2020–21 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey season

2020–21 Wisconsin Badgers
men's ice hockey season
Big Ten, Champion
NCAA Tournament, Regional semifinal
Conference1st Big Ten
Home iceLaBahn Arena
Rankings
USCHO8
USA Today8
Record
Overall20–10–1
Conference17–6–1–1–1–0
Home10–5–1
Road9–3–0
Neutral1–2–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachTony Granato
Assistant coachesMark Strobel
Mark Osiecki
Brad Winchester
Captain(s)Ty Emberson
Alternate captain(s)Tarek Baker
Tyler Inamoto
Ty Pelton-Byce
Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey seasons
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The 2020–21 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey season was the 72nd season of play for the program and the 21st season in the Big Ten Conference. The Badgers represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison and were coached by Tony Granato, in his 5th 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 Wisconsin'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]

Wisconsin entered the season having to rely on an entirely new troop of goaltenders, having lost all of their netminders from the year before. That wasn't an unfortunate circumstance as the Badgers had been one of the worst teams in the nation in terms of goals allowed. Senior transfer Robbie Beydoun was the first goalie to start for the team and Wisconsin started well, winning four of their first six games (all against ranked teams). After getting embarrassed by Arizona State in late November, Tony Granato began rotating his starting goalies and the team responded by handing #1 Minnesota their first loss of the season. With the team beginning to fire on all cylinders, Cole Caufield came into his own and rocketed up the national scoring standings. Caufield's goal-scoring helped the Badgers win 13 out of 16 games and finish atop the Big Ten by .002. The drastic turnaround was the first time a team had gone from worst to first in any conference standings since Maine in 1995 (though that included 14 forfeited games).

As the top seed, Wisconsin received a bye into the Big Ten semifinals but, when they hit the ice, the team appeared to have lost some its steam. The Badgers had to twice recover from Penn State leads in the third period before dominating in the overtime session. The championship game versus Minnesota saw more loose play and the Gophers scored four goals in the second period to take a 4-goal edge. The Badgers tried to come back in the final frame, scoring three times but an empty-net goal sealed their defeat.

Despite the championship loss, Wisconsin was ranked 4th by the NCAA selection committee and given the top spot for the East Region in the NCAA Tournament. The Badgers opened against Bemidji State and for the third consecutive game they got off to a slow start. The Beavers scored twice in the first, including a goal with less than 20 seconds remaining. After Wisconsin cut the lead in half, BSU scored two more before the end of the second, including one off a terrible turnover by Beydoun. Cameron Rowe was in net to start the third but it didn't appear to make much difference as Bemidji State scored again to push their lead to four. Caufield scored twice in the third to try and spark a comeback but the deficit was too great and The Badgers' campaign ended on a 3–6 loss.

Ben Garrity sat out the season.

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Jack Berry Goaltender  United States Graduation (signed with Pensacola Ice Flyers)
Johan Blomquist Goaltender  Sweden Graduation
Sean Dhooghe Forward  United States Transferred to Arizona State
Wyatt Kalynuk Defenseman  Canada Signed professional contract (Chicago Blackhawks)
Daniel Lebedeff Goaltender  Finland Signed professional contract (HPK)
Mick Messner Forward  United States Transferred to Merrimack
K'Andre Miller Defenseman  United States Signed professional contract (New York Rangers)
Alex Turcotte Forward  United States Signed professional contract (Los Angeles Kings)
Max Zimmer Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Charlotte Checkers)

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Robbie Beydoun Goaltender  United States 23 Plymouth, MI; transfer from Michigan Tech
Mathieu De St. Phalle Forward  United States 20 Glencoe, IL
Ben Garrity Goaltender  United States 20 Rosemount, MN
Anthony Kehrer Defenseman  Canada 18 Winnipeg, MB
Luke LaMaster Defenseman  United States 20 Duluth, MN
Cameron Rowe Goaltender  United States 19 Wilmette, IL
Sam Stange Forward  United States 19 Eau Claire, WI; selected 97th overall in 2020

Roster

As of August 31, 2020.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
3 Wisconsin Sam Stange Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-04-20 Eau Claire, Wisconsin Sioux Falls (USHL) DET, 97th overall 2020
4 Alberta Dylan Holloway Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 2001-09-23 Bragg Creek, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL) EDM, 14th overall 2020
5 Illinois Tyler Inamoto (A) Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1999-05-06 Barrington, Illinois USNTDP (USHL) FLA, 133rd overall 2017
7 Minnesota Mike Vorlicky Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-07-17 Edina, Minnesota Edina (USHS–MN) —
8 Wisconsin Cole Caufield Sophomore F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-01-02 Stevens Point, Wisconsin USNTDP (USHL) MTL, 15th overall 2019
9 Sweden Linus Weissbach Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 1998-04-19 Gothenburg, Sweden Tri-City (USHL) BUF, 192nd overall 2017
11 Wisconsin Jack Gorniak Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1999-09-15 West Salem, Wisconsin West Salem (USHS–WI) MTL, 123rd overall 2018
13 Minnesota Roman Ahcan Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-03-24 Savage, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL) —
14 Finland Jesper Peltonen Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1998-06-08 Helsinki, Finland Omaha (USHL) —
15 Illinois Mathieu De St. Phalle Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2000-03-20 Lake Forest, Illinois Chicago (USHL) —
16 Wisconsin Tarek Baker (A) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-02-22 Verona, Wisconsin Sioux City (USHL) —
17 Wisconsin Ty Pelton-Byce (A) Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1997-04-14 Madison, Wisconsin Harvard (ECAC) —
18 Illinois Owen Lindmark Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-05-17 Naperville, Illinois USNTDP (USHL) FLA, 137th overall 2019
19 Wisconsin Brock Caufield Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-03-09 Stevens Point, Wisconsin Green Bay (USHL) —
20 Minnesota Josh Ess Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1999-04-03 Lakeville, Minnesota Lakeville South (USHS–MN) CHI, 215th overall 2017
21 Wisconsin Ty Emberson (C) Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 2000-05-24 Eau Claire, Wisconsin USNTDP (USHL) ARI, 73rd overall 2018
23 Illinois Jason Dhooghe Senior F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1997-03-15 Aurora, Illinois Green Bay (USHL) —
24 Manitoba Anthony Kehrer Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 2002-03-04 Winnipeg, Manitoba Sioux City (USHL) —
25 Illinois Dominick Mersch Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1998-12-16 Park Ridge, Illinois Lincoln (USHL) —
26 Minnesota Luke LaMaster Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1999-10-17 Duluth, Minnesota Sioux City (USHL) —
27 Minnesota Ryder Donovan Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 2000-10-04 Duluth, Minnesota Duluth East (USHS–MN) VGK, 110th overall 2019
28 Minnesota Shay Donovan Sophomore D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-05-26 Duluth, Minnesota Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (NAHL) —
29 Minnesota Ben Garrity Freshman G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 2000-01-20 Rosemount, Minnesota Minot (NAHL) —
30 Michigan Robbie Beydoun Graduate G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-10-01 Plymouth, Michigan Michigan Tech (WCHA) —
31 Illinois Cameron Rowe Freshman G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 212 lb (96 kg) 2001-06-01 Wilmette, Illinois Des Moines (USHL) —

Standings

2020–21 Big Ten ice hockey Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS PT% GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#8 Wisconsin † 24 17 6 1 1 1 0 52 .722 92 52 31 20 10 1 118 80
#7 Minnesota * 22 16 6 0 0 0 0 48 .727 69 44 31 24 7 0 117 64
#9 Michigan 20 11 9 0 1 0 0 32 .550 69 45 26 15 10 1 91 51
#17 Notre Dame 24 12 10 2 1 2 2 41 .542 65 53 29 14 13 2 84 78
Penn State 18 7 11 0 2 1 0 20 .389 48 68 22 10 12 0 65 81
Ohio State 22 6 16 0 0 2 0 20 .273 39 82 27 7 19 1 53 101
Michigan State 22 5 16 1 2 0 0 15 .250 32 70 27 7 18 2 40 77
Championship: March 16, 2021
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and Results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular season
November 13 6:06 PM at #20 Notre Dame Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana NBCSN Beydoun W 2–0  0 1–0–0 (1–0–0)
November 14 6:06 PM at #20 Notre Dame Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana NHL Network Beydoun W 5–3  0 2–0–0 (2–0–0)
November 19 6:02 PM vs. #6 Michigan #14 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin FSD, FSW Beydoun L 2–5  0 2–1–0 (2–1–0)
November 20 6:02 PM vs. #6 Michigan #14 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin FSD+, FSW Beydoun L 1–2 OT 0 2–2–0 (2–2–0)
November 23 5:08 PM vs. #15 Penn State #14 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin BTN Beydoun W 6–3  0 3–2–0 (3–2–0)
November 24 5:08 PM vs. #15 Penn State #14 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin BTN Beydoun W 7–3  0 4–2–0 (4–2–0)
November 28 7:04 PM vs. Arizona State* #14 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin FSW Rowe L 5–8  0 4–3–0
November 29 4:04 PM vs. Arizona State* #14 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin FSW Beydoun L 1–3  0 4–4–0
December 3 4:30 PM at #13 Ohio State #14 Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio   Beydoun L 2–4  0 4–5–0 (4–3–0)
December 4 4:32 PM at #13 Ohio State #14 Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio ESPNU Rowe W 3–1  0 5–5–0 (5–3–0)
January 9 4:04 PM vs. #1 Minnesota #12 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin   Beydoun W 3–1  0 6–5–0 (6–3–0)
January 10 4:04 PM vs. #1 Minnesota #12 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin   Beydoun L 3–5  0 6–6–0 (6–4–0)
January 16 7:04 PM vs. Arizona State #12 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin FSW Rowe W 4–0  0 7–6–0
January 17 6:34 PM vs. Arizona State #12 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin FSW Rowe W 5–2  0 8–6–0
January 21 5:04 PM at Penn State #12 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania   Rowe W 4–1  171 9–6–0 (7–4–0)
January 22 5:04 PM at Penn State #12 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania   Beydoun L 4–5  180 9–7–0 (7–5–0)
January 29 7:04 PM vs. Michigan State #13 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin   Beydoun W 6–0  0 10–7–0 (8–5–0)
January 30 3:04 PM vs. Michigan State #13 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin   Rowe W 4–1  0 11–7–0 (9–5–0)
February 5 7:05 PM at #2 Minnesota #11 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota   Beydoun W 4–1  0 12–7–0 (10–5–0)
February 6 7:05 PM at #2 Minnesota #11 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota   Rowe W 8–1  0 13–7–0 (11–5–0)
February 13 1:04 PM at #8 Michigan #7 Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan   Beydoun L 1–5  93 13–8–0 (11–6–0)
February 14 4:04 PM at #8 Michigan #7 Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan   Rowe W 3–2  98 14–8–0 (12–6–0)
February 19 7:04 PM vs. Notre Dame #5 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin   Beydoun W 4–2  0 15–8–0 (13–6–0)
February 20 4:04 PM vs. Notre Dame #5 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin   Rowe T 5–5 SOL 0 15–8–1 (13–6–1)
February 26 7:04 PM vs. Ohio State #5 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin   Beydoun W 2–1 OT 0 16–8–1 (14–6–1)
February 27 4:04 PM vs. Ohio State #5 LaBahn Arena • Madison, Wisconsin   Rowe W 7–0  0 17–8–1 (15–6–1)
March 5 3:00 PM at Michigan State #5 Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan   Beydoun W 4–0  0 18–8–1 (16–6–1)
March 6 1:30 PM at Michigan State #5 Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan BTN Rowe W 2–1  0 19–8–1 (17–6–1)
Big Ten Tournament
March 15 3:35 PM vs. Penn State* #5 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana (Big Ten Semifinal)   Beydoun W 4–3 OT 158 20–8–1
March 16 7:05 PM vs. #4 Minnesota* #5 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana (Big Ten Championship)   Rowe L 4–6  149 20–9–1
NCAA Tournament
March 26 12:00 PM vs. #14 Omaha* #4 Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut (NCAA East Regional semifinal) ESPN2 Beydoun L 3–6  0 20–10–1
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time.

[4]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Cole Caufield RW 31 30 22 52 4
Linus Weissbach LW/RW 31 12 29 41 12
Dylan Holloway C/LW 23 11 24 35 19
Ty Pelton-Byce F 24 12 19 31 2
Roman Ahcan LW 26 9 13 22 43
Brock Caufield RW 31 7 10 17 0
Owen Lindmark C 27 4 13 17 4
Jack Gorniak C/LW 31 6 7 13 8
Ty Emberson D 31 4 9 13 6
Tarek Baker LW 27 3 9 12 24
Tyler Inamoto D 26 1 8 9 15
Mathieu De St. Phalle F 31 2 6 8 4
Sam Stange RW 29 6 1 7 4
Dominick Mersch F 27 3 4 7 14
Josh Ess D 31 2 5 7 6
Jesper Peltonen D 30 0 7 7 2
Anthony Kehrer D 31 0 7 7 12
Mike Vorlicky D 24 2 2 4 16
Ryder Donovan C/RW 22 2 1 3 40
Jason Dhooghe F 24 2 1 3 2
Shay Donovan D 10 0 0 0 4
Luke LaMaster D 14 0 0 0 2
Cameron Rowe G 16 0 0 0 0
Robbie Beydoun G 21 0 0 0 0
Bench - - - - - 6
Total 118 197 315 249

[5]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Cameron Rowe 16 759 9 2 1 26 362 2 .933 2.05
Robbie Beydoun 21 1103 11 8 0 49 553 3 .919 2.66
Empty Net - 14 - - - 5 - - - -
Total 31 1877 20 10 1 80 915 5 .920 2.56

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 14 14 14 12 14 13 14 12 12 12 13 11 7 5 5 5 5 5 4 - 8
USA Today NR 13 15 NR 13 14 15 15 14 14 12 13 12 6 5 5 5 4 5 4 8 8

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.[6]

Awards and honors

Player Award Ref
Cole Caufield Hobey Baker Award [7]
Cole Caufield NCAA Scoring Champion
Cole Caufield AHCA West First Team All-American [8]
Dylan Holloway AHCA West Second Team All-American [8]
Linus Weissbach
Cole Caufield Big Ten Player of the Year [9]
Cole Caufield Big Ten Scoring Champion [9]
Tony Granato Big Ten Coach of the Year [9]
Cole Caufield Big Ten First Team [9]
Dylan Holloway
Linus Weissbach Big Ten Second Team [9]
Cameron Rowe Big Ten Freshman Team [9]
Ty Emberson Big Ten All-Tournament Team [10]
Cole Caufield

2021 NHL Entry Draft

Round Pick Player NHL team
1 25 Corson Ceulemans† Columbus Blue Jackets
7 215 Daniel Laatsch† Pittsburgh Penguins

† incoming freshman [11]

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. ^ "2019–20 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Wisconsin Athletics. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  4. ^ "Wisconsin Badgers (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  5. ^ "Univ. of Wisconsin 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "Wisconsin's Cole Caufield wins 2021 Hobey Baker Award as college hockey's best player". USCHO.com. April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Boston College, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin lead way with three All-American college hockey players apiece for '20-21 season". USCHO.com. April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Hockey Postseason Honors Announced". Big Ten. March 16, 2021. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  10. ^ "Gophers Take Down Badgers, Win B1G tournament championship". Big Ten. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  11. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2021 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.