The 2020–21 New Hampshire Wildcats Men's ice hockey season was the 95th season of play for the program and the 37th season in the Hockey East conference. The Wildcats represented the University of New Hampshire and were coached by Mike Souza, in his 3rd season.
Season 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 New Hampshire's players would lose a season of play. 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.
After a good start to the season, UNH was bit by the injury bug. The team lost several key upperclassmen for extended periods, including team captain Charlie Kelleher. The Wildcats were able to play well in some of their games but the team went through an 8-game stretch where they couldn't win a single match. By the end of the season the team had gotten healthy again, but they sat 10th in the conference. UNH came alive in the Hockey East Tournament, knocking off long-time rival Maine 7–2 in the opening round. The Wildcats then took on the top team in the nation, Boston College and came close to pulling off a stunning upset, falling 2–3 in their final game of the year.
Jeremy Forman sat out the season.
Departures Liam Blackburn Forward Graduation (Signed with ERSC Amberg) Matthew Dawson Defenseman Graduation Justin Fregona Forward Graduation Max Gildon Defenseman Signed professional contract (Florida Panthers) Robby Griffin Forward Left program Joey Lazzaro Goaltender Graduation Nolan McElhaney Defenseman Transferred to Long Island Joe Sacco Forward Graduation Anthony Wyse Defenseman Graduation (Signed with Indy Fuel)
Recruiting Nick Cafarelli Forward 18 Middleton, MA Jeremy Forman Goaltender 21 Northbrook, IL Cameron Gendron Forward 21 Wilmington, MA Nikolai Jenson Defenseman 20 Cold Spring, MN Joe Nagle Defenseman 21 Weymouth, MA Luke Reid Defenseman 19 Geneva, IL; 166th selection in the 2020 NHL entry draft Carsen Richels Forward 18 Ham Lake, MN Alec Semandel Defenseman 19 Waunakee, WI; transfer from Lake Superior State Tyler Ward Forward 21 Kamloops, BC; transfer from Denver
Roster As of February 12, 2021.
Standings
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular season
!colspan=12 style=";" |
Scoring statistics F 23 9 16 25 4 LW 20 9 9 18 4 D 23 6 12 18 2 C 23 7 8 15 2 C 22 6 5 11 21 RW 16 5 5 10 31 D 23 2 8 10 24 D 22 3 5 8 12 LW 22 1 7 8 33 F 17 3 4 7 4 LW 21 3 4 7 6 F 16 2 4 6 6 F 14 1 5 6 4 D 22 0 5 5 20 D 20 2 2 4 4 RW 13 0 4 4 10 F 13 1 1 2 4 D 20 0 2 2 12 C 12 0 1 1 0 LW 17 0 1 1 20 LW 22 0 1 1 8 F 4 0 0 0 0 G 5 0 0 0 0 D 6 0 0 0 4 D 7 0 0 0 2 D 19 0 0 0 2 G 21 0 0 0 2 Bench - 23 - - - 10 Total 60 109 169 251
Goaltending statistics 21 1227 5 12 3 69 511 0 .881 3.37 5 165 1 2 0 17 69 0 .802 6.16 Empty Net - 10 - - - 2 - - - - Total 23 1403 6 14 3 88 580 0 .868 3.76
Rankings
PollWeekPre123456789101112131415161718192021 (Final) USCHO.comNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR-NR USA TodayNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.
Awards and honors Patrick Grasso Len Ceglarski Award Jackson Pierson Hockey East Second Team Angus Crookshank Hockey East Third Team
Players drafted into the NHL 2021 NHL entry draft 3 88 Stiven Sardarian† Buffalo Sabres 6 192 Alex Gagne† Tampa Bay Lightning † incoming freshman
References