2020–21 USHL season
Sports season
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The 2020–21 USHL season was the 42nd season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league.
| 2020–21 USHL Season | |
|---|---|
| League | United States Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | November 6, 2020 – April 24, 2021 |
| Games | 49–54 |
| Teams | 14 |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Owen Gallatin |
| Picked by | Madison Capitols |
| Regular season | |
| Anderson Cup | Chicago Steel |
| Season MVP | Sean Farrell (Chicago Steel) |
| Top scorer | Sean Farrell (Chicago Steel) |
| Clark Cup Playoffs | |
| Clark Cup Playoffs MVP | Adam Fantilli[1] (Steel) |
| Finals champions | Chicago Steel |
| Runners-up | Fargo Force |
Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous season was curtailed on March 12, 2020, without holding a playoff or awarding a Clark Cup champion.[2][3] As pandemic-related restrictions were still in effect, the start of the 2020–21 season was delayed to November 2020.[4]
During the offseason, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders' home arena was damaged during the August 10 derecho, forcing the team to suspend operations for at least the 2020–21 season. The Madison Capitols chose to not participate due to pandemic restrictions in Madison, Wisconsin.[4]
The regular season ran from November 6, 2020, to April 24, 2021, with a 54-game schedule for each team.[5] Due to pandemic safety protocols, several games were postponed or cancelled, with six of the fourteen teams completing all 54 games. For the second consecutive season, the Chicago Steel were awarded the Anderson Cup for accumulating 81 points in 54 games for a 0.750 points percentage. The Steel also won the Clark Cup playoff championship.[1]
Regular season
Due to the unbalanced schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic, the league ranked teams on points percentage.
Final standings:[6]
Eastern Conference
|
Western Conference
|
x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched conference title; z = clinched regular season title
Statistical leaders
Scoring leaders
Players are listed by points, then goals.
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts. = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Farrell | Chicago Steel | 53 | 29 | 72 | 101 | 54 |
| Matt Coronato | Chicago Steel | 51 | 48 | 37 | 85 | 57 |
| Josh Doan | Chicago Steel | 53 | 31 | 39 | 70 | 45 |
| Erik Middendorf | Chicago Steel | 53 | 32 | 36 | 68 | 19 |
| Danil Gushchin | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 46 | 32 | 32 | 64 | 42 |
| Mason Lohrei | Green Bay Gamblers | 48 | 19 | 40 | 59 | 74 |
| Cameron Berg | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 51 | 27 | 31 | 58 | 18 |
| Ayrton Martino | Omaha Lancers | 38 | 18 | 38 | 56 | 12 |
| Cristophe Tellier | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 53 | 22 | 32 | 54 | 34 |
| Robert Cronin | Dubuque Fighting Saints | 48 | 28 | 25 | 53 | 54 |
| Jake Schmaltz | Green Bay Gamblers | 51 | 19 | 34 | 53 | 16 |
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | OTL | SOL | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akira Schmid | Sioux City Musketeers | 36 | 2147 | 22 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2.01 | 0.921 |
| Todd Scott | Tri-City Storm | 39 | 2181 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2.37 | 0.910 |
| Brennan Boynton | Fargo Force | 46 | 2540 | 26 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2.43 | 0.901 |
| Jakub Dobeš | Omaha Lancers | 47 | 2588 | 26 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2.48 | 0.908 |
| Remington Keopple | Des Moines Buccaneers | 25 | 1350 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2.76 | 0.900 |
Clark Cup playoffs
Final results:[7]
| Conference Semifinals (Best-of-3) | Conference Finals (Best-of-3) | Clark Cup Championship (Best-of-5) | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Chicago | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Dubuque | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Chicago | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
| E2 | Muskegon | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Muskegon | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Green Bay | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Chicago | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Fargo | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Tri-City | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Fargo | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Sioux City | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
| W4 | Fargo | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Omaha | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Sioux City | 2 | ||||||||||||
Conference Semifinals
Eastern Conference
(E1) Chicago Steel vs. (E4) Dubuque Fighting Saints
| April 30 | Chicago Steel | 2 – 1 | Dubuque Fighting Saints | Fox Valley Ice Arena | ||||
| No scoring | First period | Braden Doyle (1) - 1:18 | ||||||
| 10:04 - Erik Middendorf (1) 19:51 - Matt Coronato (1) |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Simon Latkoczy (29 saves / 30 shots) | Goalie stats | Lukáš Pařík (27 saves / 29 shots) | ||||||
| May 1 | Chicago Steel | 6 – 1 | Dubuque Fighting Saints | Fox Valley Ice Arena | ||||
| 13:50 - pp - Mackie Samoskevich (1) 18:45 - Ryan Ufko (1) |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| 1:45 - Matt Coronato (2) 9:08 - pp - Sean Farrell (1) 17:52 - Adam Fantilli (1) |
Second period | Kenny Connors (1) - pp - 5:26 | ||||||
| 4:46 - pp - Matt Coronato (3) | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Simon Latkoczy (24 saves / 25 shots) | Goalie stats | Lukáš Pařík (40 saves / 46 shots) | ||||||
| Chicago wins series 2 – 0 | |
(E2) Muskegon Lumberjacks vs. (E3) Green Bay Gamblers
| April 30 | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 3 – 2 | Green Bay Gamblers | Mercy Health Arena | ||||
| 1:54 - Cristophe Tellier (1) 8:29 - Cameron Berg (1) |
First period | Jackson Hallum (1) - 8:48 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | Jesse Tucker (1) - pp - 12:50 | ||||||
| 19:22 - Bradley Marek (1) | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jan Škorpík (21 saves / 23 shots) | Goalie stats | Matt Davis (28 saves / 31 shots) | ||||||
| May 1 | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 3 – 1 | Green Bay Gamblers | Mercy Health Arena | ||||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| 6:24 - Danil Gushchin (1) | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| 15:05 - Cristophe Tellier (2) 19:15 - en - Cameron Berg (2) |
Third period | Mason Lohrei (1) - 5:27 | ||||||
| Jan Škorpík (26 saves / 27 shots) | Goalie stats | Matt Davis (31 saves / 33 shots) | ||||||
| Muskegon wins series 2 – 0 | |
Western Conference
(W1) Tri-City Storm vs. (W4) Fargo Force
| April 30 | Tri-City Storm | 3 – 2 | Fargo Force | Viaero Center | ||||
| 10:12 - pp - Cole McWard (1) | First period | Jack Peart (1) - pp - 17:40 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | Bear Hughes (1) - 7:03 | ||||||
| 11:30 - pp - Hunter Strand (1) 15:31 - pp - Mark Estapa (1) |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Todd Scott (13 saves / 15 shots) | Goalie stats | Brennan Boynton (20 saves / 23 shots) | ||||||
| May 1 | Tri-City Storm | 4 – 5 | OT | Fargo Force | Viaero Center | |||
| 13:33 - Matthew Knies (1) | First period | Cody Monds (1) - 15:23 | ||||||
| 5:24 - Gavin Brindley (1) 9:03 - pp - Conner Hutchison (1) |
Second period | Austin Wong (1) - sh - 8:10 | ||||||
| 10:37 - Drew Montgomery (1) | Third period | Tristan Broz (1) - pp - 5:11 | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | Cody Monds (2) - 2:52 | ||||||
| Todd Scott (30 saves / 35 shots) | Goalie stats | Brennan Boynton (29 saves / 33 shots) | ||||||
| May 1 | Tri-City Storm | 2 – 3 | Fargo Force | Viaero Center | ||||
| Carter Mazur (1) - 1:11 Cole O'Hara (1) - 12:52 |
First period | 6:44 - Tristan Broz (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 6:05 - pp - Mason Salquist (1) 9:05 - Jeremy Davidson (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Todd Scott (19 saves / 22 shots) | Goalie stats | Brennan Boynton (36 saves / 38 shots) | ||||||
| Fargo wins series 2 – 1 | |
(W2) Omaha Lancers vs. (W3) Sioux City Musketeers
| May 1 | Omaha Lancers | 0 – 2 | Sioux City Musketeers | Ralston Arena | ||||
| No scoring | First period | Ben Doran (1) - 12:01 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | Shai Buium (1) - 3:04 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jakub Dobeš (17 saves / 19 shots) | Goalie stats | Akira Schmid (25 saves / 25 shots) | ||||||
| May 2 | Omaha Lancers | 1 – 2 | Sioux City Musketeers | Ralston Arena | ||||
| No scoring | First period | Chase Bradley (1) - pp - 2:12 | ||||||
| 12:05 - Cam Mitchell (1) | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | Justin Hryckowian (1) - sh - 11:50 | ||||||
| Jakub Dobeš (31 saves / 33 shots) | Goalie stats | Akira Schmid (29 saves / 30 shots) | ||||||
| Sioux City wins series 2 – 0 | |
Conference Finals
Eastern Conference
(E1) Chicago Steel vs. (E2) Muskegon Lumberjacks
| May 7 | Chicago Steel | 3 – 2 | OT | Muskegon Lumberjacks | Fox Valley Ice Arena | |||
| No scoring | First period | Cameron Berg (3) - 18:54 | ||||||
| 16:43 - pp - Josh Doan (1) | Second period | Bradley Marek (2) - 19:16 | ||||||
| 8:06 - Adam Fantilli (2) | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| 7:09 - Matt Coronato (4) | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Simon Latkoczy (29 saves / 31 shots) | Goalie stats | Jan Škorpík (22 saves / 25 shots) | ||||||
| May 8 | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 4 – 5 | Chicago Steel | Mercy Health Arena | ||||
| 18:08 - Danil Gushchin (2) | First period | Adam Fantilli (3) - 2:37 | ||||||
| 7:02 - Cameron Berg (4) 7:52 - Danil Gushchin (3) 15:14 - pp - Jacob Guevin (1) |
Second period | Erik Middendorf (2) - 1:41 Matt Coronato (5) - 8:24 Matt Coronato (6) - 19:47 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | Adam Fantilli (4) - 8:34 | ||||||
| Jan Škorpík (25 saves / 30 shots) | Goalie stats | Simon Latkoczy (27 saves / 31 shots) | ||||||
| Chicago wins series 2 – 0 | |
Western Conference
(W3) Sioux City Musketeers vs. (W4) Fargo Force
| May 7 | Sioux City Musketeers | 1 – 6 | Fargo Force | Tyson Events Center | ||||
| No scoring | First period | Jacob Braccini (1) - 6:44 Cody Monds (3) - 9:37 Aaron Huglen (2) - 13:22 | ||||||
| 10:56 - Ethan Edwards (1) | Second period | Jacob Braccini (2) - 2:19 Jacob Braccini (3) - 18:03 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | Bear Hughes (2) - pp - 15:56 | ||||||
| Akira Schmid (21 saves / 27 shots) | Goalie stats | Brennan Boynton (13 saves / 13 shots) Andrew Miller (18 saves / 19 shots) | ||||||
| May 8 | Fargo Force | 3 – 0 | Sioux City Musketeers | Scheels Arena | ||||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tristan Broz (3) - 5:15 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Matt Crasa (1) - 2:59 Jeremy Davidson (2) - en - 19:58 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Andrew Miller (34 saves / 34 shots) | Goalie stats | Akira Schmid (29 saves / 31 shots) | ||||||
| Fargo wins series 2 – 0 | |
Clark Cup Finals
(E1) Chicago Steel vs. (W4) Fargo Force
| May 14 | Chicago Steel | 0 – 3 | Fargo Force | Fox Valley Ice Arena | ||||
| No scoring | First period | Kyle Smolen (1) - 7:27 Jake Peart (2) - 15:01 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | Aaron Huglen (3) - 7:32 | ||||||
| Simon Latkoczy (23 saves / 26 shots) | Goalie stats | Andrew Miller (20 saves / 20 shots) | ||||||
| May 15 | Chicago Steel | 4 – 1 | Fargo Force | Fox Valley Ice Arena | ||||
| 1:01 - Adam Fantilli (5) 11:53 - Adam Robbins (1) |
First period | Austin Wong (2) - pp - 8:32 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| 18:49 - sh - en - Matt Coronato (7) 19:27 - en - Erik Middendorf (3) |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Simon Latkoczy (29 saves / 30 shots) | Goalie stats | Andrew Miller (30 saves / 32 shots) | ||||||
| May 21 | Fargo Force | 1 – 7 | Chicago Steel | Scheels Arena | ||||
| 12:42 - Cody Monds (4) | First period | Matt Coronato (8) - pp - 12:29 Erik Middendorf (4) - 19:17 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | Matt Coronato (9) - 4:58 Josh Doan (2) - 10:44 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | Sean Farrell (2) - 3:21 Adam Fantilli (6) - pp - 17:33 Sam Lipkin (1) - pp - 18:31 | ||||||
| Brennan Boynton (13 saves / 17 shots) Andrew Miller (13 saves / 16 shots) |
Goalie stats | Simon Latkoczy (22 saves / 23 shots) | ||||||
| May 22 | Fargo Force | 1 – 3 | Chicago Steel | Scheels Arena | ||||
| Cody Monds (5) - 12:40 | First period | Adam Fantilli (7) - 11:08 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | Jackson Blake (1) - 13:17 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | Adam Fantilli (8) - 17:55 | ||||||
| Andrew Miller (29 saves / 32 shots) | Goalie stats | Simon Latkoczy (27 saves / 28 shots) | ||||||
| Chicago wins series 3 – 1 | |
Playoff scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Coronato | Chicago Steel | 8 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 4 |
| Tristan Broz | Fargo Force | 9 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 16 |
| Sean Farrell | Chicago Steel | 8 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 2 |
| Mackie Samoskevich | Chicago Steel | 8 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 4 |
| Adam Fantilli | Chicago Steel | 8 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 2 |
| Cody Monds | Fargo Force | 7 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| Aaron Huglen | Fargo Force | 9 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| Jake Peart | Fargo Force | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| Ryan Ufko | Chicago Steel | 8 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 |
| Erik Middendorf | Chicago Steel | 8 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Jacob Braccini | Fargo Force | 9 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Josh Doan | Chicago Steel | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
Playoff leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Latkoczy | Chicago Steel | 8 | 486 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 0 | .938 | 1.73 |
| Andrew Miller | Fargo Force | 6 | 302 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 2 | .941 | 1.79 |
| Jakub Dobeš | Omaha Lancers | 2 | 114 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .923 | 2.10 |
| Akira Schmid | Sioux City Musketeers | 4 | 237 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 1 | .920 | 2.28 |
| Matt Davis | Green Bay Gamblers | 2 | 118 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | .922 | 2.53 |
Postseason awards
USHL awards
| Award | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Sean Farrell | Chicago Steel[8] |
| Forward of the Year | Matthew Coronato | Chicago Steel[9] |
| Defenseman of the Year | Mason Lohrei | Green Bay Gamblers[10] |
| Rookie of the Year | Cole Sillinger | Sioux Falls Stampede[11] |
| Goaltender of the Year | Akira Schmid | Sioux City Musketeers[12] |
| Coach of the Year | Mike Hamilton | Muskegon Lumberjacks[13] |
| Scholar-Athlete | Connor Kurth | Dubuque Fighting Saints[14] |
| Curt Hammer | Will Dineen | Sioux Falls Stampede[15] |
| General Manager of the Year | Ryan Hardy | Chicago Steel[16] |
| Executive of the Year | Jeff Mitchell | Green Bay Gamblers[17] |
| Organization of the Year | All member organizations[18] | |
All-USHL First Team
| Pos | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| G | Akira Schmid | Sioux City |
| D | Mason Lohrei | Green Bay |
| D | Ryan Ufko | Chicago |
| F | Matt Coronato | Chicago |
| F | Sean Farrell | Chicago |
| F | Danil Gushchin | Muskegon |
Source[19]
All-USHL Second Team
| Pos | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| G | Jakub Dobeš | Omaha |
| D | Brent Johnson | Sioux Falls |
| D | Cole McWard | Tri-City |
| F | Josh Doan | Chicago |
| F | Ayrton Martino | Omaha |
| F | Cole Sillinger | Sioux Falls |
Source[19]
All-USHL Third Team
| Pos | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| G | Brennan Boynton | Fargo |
| D | Alex Gagne | Muskegon |
| D | Henry Thrun | Dubuque |
| F | Cameron Berg | Muskegon |
| F | Robert Cronin | Dubuque |
| F | Jake Schmaltz | Green Bay |
Source[19]
USHL All-Rookie Team
| Pos | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| G | Jack Stark | Chicago |
| D | Jacob Guevin | Muskegon |
| D | Brent Johnson | Sioux Falls |
| F | Ayrton Martino | Omaha |
| F | Matthew Savoie | Dubuque |
| F | Cole Sillinger | Sioux Falls |
Source[20]
All-Rookie Second Team
| Pos | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| G | Emmett Croteau | Waterloo |
| D | Shai Buium | Sioux City |
| D | Jack Peart | Fargo |
| F | Gavin Brindley | Tri-City |
| F | Adam Fantilli | Chicago |
| F | Connor Kurth | Dubuque |
Source[20]