2020–21 St. Lawrence Saints men's ice hockey season

2020–21 St. Lawrence Saints
men's ice hockey season
ECAC Tournament, Champion
NCAA Tournament, Withdrawal
Conference3rd ECAC Hockey
Home iceAppleton Arena
Rankings
USCHO.comNR
USA Today/
US Hockey Magazine
NR
Record
Overall6–8–3
Conference4–8–2
Home1–5–2
Road5–3–1
Neutral0–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachBrent Brekke
Assistant coachesBen Murphy
Tommy Hill
Captain(s)Callum Cusinato
Dylan Woolf
St. Lawrence Saints men's ice hockey seasons
« 2019–20 2021–22 »

The 2020–21 St. Lawrence Saints Men's ice hockey season was the 81st season of play for the program and the 60th season in the ECAC Hockey conference. The Saints represented the St. Lawrence University and were coached by Brent Brekke, in his 2nd 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 St. Lawrence'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]

After an abysmal season, St. Lawrence continued to see a great deal of roster turnover as the program recovered from Mark Morris's tenure. The Saints got a late start to the season, even after the delay due to COVID, but the team played surprisingly well once they got on the ice. buoyed by the play of junior netminder Emil Zetterquist, SLU gave opponents fits throughout the season, holding at least a .500 record until February when the team ran into league-leading Quinnipiac and lost four consecutive matches against the Bobcats. Even with the losses, however, St. Lawrence kept the score close and demonstrated great strides by a team that had finished last in the ECAC for three consecutive years.

St. Lawrence's final matchup of the regular season was cancelled when Clarkson ended their season due to COVID protocol violations.[3] The Saints ended in 3rd place, giving them a home game for the ECAC Tournament. Ordinarily this would have been seen as a positive for the team, but St. Lawrence hadn't won a single home game through 7 games. Despite the recent history, SLU produced its largest offensive output of the season and defeated Colgate 5–4 in overtime. The Saints found themselves playing for a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament despite a 5–8–3 record and got out to an early lead. Quinnipiac took over in the second and then tried to play in a defensive shell for the remainder of the contest but the Larries scored late and then David Jankowski scored the game-winner in the fourth minute of overtime.

The miraculous, albeit short, run for the Saints gave them their first league championship in 20 years and their first tournament berth since 2007. Unfortunately, everything came crashing to a halt a day later when Brent Brekke tested positive for COVID-19 and St. Lawrence was forced to withdraw from the tournament.[4] St. Lawrence was just the second ECAC Tournament champion to not play in the NCAA Tournament and the second time a team declined an automatic invitation to a national tournament, the previous time for both was by Harvard in 1963.[5]

Grant Adams and Luke Erickson sat out the season.

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Carson Dimoff Forward  United States Left program
Ryan Garvey Forward  Canada Graduation
Carson Gicewicz Forward  United States Transferred to Massachusetts
Alex Gilmour Forward  Canada Graduation (Signed with Birmingham Bulls)
Cade Gleekel Forward  United States Left program
Bo Hanson Defenseman  United States Transferred to Denver
Michael Laidley Forward  Canada Graduation (Signed with Pensacola Ice Flyers)
Daniel Mannella Goaltender  Canada Graduation
Ted McGeen Forward  Canada Transferred to Guelph
Andrew McIntyre Forward  Canada Left program
Eddie Pavlini Forward  United States Left program
Zac Risteau Forward  United States Transferred to St. Thomas
Keenan Suthers Forward  Canada Transferred to Maine

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Grant Adams Goaltender  United States 20 Niles, MI
Max Dorrington Forward  United States 19 North Reading, MA
Luke Erickson Defenseman  United States 21 Woodbury, MN
Greg Lapointe Forward  Canada 19 Granby, QC
Tucker McIntosh Defenseman  Canada 19 Toronto, ON
Reilly Moran Forward  United States 20 Hingham, MA
Justin Paul Forward  Canada 20 Thunder Bay, ON
Logan Ritchie Forward  United States 21 O'Fallon, MO
Luc Salem Defenseman  United States 21 Los Angeles, CA
Nick Trela Forward  United States 21 Trenton, MI

Roster

As of December 31, 2020.[6]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Sweden Emil Zetterquist Junior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-09-21 Stockholm, Sweden Coulee Region (NAHL)
2 Minnesota Dylan Woolf (C) Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1996-05-03 Victoria, Minnesota Lincoln (USHL)
3 New York (state) Mark Mahoney Junior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-05-08 Canton, New York Hotchkiss (USHS–CT)
4 Ontario Cameron White Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-03-12 Toronto, Ontario Ottawa (CCHL)
7 California Luc Salem Freshman D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-07-09 Santa Monica, California Topeka (NAHL)
9 Minnesota Luke Erickson Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1999-04-15 Woodbury, Minnesota Fairbanks (NAHL)
10 Ontario David Jankowski Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1997-05-25 Waterdown, Ontario Hawkesbury (CCHL)
12 Quebec Greg Lapointe Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-01-01 Granby, Quebec Coquitlam (BCHL)
13 Finland Aleksi Peltonen Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-06-08 Helsinki, Finland Omaha (USHL)
14 Ontario Justin Paul Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 2000-04-10 Thunder Bay, Ontario Wellington (OJHL)
15 Wisconsin Jacob Nielsen Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-02-21 New Berlin, Wisconsin Lincoln (USHL)
16 North Carolina Nicholas Wildgoose Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-12-07 Cary, North Carolina Rockland (CCHL)
17 Massachusetts Reilly Moran Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2000-04-24 Hingham, Massachusetts Powell River (BCHL)
18 New York (state) Kaden Pickering Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-12-17 Madrid, New York Chilliwack (BCHL)
19 Massachusetts Max Dorrington Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-08-30 North Reading, Massachusetts Cushing Academy (USHS–MA)
20 Michigan Nicholas Trela Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-08-26 Trenton, Michigan Amarillo (NAHL)
21 Minnesota Cameron Buhl Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1998-12-03 South St. Paul, Minnesota Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)
22 Ontario Jeff Clarke Junior D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999-04-15 London, Ontario Oakville (OJHL)
23 Colorado Ashton Fry Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-07-16 Highlands Ranch, Colorado Kemptville (CCHL)
24 Ontario Tucker McIntosh Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-05-20 Toronto, Ontario Ottawa (CCHL)
27 Missouri Logan Ritchie Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-07-27 O'Fallon, Missouri Kenai River (NAHL)
28 Ontario Callum Cusinato (C) Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1998-09-29 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Jr. Canadiens (OJHL)
29 Wisconsin Jordan Steinmetz Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1999-01-10 Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin Sioux City (USHL)
31 Quebec Francis Boisvert Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1999-03-11 Blainville, Quebec Ottawa (CCHL)
32 Sweden Philip Alftberg Senior D 5' 8" (1.73 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-01-19 Märsta, Sweden Fargo (USHL)
33 Missouri Tim Makowski Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-11-14 St. Louis, Missouri Aberdeen (NAHL)
35 Indiana Grant Adams Freshman G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-09-22 South Bend, Indiana Salmon Arm (BCHL)
44 Illinois Jake Stevens Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1996-12-06 Naperville, Illinois Victoria (BCHL)

Standings

Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS PT% GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#11 Quinnipiac 18 10 4 4 1 1 3 37 .685 54 34 29 17 8 4 100 59
#20 Clarkson 14 6 4 4 1 2 2 25 .595 29 25 22 11 7 4 62 52
St. Lawrence * 14 4 8 2 1 1 1 15 .357 30 37 17 6 8 3 40 45
Colgate 18 5 9 4 1 0 1 16 .352 34 51 22 6 11 5 48 66
Brown 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Cornell 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Dartmouth 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Harvard 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Princeton 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Rensselaer 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Union 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Yale 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Championship: March 20, 2021
† indicates conference regular season champion (Cleary Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Whitelaw Cup)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
December 31 4:00 PM vs. #12 Quinnipiac Appleton ArenaCanton, New York   Zetterquist T 2–2 SOL 0 0–0–1 (0–0–1)
January 3 1:00 PM at #12 Quinnipiac People's United CenterHamden, Connecticut   Zetterquist W 4–2  0 1–0–1 (1–0–1)
January 7 5:00 PM at Colgate Class of 1965 ArenaHamilton, New York   Zetterquist W 2–1  0 2–0–1 (2–0–1)
January 9 7:00 PM vs. Colgate Appleton ArenaCanton, New York   Zetterquist L 2–4  0 2–1–1 (2–1–1)
January 10 5:00 PM vs. Colgate Appleton ArenaCanton, New York   Zetterquist T 1–1 SOW 0 2–1–2 (2–1–2)
January 15 5:00 PM at #15 Clarkson Cheel ArenaPotsdam, New York   Zetterquist W 2–1 OT 0 3–1–2 (3–1–2)
January 17 4:00 PM vs. #15 Clarkson Appleton ArenaCanton, New York   Zetterquist L 1–2  0 3–2–2 (3–2–2)
January 21 5:00 PM vs. Colgate Appleton ArenaCanton, New York   Zetterquist L 3–4 OT 0 3–3–2 (3–3–2)
January 23 6:00 PM at Colgate Class of 1965 ArenaHamilton, New York   Zetterquist W 4–3  0 4–3–2 (4–3–2)
January 24 4:00 PM at Colgate Class of 1965 ArenaHamilton, New York   Boisvert L 3–4  0 4–4–2 (4–4–2)
February 5 4:00 PM at #12 Quinnipiac People's United CenterHamden, Connecticut   Zetterquist L 1–4  0 4–5–2 (4–5–2)
February 6 4:00 PM at #12 Quinnipiac People's United CenterHamden, Connecticut   Zetterquist L 1–2  0 4–6–2 (4–6–2)
February 13 7:30 PM at Sacred Heart* Webster Bank ArenaBridgeport, Connecticut   Zetterquist T 2–2 OT 0 4–6–3
February 26 4:00 PM vs. #12 Quinnipiac Appleton ArenaCanton, New York   Zetterquist L 2–4  0 4–7–3 (4–7–2)
February 27 4:00 PM vs. #12 Quinnipiac Appleton ArenaCanton, New York   Zetterquist L 2–3  0 4–8–3 (4–8–2)
ECAC Hockey Tournament
March 18 5:00 PM vs. Colgate* Class of 1965 ArenaHamilton, New York (ECAC Semifinal)   Zetterquist W 5–4 OT 0 5–8–3
March 20 4:00 PM vs. #10 Quinnipiac* People's United CenterHamden, Connecticut (ECAC Championship)   Zetterquist W 3–2 OT 0 6–8–3
NCAA Tournament
St. Lawrence Withdrew due to COVID-19 positive
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

[7]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Cameron Buhl F 17 5 10 15 19
David Jankowski C 15 4 8 12 0
Kaden Pickering RW 17 7 4 11 6
Luc Salem D 17 3 7 10 14
Greg Lapointe F 17 4 5 9 6
Nicholas Trela F 17 4 4 8 6
Justin Paul LW 14 3 2 5 6
Philip Alftberg D/RW 17 1 4 5 12
Tim Makowski D 17 1 4 5 6
Reilly Moran RW 16 1 3 4 4
Tucker McIntosh D 6 2 1 3 6
Ashton Fry F 16 2 1 3 14
Jordan Steinmetz F 17 2 1 3 8
Dylan Woolf D 12 1 2 3 16
Jake Stevens D 16 0 2 2 12
Aleksi Peltonen F 16 0 2 2 2
Callum Cusinato C/LW 10 0 1 1 2
Jacob Nielsen F 11 0 1 1 15
Jeff Clarke D 11 0 1 1 4
Max Dorrington F 14 0 1 1 6
Francis Boisvert G 1 0 0 0 0
Nichlas Wildgoose RW 2 0 0 0 0
Cameron White D 4 0 0 0 0
Mark Mahoney D 6 0 0 0 0
Logan Ritchie F 15 0 0 0 0
Emil Zetterquist G 16 0 0 0 0
Bench 36 - - - - 2
Total 40 64 104 166

[8]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Emil Zetterquist 16 975 6 7 3 39 488 0 .926 2.40
Francis Boisvert 1 58 0 1 0 4 17 0 .810 4.09
Empty Net - 16 - - - 2 - - - -
Total 17 1050 6 8 3 45 505 0 .918 2.57

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 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR - NR
USA Today NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.[9]

Awards and honors

Player Award Ref
David Jankowski ECAC Hockey Most Outstanding Player in Tournament [10]
Cameron Buhl ECAC Hockey First Team [11]
Luc Salem ECAC Hockey Rookie Team [12]
Greg Lapointe

References

  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. ^ "College men's hockey: Clarkson's season called off due to school COVID-19 violations by team members". NNY 360. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  4. ^ "St. Lawrence withdraws from NCAA men's hockey tournament after coach tests positive for COVID-19". ESPN. March 21, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "Year-By-Year Results" (PDF). Harvard Crimson. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  6. ^ "2020–21 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". St. Lawrence University Athletics.
  7. ^ "St. Lawrence Saints (Men) 2020–2021 Schedule and Results". collegehockeystats.net. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "St. Lawrence Univ. 2020–2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  9. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  10. ^ "St. Lawrence Wins First ECAC Hockey Championship in 20 Years". ECAC Hockey. March 20, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  11. ^ "ECAC Hockey Announces First Team All-League". ecachockey.com. March 17, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  12. ^ "ECAC Hockey Announces 2021 All-Rookie Team". ecachockey.com. March 17, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.