2021 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament
2021 WCHA Men's ice hockey tournament | |
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Dates | March 12–20, 2020 |
Teams | 8 |
Finals site | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center Mankato, Minnesota |
Champions | Lake Superior State (1st title) |
Winning coach | Damon Whitten (1st title) |
Most Outstanding Player | Ashton Calder (Lake Superior State) |
WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments |
The 2021 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 62nd and final tournament in the history of the men's Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The tournament was held between March 12 and March 20, 2021. Quarterfinal games were played on home campus sites while semifinal- and championship-round games were held at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, the home venue for Minnesota State. By winning the tournament, Lake Superior State received the WCHA's automatic bid for the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
After the 2020–21 season, the men's WCHA disbanded after seven of its members left to reestablish the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Two other members dropped men's hockey after the season. The WCHA remains in operation as a women-only league.[1]
Format
The first round of the postseason tournament featured a best-of-three games format, while the semifinals and final were single games held at the campus site of the highest remaining seed. The top eight conference teams participated in the tournament. Teams were seeded No. 1 through No. 8 according to their final conference standings, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The higher seeded teams each earned home ice and hosted one of the lower seeded teams.[2]
Conference standings
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Conference record | Overall record | ||||||||||||||||
GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | 3/SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
#4 Minnesota State † | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 56 | 15 | 27 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 100 | 46 | |
#14 Lake Superior State * | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 39 | 34 | 29 | 19 | 7 | 3 | 86 | 63 | |
#18 Bowling Green | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 46 | 34 | 31 | 20 | 10 | 1 | 108 | 67 | |
#10 Bemidji State | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 42 | 34 | 29 | 16 | 10 | 3 | 82 | 70 | |
Michigan Tech | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 38 | 35 | 30 | 17 | 12 | 1 | 78 | 63 | |
Northern Michigan | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 40 | 47 | 29 | 11 | 17 | 1 | 79 | 103 | |
Alabama–Huntsville | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 18 | 49 | 22 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 31 | 80 | |
Ferris State | 14 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 28 | 59 | 25 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 55 | 103 | |
Alaska | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | |
Alaska Anchorage | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | |
Championship: March 20, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll |
Bracket
Quarterfinals March 12–14 | Semifinals March 19 | Championship March 20 | ||||||||||||||
1 | Minnesota State | 3 | 3 | — | ||||||||||||
8 | Ferris State | 0 | 1 | — | ||||||||||||
1 | Minnesota State | 1 | ||||||||||||||
6 | Northern Michigan | 5 | ||||||||||||||
2 | Lake Superior State | 6 | 4 | — | ||||||||||||
7 | Alabama-Huntsville | 1 | 1 | — | ||||||||||||
6 | Northern Michigan | 3 | ||||||||||||||
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | ||||||||||||||||
2 | Lake Superior State | 6 | ||||||||||||||
3 | Bowling Green | 3 | 5 | 1 | ||||||||||||
6 | Northern Michigan | 4 | 0 | 5 | ||||||||||||
2 | Lake Superior State | 4 | ||||||||||||||
4 | Bemidji State | 1 | ||||||||||||||
4 | Bemidji State | 3 | 4 | — | ||||||||||||
5 | Michigan Tech | 1 | 1 | — |
Note: * denotes overtime periods
Results
Quarterfinals
(1) Minnesota State vs. (8) Ferris State
March 12, 2021 6:07 PM | Minnesota State | 3 – 0 (0–0, 0–0, 3–0) | Ferris State | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, Mankato, Minnesota Attendance: 250 |
Game reference | |||||||||||
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Dryden McKay | Goalies | Logan Stein | Referees: Bruce Vida Ryan Gordon Linesmen: Matt Tyree Kyle Domin | ||||||||
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2 min | Penalties | 4 min | |||||||||
27 | Shots | 15 |
March 13, 2021 4:07 pm | Minnesota State | 3 – 1 (0–0, 1–0, 2–1) | Ferris State | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, Mankato, Minnesota Attendance: 250 |
Game reference | ||||||||||||||
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Dryden McKay | Goalies | Logan Stein | Referees: Bruce Vida Ryan Gordon Linesmen: Matt Tyree Kyle Domin | |||||||||||
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2 min | Penalties | 4 min | ||||||||||||
31 | Shots | 24 |
Minnesota State Won Series 2–0 |
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(2) Lake Superior State vs. (7) Alabama–Huntsville
March 12, 2021 7:07 PM | Lake Superior State | 6 – 1 (2–0, 4–1, 0–0) | Alabama–Huntsville | Taffy Abel Arena, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Attendance: 0 |
Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mareks Mitens (40:00) Ethan Langenegger (20:00) | Goalies | David Fessenden (36:20) Derek Krall (23:40) | Referees: Scott Roth Shane Paskey Linesmen: Eric Froberg Jamie Grace | ||||||||||||||||||||
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24 min | Penalties | 20 min | |||||||||||||||||||||
27 | Shots | 14 |
March 13, 2021 5:07 pm | Lake Superior State | 4 – 1 (0–0, 3–1, 1–1) | Alabama–Huntsville | Taffy Abel Arena, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Attendance: 0 |
Game reference | |||||||||||||||||
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Seth Eisele | Goalies | David Fessenden | Referees: Scott Roth Shane Paskey Linesmen: Eric Froberg Jamie Grace | ||||||||||||||
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10 min | Penalties | 18 min | |||||||||||||||
35 | Shots | 17 |
Lake Superior State Won Series 2–0 |
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(3) Bowling Green vs. (6) Northern Michigan
March 12, 2021 7:00 PM | Bowling Green | 3 – 4 (1–0, 0–4, 2–0) | Northern Michigan | Slater Family Ice Arena, Bowling Green, Ohio Attendance: 630 |
Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eric Dop | Goalies | Rico DiMatteo | Referees: Rick Nelson Mike Forys Linesmen: Marty Shaffer Paul Tunison | ||||||||||||||||||||
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10 min | Penalties | 10 min | |||||||||||||||||||||
33 | Shots | 21 |
March 13, 2021 7:07 PM | Bowling Green | 3 – 4 (2–0, 0–0, 3–0) | Northern Michigan | Slater Family Ice Arena, Bowling Green, Ohio Attendance: 630 |
Game reference | |||||||||||||||||
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Eric Dop | Goalies | Rico DiMatteo (44:42) John Hawthorne (15:18) | Referees: Rick Nelson Mike Forys Linesmen: Marty Shaffer Paul Tunison | ||||||||||||||
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6 min | Penalties | 23 min | |||||||||||||||
50 | Shots | 23 |
March 14, 2021 5:07 PM | Bowling Green | 3 – 4 (0–2, 1–1, 0–2) | Northern Michigan | Slater Family Ice Arena, Bowling Green, Ohio Attendance: 630 |
Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Eric Dop | Goalies | Rico DiMatteo | Referees: Rick Nelson Mike Forys Linesmen: Marty Shaffer Paul Tunison | |||||||||||||||||
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36 min | Penalties | 24 min | ||||||||||||||||||
40 | Shots | 34 |
Northern Michigan Won Series 2–1 |
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(4) Bemidji State vs. (5) Michigan Tech
March 12, 2021 7:07 PM | Bemidji State | 3 – 1 (2–1, 1–0, 0–0) | Michigan Tech | Sanford Center, Bemidji, Minnesota Attendance: 250 |
Game reference | ||||||||||||||
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Zach Driscoll | Goalies | Blake Pietila | Referees: Robert Lukkason Brady Johnson Linesmen: Nathan Voll Tyler Landman | |||||||||||
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6 min | Penalties | 2 min | ||||||||||||
26 | Shots | 34 |
March 13, 2021 6:07 PM | Bemidji State | 4 – 1 (0–1, 2–0, 2–0) | Michigan Tech | Sanford Center, Bemidji, Minnesota Attendance: 250 |
Game reference | |||||||||||||||||
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Zach Driscoll | Goalies | Blake Pietila | Referees: Robert Lukkason Brady Johnson Linesmen: Nathan Voll Tyler Landman | ||||||||||||||
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8 min | Penalties | 2 min | |||||||||||||||
31 | Shots | 34 |
Bemidji State Won Series 2–0 |
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Semifinals
(1) Minnesota State vs. (6) Northern Michigan
March 19, 2021 2:07 PM | Minnesota State | 1 – 5 (0–1, 0–4, 1–0) | Northern Michigan | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, Mankato, Minnesota Attendance: 250 |
Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Dryden McKay (31:05) Ryan Edquist (28:55) | Goalies | Rico DiMatteo | Referees: Bruce Vida T. J. Likens Linesmen: Tyler Landman Nathan Voll | |||||||||||||||||
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4 min | Penalties | 4 min | ||||||||||||||||||
29 | Shots | 20 |
(2) Lake Superior State vs. (4) Bemidji State
March 19, 2021 7:37 PM | Lake Superior State | 4 – 1 (1–0, 2–0, 1–1) | Bemidji State | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, Mankato, Minnesota Attendance: 250 |
Game reference | |||||||||||||||||
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Mareks Mitens | Goalies | Zach Driscoll | Referees: Rick Nelson Mike Forys Linesmen: Matt Tyree Kyle Domin | ||||||||||||||
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8 min | Penalties | 4 min | |||||||||||||||
21 | Shots | 27 |
Championship
(2) Lake Superior State vs. (6) Northern Michigan
March 20, 2021 7:07 PM | Lake Superior State | 6 – 3 (2–0, 2–1, 2–2) | Northern Michigan | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, Mankato, Minnesota Attendance: 250 |
Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mareks Mitens | Goalies | Rico DiMatteo | Referees: Robert Lukkason Brady Johnson Linesmen: Nathan Voll Tyler Landman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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4 min | Penalties | 2 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
30 | Shots | 28 |
Tournament awards
Ashton Calder (Lake Superior State)
[3]
References
- ^ Christensen, Joe (July 2, 2021). "WCHA's men's hockey era officially ends after 70 years". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ "WCHA Postseason Tournament". wcha.com. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
- ^ "Minnesota State's Mike Hastings Wins 2021 Spencer Penrose Award". WCHA. April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.