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2020–21 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
men's ice hockey season
NCAA Tournament, Frozen Four
Conference3rd NCHC
Home iceAMSOIL Arena
Rankings
USCHO#3
USA Today#4
Record
Overall15–11–2
Conference13–9–2–1–2–1
Home5–3–0
Road3–4–0
Neutral7–4–2
Coaches and captains
Head coachScott Sandelin
Assistant coachesDerek Plante
Adam Krause
Brant Nicklin
Captain(s)Noah Cates
Alternate captain(s)Cole Koepke
Louie Roehl
Nick Swaney
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey seasons
« 2019–20 2021–22 »

The 2020–21 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey season was the 77th season of play for the program and the 8th in the NCHC conference. The Bulldogs represented the University of Minnesota Duluth and were coached by Scott Sandelin, in his 21st season.

Season[edit]

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of Minnesota Duluth's players would lose a season of play.[1] However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.[2]

Along with the rest of the NCHC, Minnesota Duluth began the year in Omaha, Nebraska.[3] Duluth was forced to replace not only the best goaltender in the history of the program, Hunter Shepard, but three standout defensemen, including Hobey Baker Award-winning Scott Perunovich. Despite the talent drain, UMD started the season hot, going undefeated in their first 6 games. The team ran into a bit of trouble in the third week of December but still entered January ranked in the top-5. The Bulldogs began 2021 with 4 consecutive games against St. Cloud State and after winning the first match, dropped three straight to the Huskies. All of the games were close but the bad run allowed freshman Zach Stejskal to get a few turns in the starting role. Duluth recovered with three weeks against bad teams, winning 6 consecutive games, but was stymied by Western Michigan and limped to the end of the regular season. UMD ended up getting passed by St. Cloud in the final game and ended up 3rd in the conference.

The result of their finish was a meeting with Western Michigan in the conference tournament, and Minnesota Duluth had to overcome two separate leads by the Broncos to take the game in overtime. In the semifinal they faced St. Cloud State for the 7th time that season (1/4 of their games) and could never quite impose their will on the Huskies. UMD tied the game twice but the Bulldogs couldn't overcome St. Cloud's 3rd goal and fell in the semifinals. Fortunately, UMD was ranked in the top-10 and was essentially guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Minnesota Duluth was ranked 9th by the selection committee and given a #3 seed. They were placed opposite Michigan but COVID-19 prevented their meeting.[4] Due to Michigan's withdrawal, UMD's first tournament game would be against top-seeded North Dakota and the two ended up producing a game for the ages. UMD started Stejskal in goal and the plan looked to be the perfect choice early; Stejskal turned aside every UND shot in the first two periods and allowed the Bulldogs to take a 2-goal lead early in the third. North Dakota pulled their goalie with more than 2 minutes to play, trying to jump-start their offense and, miraculously, the tactic worked. The Fighting Hawks scored twice in the final 100 seconds and tied the game. The two teams continued to battle into overtime and UMD scored in the extra frame, only to see the goal waved-off due to offsides. More than 40 minutes later, UND almost ended the game when the puck hit Stejskal in the shoulder, deflected up and landed on top of the goal. In the 4th overtime, it looked like North Dakota had caught a break when Stejskal had to leave the game due to cramping but, fortunately for UMD, Ryan Fanti was more than capable of holding the fort. It took another period before the game finally saw the winning goal and freshman Luke Mylymok ended the match with just his second career goal.[5] This was the longest game in the history of the NCAA tournament but was still more than 27 minutes shorter than the longest contest in NCAA history.

The win sent Minnesota Duluth into the Frozen Four for the 4th consecutive season (not counting the cancelled 2020 Tournament) and were joined by two other Minnesota teams. In the national semifinal, UMD faced Massachusetts in a rematch of the 2019 championship. Before the game began, UMD lost the serviced of Fanti due to COVID protocols but UMass would be without 4 players, including their starting goaltender and leading goal-scorer.[6] Despite the disadvantage, the Minutemen hung in the game, keeping the score close while being outshout 36–15 in regulation. UMD was unable to get much past Matt Murray and had to settle for another overtime game with the score knotted at two apiece. In the extra session, Massachusetts came alive and skated rings around the Bulldogs. UMass fired 13 shots on goal, to UMD's 2 and were control most of the overtime. When Garrett Wait netted the winning goal it not only ended the Bulldogs' season but their 9-game winning streak in NCAA overtime games that stretched back to 1985.

Brady Meyer and Ben Patt sat out the season.

Departures[edit]

Player Position Nationality Cause
Jarod Hilderman Defenseman  Canada Graduation (Signed with Birmingham Bulls)
Jade Miller Forward  United States Graduation (Signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Scott Perunovich Defenseman  United States Signed professional contract (St. Louis Blues)
Brandon Puricelli Forward  United States Transferred to Lake Superior State
Justin Richards Forward  United States Signed professional contract (New York Rangers)
Dylan Samberg Defenseman  United States Signed professional contract (Winnipeg Jets)
Hunter Shepard Goaltender  United States Graduation (Signed with Hershey Bears)
Nick Wolff Defenseman  United States Graduation (Signed with Boston Bruins)

Recruiting[edit]

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Blake Biondi Forward  United States 18 Hermantown, MN; selected 109th overall in 2020
Matt Cairns Defenseman  Canada 21 Mississauga, ON; transfer from Cornell; selected 84th overall in 2016
Darian Gotz Defenseman  United States 19 Hermantown, MN
Wyatt Kaiser Defenseman  United States 21 Ham Lake, MN; selected 81st overall in 2020
Connor Kelley Defenseman  United States 19 Maple Grove, MN
Jarrett Lee Forward  United States 21 Hibbing, MN; transfer from Northern Michigan
Luke Mylymok Forward  United States 19 Wilcox, SK
Zach Stejskal Goaltender  United States 20 Cohasset, MN

Roster[edit]

As of March 1, 2021.[7]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2 Minnesota Darian Gotz Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 2000-10-19 Hermantown, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL) —
3 Minnesota Matt Anderson Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-04-11 Shakopee, Minnesota Holy Family (USHS–MN) —
5 Minnesota Wyatt Kaiser Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 2002-07-31 Ham Lake, Minnesota Andover (USHS–MN) CHI, 81st overall 2020
6 Minnesota Louie Roehl (A) Senior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-04-09 Eden Prairie, Minnesota Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL) —
7 Minnesota Blake Biondi Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2002-04-24 Hermantown, Minnesota Hermantown (USHS–MN) MTL, 109th overall 2020
8 Iowa Hunter Lellig Junior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-02-08 Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo (USHL) —
10 Minnesota Kobe Roth Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1997-01-11 Warroad, Minnesota Des Moines (USHL) —
11 Minnesota Koby Bender Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-07-15 Cloquet, Minnesota Muskegon (USHL) —
12 Minnesota Ben Almquist Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-10-01 Victoria, Minnesota Austin (NAHL) —
13 Alberta Tanner Laderoute Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-06-04 Edmonton, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL) —
15 Alberta Quinn Olson Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-05-09 Calgary, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL) BOS, 92nd overall 2019
16 Minnesota Luke Loheit Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-07-26 Minnetonka, Minnesota Penticton (BCHL) OTT, 194th overall 2018
17 Minnesota Cole Koepke (A) Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-05-17 Hermantown, Minnesota Sioux City (USHL) TBL, 183rd overall 2018
18 Minnesota Jesse Jacques Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-09-10 Hermantown, Minnesota Green Bay (USHL) —
19 Minnesota Jarrett Lee Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 154 lb (70 kg) 1999-06-04 Hibbing, Minnesota Green Bay (USHL) —
20 Minnesota Jackson Cates Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-09-28 Stillwater, Minnesota Waterloo (USHL) —
21 Minnesota Noah Cates (C) Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-02-05 Stillwater, Minnesota Omaha (USHL) PHI, 137th overall 2017
22 Ontario Matt Cairns Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1998-04-27 Mississauga, Ontario Cornell (ECAC) EDM, 84th overall 2016
23 Minnesota Nick Swaney (A) Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1997-09-09 Lakeville, Minnesota Waterloo (USHL) MIN, 209th overall 2017
24 Idaho Luke Mylymok Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2001-09-29 Boise, Idaho Salmon Arm (BCHL) —
25 Minnesota Connor Kelley Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-01-30 Maple Grove, Minnesota USNTDP (USHL) —
27 California Jake Rosenbaum Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-03-28 Trabuco Canyon, California Minot (NAHL) —
28 Minnesota Brady Meyer Sophomore F 6' 5" (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2000-10-17 North Branch, Minnesota Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) —
35 Minnesota Zach Stejskal Freshman G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999-12-20 Cohasset, Minnesota Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (NAHL) —
36 Ontario Ben Patt Junior (RS) G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996-05-19 Brampton, Ontario Notre Dame (SJHL) —
39 Ontario Ryan Fanti Sophomore G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-10-03 Thunder Bay, Ontario Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL) —

Standings[edit]

2020–21 National Collegiate Hockey Conference Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS PT% GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#5 North Dakota †* 24 18 5 1 2 1 0 54 .750 94 47 29 22 6 1 114 57
#2 St. Cloud State 24 15 9 0 3 3 0 45 .625 78 64 31 20 11 0 101 84
#3 Minnesota Duluth 24 13 9 2 1 2 1 43 .597 72 54 28 15 11 2 84 66
#13 Omaha 24 14 9 1 4 0 1 40 .556 79 69 26 14 11 1 85 81
Denver 22 9 12 1 0 2 1 31 .470 61 60 24 11 13 1 67 66
Western Michigan 24 10 11 3 1 0 1 33 .458 73 84 25 10 12 3 77 89
Colorado College 22 4 16 2 0 2 2 18 .273 35 77 23 4 17 2 36 79
Miami 24 5 17 2 0 1 0 18 .250 46 83 25 5 18 2 48 89
Championship: March 16, 2021
† indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Frozen Faceoff Championship Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results[edit]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular season
December 1 3:35 PM vs. Omaha #3 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Fanti W 5–3  0 1–0–0 (1–0–0)
December 2 7:35 PM vs. #4 Denver #3 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska Altitude Fanti W 2–1  0 2–0–0 (2–0–0)
December 6 4:05 PM vs. Miami #3 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Fanti W 5–3  0 3–0–0 (3–0–0)
December 8 7:35 PM vs. Miami #3 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Stejskal W 4–2  0 4–0–0 (4–0–0)
December 10 7:35 PM vs. #1 North Dakota #3 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Fanti T 2–2 SOW 0 4–0–1 (4–0–1)
December 12 12:05 PM vs. #9 Denver #3 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska Altitude Fanti W 4–1  0 5–0–1 (5–0–1)
December 13 12:05 PM vs. Colorado College #3 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska AT&T RM Fanti L 1–4  0 5–1–1 (5–1–1)
December 16 3:35 PM vs. #17 Omaha #3 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Fanti T 2–2 SOL 0 5–1–2 (5–1–2)
December 19 12:05 PM vs. #4 North Dakota #3 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Fanti L 1–2  0 5–2–2 (5–2–2)
January 2 6:00 PM at #6 St. Cloud State #4 Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota   Fanti W 4–3 OT 101 6–2–2 (6–2–2)
January 3 4:00 PM at #6 St. Cloud State #4 Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota   Fanti L 1–3  102 6–3–2 (6–3–2)
January 8 7:36 PM vs. #6 St. Cloud State #5 AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota CBSSN Fanti L 3–4  0 6–4–2 (6–4–2)
January 9 6:00 PM vs. #6 St. Cloud State #5 AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota   Stejskal L 0–1 OT 0 6–5–2 (6–5–2)
January 23 6:00 PM vs. Western Michigan #7 AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota   Fanti W 5–1  150 7–5–2 (7–5–2)
January 24 4:00 PM vs. Western Michigan #7 AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota   Stejskal W 4–1  150 8–5–2 (8–5–2)
January 29 3:00 PM at Miami #6 Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio   Fanti W 2–1  0 9–5–2 (9–5–2)
January 30 4:00 PM at Miami #6 Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio   Fanti W 6–3  0 10–5–2 (10–5–2)
February 5 6:00 PM vs. Miami #5 AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota   Fanti W 8–1  150 11–5–2 (11–5–2)
February 6 4:00 PM vs. Miami #5 AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota   Stejskal W 3–1  150 12–5–2 (12–5–2)
February 12 5:05 PM at Western Michigan #4 Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan   Fanti L 0–4  125 12–6–2 (12–6–2)
February 13 3:05 PM at Western Michigan #4 Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan   Stejskal L 1–4  125 12–7–2 (12–7–2)
February 18 3:05 PM vs. Colorado College #8 AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota   Fanti L 1–2  250 12–8–2 (12–8–2)
February 27 7:07 PM vs. #6 St. Cloud State #10 AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota CBSSN Stejskal W 5–1  250 13–8–2 (13–8–2)
March 6 7:07 PM vs. #8 St. Cloud State #9 Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota   Stejskal L 3–4 OT 201 13–9–2 (13–9–2)
NCHC Tournament
March 13 7:30 PM vs. Western Michigan* #9 Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota   Fanti W 5–4 OT 2,167 14–9–2
March 15 3:00 PM vs. #8 St. Cloud State* #9 Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota   Fanti L 2–3  1,957 14–10–2
NCAA Tournament
March 26 3:00 PM vs. #8 Michigan #9 Scheels Arena • Fargo, North Dakota (Regional semifinals) ESPNU Cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols[4]
March 27 6:30 PM vs. #1 North Dakota* #9 Scheels Arena • Fargo, North Dakota (Regional final) ESPNU Fanti W 3–2 5OT 1,494 15–10–2
April 8 8:00 PM vs. #6 Massachusetts* #9 PPG Paints Arena • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (National semifinals) ESPN2 Stejskal L 2–3 OT 3,660 15–11–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time.

[8]

Scoring statistics[edit]

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Nick Swaney RW 28 13 15 28 10
Jackson Cates C 28 11 16 27 4
Cole Koepke LW 28 15 8 23 22
Kobe Roth F 28 13 10 23 2
Koby Bender F 28 7 13 20 21
Noah Cates LW 28 5 14 19 25
Quinn Olson C/LW 28 3 8 11 16
Tanner Laderoute F 28 3 7 10 11
Wyatt Kaiser D 28 0 10 10 26
Jesse Jacques F 28 2 7 9 18
Matt Anderson D 28 0 7 7 16
Matt Cairns D 28 0 6 6 12
Connor Kelley D 25 3 2 5 4
Luke Loheit RW 28 3 2 5 35
Blake Biondi C 26 2 3 5 8
Hunter Lellig D 28 1 4 5 4
Luke Mylymok C/W 12 2 2 4 15
Louie Roehl D 28 0 3 3 34
Jake Rosenbaum D 8 0 2 2 0
Ben Almquist F 10 1 0 1 0
Darian Gotz D 19 0 1 1 4
Zach Stejskal G 9 0 0 0 0
Jarret Lee F 12 0 0 0 4
Ryan Fanti G 20 0 0 0 0
Bench - - - - - 4
Total 84 140 224 295

[9]

Goaltending statistics[edit]

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Zach Stejskal 9 622 4 4 0 19 250 0 .929 1.83
Ryan Fanti 20 1169 11 7 2 46 446 0 .907 2.36
Empty Net - 8 - - - 1 - - - -
Total 28 1799 15 11 2 66 696 0 .913 2.20

Rankings[edit]

Main article: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 (Final)
USCHO.com 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 5 7 7 6 5 4 8 10 9 9 9 9 - 3
USA Today 3 3 4 3 3 3 4 4 5 8 7 6 6 4 8 10 9 9 9 9 5 4

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

Awards and honors[edit]

Player Award Ref
Nick Swaney NCHC First Team [11]
Noah Cates NCHC Second Team [11]
Wyatt Kaiser NCHC Third Team [11]
Cole Koepke
Wyatt Kaiser NCHC Rookie Team [12]

Players drafted into the NHL[edit]

2021 NHL Entry Draft[edit]

Round Pick Player NHL team
7 204 Connor Kelley Chicago Blackhawks

† incoming freshman [13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility". CBS Sports. August 21, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately". NCAA. December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  3. ^ "NCHC Will Begin Season in Omaha Bubble". Neutral Zone. October 16, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Svoboda, Kurt (March 26, 2021). "U-M Removed from NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament Due to COVID Protocols". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  5. ^ "Minnesota Duluth wins epic NCAA hockey game over North Dakota in five overtimes". Star Tribune. March 28, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "Fanti Out for UMD Due to COVID Protocols". College Hockey News. April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  7. ^ "2020–21 Men's Hockey Roster". University of Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  8. ^ "Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  9. ^ "Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  10. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c "North Dakota Paces 2020-21 NCHC All-Conference Teams". nchchockey.com. March 8, 2021. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  12. ^ "Five Teams Represented on 2020-21 NCHC All-Rookie Team". nchchockey.com. March 8, 2021. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  13. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2021 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020%E2%80%9321_Minnesota_Duluth_Bulldogs_men%27s_ice_hockey_season

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