2020–21 Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey season

2020–21 Vermont Catamounts
men's ice hockey season
Conference11th Hockey East
Home iceGutterson Fieldhouse
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall1–10–2
Conference1–9–2
Home1–6–1
Road0–4–1
Neutral0–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachTodd Woodcroft
Assistant coachesJeff Hill
Steve Wiedler
Mark Stuart
Captain(s)Andrew Lucas
Alternate captain(s)Alex Esposito
Owen Grant
Bryce Misley
Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey seasons
« 2019–20 2021–22 »

The 2020–21 Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey season was the 65th season of play for the program, the 48th at the Division I level, and the 16th season in the Hockey East conference. The Catamounts represented the University of Vermont and were coached by Todd Woodcroft, in his 1st 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 Vermont'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]

Vermont's first season under Todd Woodcroft could hardly have gone worse. Aside from the problems caused by the pandemic, the team's offense was nearly invisible for most of the year. The Catamounts only once scored more than 3 goals (their only win on the season), and were shut out on three separate occasions, a little less than a quarter of their games. One silver lining was that most of the teams they faces were ranked and Vermont is in the process of rebuilding after an abysmal season the year before.

Azzaro Tinling and Whim Stålberg sat out the season.

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Matt Alvaro Forward  Canada Graduation (Signed with Orlando Solar Bears)
Tom Beretta Forward  Canada Graduation (Signed with Norfolk Admirals)
Joey Cipollone Forward  United States Transferred to Quinnipiac
Johnny DeRoche Forward  United States Transferred to Northeastern
Max Kaufman Forward  United States Transferred to Boston University
Stefanos Lekkas Goaltender  United States Graduation (Signed with Fort Wayne Komets)
Derek Lodermeier Forward  United States Graduation (Signed with Jacksonville Icemen)
Riley McCutcheon Forward  Canada Left program
Corey Moriarty Defenseman  United States Graduation
Matthew O'Donnell Defenseman  United States Graduation

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Mickey Burns Forward  United States 20 Wayne, NJ
Gabe Carriere Goaltender  United States 19 Orleans, ON
Noah Jordan Forward  Canada 23 Toronto, ON; transfer from Miami
Jordan Kaplan Forward  United States 23 Bridgewater, NJ; transfer from Sacred Heart
Tristan Mullin Forward  Canada 23 Cartwright, MB; transfer from Cornell
Cody Schiavon Defenseman  Canada 20 West Kelowna, BC
Whim Stålberg Forward  Sweden 21 Göteborg, SWE
Azzaro Tinling Forward  Canada 20 Pointe-Claire, QC
Dovar Tinling Forward  Canada 17 Pointe-Claire, QC
Ray Vītoliņš Forward  Latvia 18 Ogre, LAT
Will Zapernick Forward  Canada 20 Edmonton, AB

Roster

As of February 12, 2021.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 New Jersey Tyler Harmon Senior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1997-10-17 Ramsey, New Jersey Jersey (USPHL) —
2 Virginia Carter Long Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1998-02-13 Yorktown, Virginia Lincoln (USHL) —
3 New Jersey Andrew Petrillo Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-03-12 Pompton Plains, New Jersey Central Illinois (USHL) —
4 Ontario Owen Grant (A) Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-01-22 Ottawa, Ontario Carleton Place (CCHL) —
5 Iowa Christian Evers Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-05-25 Waukee, Iowa Lincoln (USHL) —
6 Virginia Andrew Lucas (C) Sophomore D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1999-02-05 Alexandria, Virginia Brooks (AJHL) —
7 Ontario Simon Boyko Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-04-04 Mississauga, Ontario Brooks (AJHL) —
9 Ontario Bryce Misley (A) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-09-05 Toronto, Ontario Oakville (OJHL) MIN, 116th overall 2017
10 Russia Vlad Dzhioshvili Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-01-06 Moscow, Russia Bloomington (USHL) —
11 Sweden Whim Stålberg Freshman F 6' 5" (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999-06-14 Gothenburg, Sweden Jersey (NCDC) —
12 Ontario Nic Hamre Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-04-25 Cumberland, Ontario Brooks (AJHL) —
14 Massachusetts Ace Cowans Senior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1996-09-18 Beverly, Massachusetts Waterloo (USHL) —
16 Alberta Will Zapernick Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-11-16 Edmonton, Alberta Sherwood Park (AJHL) —
17 Connecticut Jacques Bouquot Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2000-02-10 South Windsor, Connecticut Chilliwack (BCHL) —
18 Quebec Azzaro Tinling Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1999-12-20 Pointe-Claire, Quebec Hawkesbury (CCHL) —
20 British Columbia Cody Schiavon Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 2000-07-01 West Kelowna, British Columbia Trail (BCHL) —
21 Manitoba Tristan Mullin Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 1996-10-09 Cartwright, Manitoba Cornell (ECAC) —
22 Connecticut Alex Esposito (A) Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-06-03 West Haven, Connecticut Youngstown (USHL) —
23 Ontario Noah Jordan Junior F 6' 5" (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1997-03-08 Toronto, Ontario Miami (NCHC) —
24 New York (state) Brian Kelly Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 808 lb (367 kg) 1997-12-24 Purchase, New York Connecticut (USPHL) —
25 Quebec Dovar Tinling Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2003-03-03 Pointe-Claire, Quebec Hawkesbury (CCHL) —
26 Latvia Ray Vītoliņš Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-01-12 Ogre, Latvia Sioux Falls (USHL) —
27 Saskatchewan Cory Thomas Senior D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1998-03-19 St. Brieux, Saskatchewan Flin Flon (SJHL) —
28 Quebec William Lemay Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-12-28 Marieville, Quebec Brooks (AJHL) —
29 Alberta Dallas Comeau Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-09-19 Calgary, Alberta Grande Prairie (AJHL) —
30 Connecticut Matt Beck Senior G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996-10-05 Westport, Connecticut Philadelphia (USPHL) —
34 New Jersey Mickey Burns Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2000-04-03 Wayne, New Jersey Jersey (NCDC) —
35 Ontario Gabe Carriere Freshman G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-11-05 Ottawa, Ontario Waterloo (USHL) —
37 New Jersey Jordan Kaplan Junior (RS) F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1997-05-19 Bridgewater, New Jersey Sacred Heart (AHA) —

Standings

2020–21 Hockey East Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SOW HEPI GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#6 Boston College 21 16 4 1 3 2 0 58.61 82 46 24 17 6 1 91 58
#11 Boston University 14 10 3 1 3 1 1 56.36 49 37 16 10 5 1 52 45
#1 Massachusetts * 22 13 5 4 1 1 1 55.44 76 42 29 20 5 4 103 48
Connecticut 22 10 10 2 1 4 2 52.01 69 63 23 10 11 2 70 69
#16 Providence 23 10 8 5 0 0 2 50.80 63 61 25 11 9 5 71 67
Northeastern 20 9 8 3 1 0 3 49.94 68 60 21 9 9 3 69 64
#19 Massachusetts–Lowell 16 7 8 1 1 1 0 48.00 46 53 20 10 9 1 59 63
Maine 15 3 10 2 0 1 2 46.66 41 61 16 3 11 2 43 68
Merrimack 18 5 11 2 0 1 0 45.38 47 66 18 5 11 2 47 66
New Hampshire 21 5 13 3 3 2 2 43.66 51 83 23 6 14 3 60 88
Vermont 12 1 9 2 0 0 0 38.02 17 37 13 1 10 2 20 42
Championship: March 20, 2021[4]
No Regular Season Champion Awarded[5]
* indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

[6]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
December 19 6:00 PM at #10 Massachusetts Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts NESN Harmon L 0–4  0 0–1–0 (0–1–0)
December 20 6:00 PM at #10 Massachusetts Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts NESN Harmon L 1–4  0 0–2–0 (0–2–0)
December 26 7:00 PM vs. #12 Northeastern Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont   Harmon L 1–4  0 0–3–0 (0–3–0)
December 27 7:00 PM vs. #12 Northeastern Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont   Harmon T 2–2 SOL 0 0–3–1 (0–3–1)
January 1 1:00 PM vs. #15 Providence Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island NESN Harmon T 0–0 SOL 0 0–3–2 (0–3–2)
January 2 7:00 PM vs. #15 Providence Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island NESN Harmon L 1–3  0 0–4–2 (0–4–2)
January 8 1:00 PM vs. Maine Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont   Harmon W 5–4  0 1–4–2 (1–4–2)
January 9 1:00 PM vs. Maine Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont   Carriere L 3–4  0 1–5–2 (1–5–2)
February 12 6:00 PM vs. #13 Boston University Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont   Carriere L 0–1  0 1–6–2 (1–6–2)
February 13 6:00 PM vs. #13 Boston University Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont   Harmon L 1–5  0 1–7–2 (1–7–2)
February 26 7:00 PM vs. Massachusetts–Lowell Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont   Carriere L 1–3  0 1–8–2 (1–8–2)
February 27 7:00 PM vs. Massachusetts–Lowell Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont   Carriere L 2–3  0 1–9–2 (1–9–2)
Hockey East Tournament
March 10 3:00 PM at Massachusetts–Lowell Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts (Opening Round) NESN Carriere L 3–5  0 1–10–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Christian Evers D 13 4 3 7 14
Ray Vitolins F 12 1 5 6 4
Tristan Mullin F 11 4 1 5 4
Jacques Bouquot C 12 2 3 5 2
Vlad Dzhioshvili F 13 1 4 5 18
Andrew Lucas D/F 13 1 3 4 12
Bryce Misley C 13 1 2 3 0
Alex Esposito RW 13 1 2 3 10
Simon Boyko RW 7 2 0 2 0
Jordan Kaplan F 9 1 1 2 4
Dovar Tinling C/LW 12 1 1 2 4
Carter Long D 13 1 1 2 4
Cody Schiavon D 3 0 1 1 0
Conner Hutchison D 6 0 1 1 8
Tyler Harmon G 10 0 1 1 0
Ace Cowans C/LW 11 0 1 1 6
Owen Grant D 13 0 1 1 6
William Lemay LW 13 0 1 1 0
Matt Beck G 1 0 0 0 0
Brian Kelly D 3 0 0 0 0
Dallas Comeau F 3 0 0 0 2
Noah Jordan RW 5 0 0 0 0
Mickey Burns LW 5 0 0 0 0
Gabe Carriere G 6 0 0 0 0
Andrew Petrillo D 7 0 0 0 0
Nic Hamre LW 12 0 0 0 15
Will Zapernick C/RW 12 0 0 0 4
Cory Thomas D 13 0 0 0 4
Bench - 13 - - - 6
Total 20 32 52 127

[7]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Matt Beck 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.000 0.00
Gabe Carriere 6 284 0 5 0 12 147 0 .925 2.53
Tyler Harmon 10 498 1 5 2 28 267 0 .905 3.37
Empty Net - 6 - - - 2 - - - -
Total 13 790 1 10 2 42 415 0 .908 3.19

Rankings

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 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.[8]

2021 NHL Entry Draft

Round Pick Player NHL team
3 92 Andrei Buyalsky† Colorado Avalanche
6 171 Cal Thomas† Arizona Coyotes

† incoming freshman [9]

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. ^ "2020–21 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". UVM Athletixs. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  4. ^ "Hockey East Unveils 2021 Tournament and Seeding Format - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  5. ^ "2021 Hockey East Women's Tournament Field Set". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  6. ^ "Vermont Catamounts (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  7. ^ "Univ. of Vermont 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  8. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  9. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2021 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.