||||||||
Postseason awards[edit]
USHL awards[edit]
| Award | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Sean Farrell | Chicago Steel[8] |
| Forward of the Year | Matthew Coronato | Chicago Steel[9] |
| Defenseman of the Year | Mason Lohrei | Green Bay Gamblers[10] |
| Rookie of the Year | Cole Sillinger | Sioux Falls Stampede[11] |
| Goaltender of the Year | Akira Schmid | Sioux City Musketeers[12] |
| Coach of the Year | Mike Hamilton | Muskegon Lumberjacks[13] |
| Scholar-Athlete | Connor Kurth | Dubuque Fighting Saints[14] |
| Curt Hammer | Will Dineen | Sioux Falls Stampede[15] |
| General Manager of the Year | Ryan Hardy | Chicago Steel[16] |
| Executive of the Year | Jeff Mitchell | Green Bay Gamblers[17] |
| Organization of the Year | All member organizations[18] | |
All-USHL First Team[edit]
| Pos | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| G | Akira Schmid | Sioux City |
| D | Mason Lohrei | Green Bay |
| D | Ryan Ufko | Chicago |
| F | Matthew Coronato | Chicago |
| F | Sean Farrell | Chicago |
| F | Danil Gushchin | Muskegon |
Source[19]
All-USHL Second Team[edit]
| Pos | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| G | Jakub Dobes | Omaha |
| D | Brent Johnson | Sioux Falls |
| D | Cole McWard | Tri-City |
| F | Josh Doan | Chicago |
| F | Ayrton Martino | Omaha |
| F | Cole Sillinger | Sioux Falls |
Source[19]
All-USHL Third Team[edit]
| Pos | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| G | Brennan Boynton | Fargo |
| D | Alex Gagne | Muskegon |
| D | Henry Thrun | Dubuque |
| F | Cameron Berg | Muskegon |
| F | Robert Cronin | Dubuque |
| F | Jake Schmaltz | Green Bay |
Source[19]
USHL All-Rookie Team[edit]
| Pos | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| G | Jack Stark | Chicago |
| D | Jacob Guevin | Muskegon |
| D | Brent Johnson | Sioux Falls |
| F | Ayrton Martino | Omaha |
| F | Matthew Savoie | Dubuque |
| F | Cole Sillinger | Sioux Falls |
Source[20]
All-Rookie Second Team[edit]
| Pos | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| G | Emmett Croteau | Waterloo |
| D | Shai Buium | Sioux City |
| D | Jack Peart | Fargo |
| F | Gavin Brindley | Tri-City |
| F | Adam Fantilli | Chicago |
| F | Connor Kurth | Dubuque |
Source[20]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Chicago Steel Win Clark Cup Championship". USHL. May 22, 2021.
- ^ Rose, Joshua (March 12, 202). "Green Bay Gamblers season suspended due to COVID-19". WFRV-TV. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
- ^ "Remainder of USHL season canceled". Nebraska TV. March 18, 2020.
- ^ a b "Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and Madison Capitols Will Not Participate in 2020-21 USHL Season". OurSports Central. September 18, 2020.
- ^ "USHL Announces 2020-21 Schedule". USHL. September 29, 2020.
- ^ "USHL Standings". USHL. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
- ^ "2020-21 Clark Cup Playoff Hub". USHL. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
- ^ "Sean Farrell Named USHL Player of the Year". OurSports Central. June 7, 2021.
- ^ "Matt Coronato Named USHL Forward of the Year". OurSports Central. June 7, 2021.
- ^ "Lohrei Named USHL Defenseman of the Year". OurSports Central. June 7, 2021.
- ^ "USHL Announces 2020-21 Individual Player Awards". USHL. June 7, 2021.
- ^ "Schmid Named USHL Goaltender of the Year". OurSports Central. June 7, 2021.
- ^ "Head Coach Mike Hamilton Named USHL Coach of the Year". OurSports Central. May 28, 2021.
- ^ "Connor Kurth Named USHL Scholar-Athlete of the Year". OurSports Central. July 19, 2021.
- ^ "Will Dineen Wins 2020-21 USHL Curt Hammer Award". USHL. July 2, 2021.
- ^ "Ryan Hardy Named USHL General Manager of the Year". OurSports Central. May 28, 2021.
- ^ "Gamblers President Named USHL Executive of the Year". OurSports Central. July 23, 2021.
- ^ "USHL Awards 2020-21 Organization of the Year". OurSports Central. July 28, 2021.
- ^ a b c "USHL Announces All-USHL Teams for 2020-21 Season". USHL. June 14, 2021.
- ^ a b "USHL Announces All-Rookie Teams for 2020-21 Season". USHL. June 25, 2021.