2020–21 Denver Pioneers
men's ice hockey season
Conference5th NCHC
Home iceMagness Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall10–13–1
Conference9–12–1–0–2–1
Home4–2–0
Road2–5–0
Neutral4–6–1
Coaches and captains
Head coachDavid Carle
Assistant coachesTavis MacMillan
Dallas Ferguson
Corey Wogtech
Captain(s)Kohen Olischefski
Alternate captain(s)Ryan Barrow
Griffin Mendel
Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey seasons
« 2019–20 2021–22 »

The 2020–21 Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey season was the 72nd season of play for the program and the 8th in the NCHC conference. The Pioneers represented the University of Denver and were coached by David Carle, in his 3rd 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 Denver'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]

Denver came into the season with high expectations. From the start, however, nothing seemed to go right for the Pioneers. After the season's start was delayed, Denver joined the rest of the NCHC in Omaha, Nebraska for a condensed slate of games in December. The team started slow but looked like they were rounding into form in mid-December. Unfortunately, a theme for the entire season proved to be inconsistency. For most of the year the Pioneers couldn't string together a series of wins, or even strong performances, and they watched as their ranking fell every week until they left the top-20 altogether. By the end of the season Denver sat in the middle of the standings but was 3 games below .500.

While there were some who still included the Pioneers as possible bubble teams, their losing record was a sizable impediment to the team playing in the NCAA Tournament.[3] Denver's only probably road to the tournament was to win the NCHC Championship and the team responded well in the quarterfinals, overcoming a 2-goal deficit to upset tournament-bound Omaha. In the semis they faced #2 North Dakota and took a lead into the third period. The Hawks outplayed Denver in the frame but, as time went along, it appeared that Magnus Chrona might be able to shut out UND. It took North Dakota pulling their goaltender to give them enough firepower to break through and tie the game. In the overtime session, Denver never found their footing and were outshot 9–1 in less than nine minutes. The final goal came from a UND stick and ended the game as well as any chance Denver had to extend their season. This was Denver's first losing season in 21 years.[4]

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Devin CooleyGoaltender United StatesSigned professional contract (Nashville Predators)
Mike CorsonGoaltender United StatesTransferred to Niagara
Michael DaviesDefenseman United StatesGraduation
Erich FearDefenseman United StatesGraduation
Jay FeiwellForward United StatesLeft program
Liam FinlayForward CanadaGraduation (Signed with KOOVEE)
Tyson McLellanForward United StatesGraduation (Signed with Nürnberg Ice Tigers)
Ian MitchellDefenseman CanadaSigned professional contract (Chicago Blackhawks)
Mathias Emilio PettersenForward NorwaySigned professional contract (Calgary Flames)
Jared ResseguieForward United StatesLeft program
Tyler WardForward CanadaTransferred to New Hampshire

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Michael BenningDefenseman Canada18St. Albert, AB; selected 95th overall in 2020
Connor CaponiForward United States20Brookfield, WI
Jack CarusoGoaltender United States21St. Louis, MO
Bo HansonDefenseman United States22Boise, ID; transfer from St. Lawrence
Reid IrwinForward/Defenseman Canada21Victoria, BC
Steven JandricForward Canada23Prince George, BC; transfer from Alaska
Corbin KaczperskiGoaltender United States24China Township, MI; graduate transfer from Yale
Carter KingForward Canada19Calgary, AB
Carter SavoieForward Canada18St. Albert, AB; selected 100th overall in 2020
Antti TuomistoDefenseman Finland19Pori, FIN; selected 35th overall in 2019
McKade WebsterForward United States20St. Louis, MO; selected 213th overall in 2019
Jack WorksForward Canada19Yellowknife, NT

Roster

As of March 1, 2021.[5][6][7]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
3 Finland Antti Tuomisto Freshman D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-01-20 Pori, Finland Ässät U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga) DET, 35th overall 2019
4 British Columbia Griffin Mendel (A) Senior D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1999-02-18 Kelowna, British Columbia Penticton (BCHL)
6 Missouri McKade Webster Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2000-07-28 St. Louis, Missouri Green Bay (USHL) TBL, 213 overall 2019
7 British Columbia Brett Stapley Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 1999-02-23 Campbell River, British Columbia Vernon (BCHL) MTL, 190th overall 2018
8 Alberta Carter Savoie Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-01-23 St. Albert, Alberta Sherwood Park (AJHL) EDM, 100th overall 2020
10 Finland Jaakko Heikkinen Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-03-17 Helsinki, Finland Jokerit U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)
11 British Columbia Steven Jandric Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1997-08-18 Prince George, British Columbia Alaska (WCHA)
12 British Columbia Kohen Olischefski (C) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1998-02-01 Abbotsford, British Columbia Chilliwack (BCHL)
14 Idaho Bo Hanson Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1997-11-13 Boise, Idaho St. Lawrence (ECAC)
15 Alberta Carter King Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2001-08-30 Calgary, Alberta Surrey (BCHL)
16 California Jake Durflinger Senior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1997-10-06 Walnut Creek, California Bloomington (USHL)
17 California Slava Demin Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 2000-04-04 Cypress, California Wenatchee (BCHL) CHI, 99th overall 2018
18 Alberta Ryan Barrow (A) Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1997-02-15 Banff, Alberta Langley (BCHL)
19 California Cole Guttman Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 169 lb (77 kg) 1999-04-06 Los Angeles, California Dubuque (USHL) TBL, 180th overall 2017
20 Alberta Michael Benning Freshman D 5' 8" (1.73 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2002-01-05 St. Albert, Alberta Sherwood Park (AJHL) FLA, 95th overall 2020
21 British Columbia Reid Irwin Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1999-03-01 Victoria, British Columbia Sherwood Park (AJHL)
22 Tennessee Connor Caponi Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 2000-03-20 Nashville, Tennessee Waterloo (USHL)
23 Minnesota Lane Krenzen Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1998-02-21 Twig, Minnesota Austin (NAHL)
24 Minnesota Bobby Brink Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 164 lb (74 kg) 2001-07-08 Minnetonka, Minnesota Sioux City (USHL) PHI, 34th overall 2019
25 Northwest Territories Jack Works Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-05-23 Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Okotoks (AJHL)
26 Colorado Jack Doremus Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1997-04-15 Aspen, Colorado Lincoln (USHL)
27 California Kyle Mayhew Junior D 5' 7" (1.7 m) 156 lb (71 kg) 1997-12-25 Anaheim Hills, California Fairbanks (NAHL)
28 Alberta Brett Edwards Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-09-10 Grande Prairie, Alberta Drumheller (AJHL)
30 Sweden Magnus Chrona Sophomore G 6' 5" (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 2000-08-28 Skellefteå, Sweden Skellefteå J20 (J20 SuperElit) SJS, 152nd overall 2018
31 Missouri Jack Caruso Freshman G 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-06-07 St. Louis, Missouri Fairbanks (NAHL)
32 Manitoba Justin Lee Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-03-14 Waskada, Manitoba Fargo (USHL)
33 Michigan Corbin Kaczperski Senior G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1996-03-02 China Township, Michigan Yale (ECAC)
37 Texas Hank Crone Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 151 lb (68 kg) 1998-02-19 Dallas, Texas Fargo (USHL)

Standings

Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS PT% GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#5 North Dakota †*24185121054.750944729226111457
#2 St. Cloud State24159033045.6257864312011010184
#3 Minnesota Duluth24139212143.597725428151128466
#13 Omaha24149140140.556796926141118581
Denver22912102131.470616024111316766
Western Michigan241011310133.458738425101237789
Colorado College22416202218.27335772341723679
Miami24517201018.25046832551824889
Championship: March 16, 2021
† indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Frozen Faceoff Championship Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and Results

DateTimeOpponent#Rank#SiteTVDecisionResultAttendanceRecord
Regular Season
December 2 6:35 PM vs. #3 Minnesota Duluth #4 Baxter ArenaOmaha, NebraskaAltitude Chrona L 1–2  0 0–1–0 (0–1–0)
December 4 6:35 PM vs. #1 North Dakota #4 Baxter ArenaOmaha, NebraskaAltitude Chrona L 3–4 OT 0 0–2–0 (0–2–0)
December 5 7:05 PM vs. St. Cloud State #4 Baxter ArenaOmaha, NebraskaAltitude Chrona L 3–4  0 0–3–0 (0–3–0)
December 8 2:35 PM vs. #1 North Dakota #9 Baxter ArenaOmaha, NebraskaAltitude Chrona W 3–2  0 1–3–0 (1–3–0)
December 10 2:35 PM vs. Miami #9 Baxter ArenaOmaha, NebraskaAltitude Chrona W 5–1  0 2–3–0 (2–3–0)
December 12 11:05 AM vs. #3 Minnesota Duluth #9 Baxter ArenaOmaha, NebraskaAltitude Chrona L 1–4  0 2–4–0 (2–4–0)
December 15 2:35 PM vs. Western Michigan #8 Baxter ArenaOmaha, NebraskaAltitude Kaczperski W 3–2  0 3–4–0 (3–4–0)
December 17 6:35 PM vs. Miami #8 Baxter ArenaOmaha, NebraskaAltitude Kaczperski L 0–3  0 3–5–0 (3–5–0)
December 19 3:05 PM vs. Western Michigan #8 Baxter ArenaOmaha, NebraskaAltitude Kaczperski T 3–3 SOW 0 3–5–1 (3–5–1)
December 20 3:05 PM vs. #9 St. Cloud State #8 Baxter ArenaOmaha, NebraskaAltitude Chrona L 1–3  0 3–6–1 (3–6–1)
January 1 7:06 PM at Colorado College #16 Broadmoor World ArenaColorado Springs, ColoradoCBSSN Chrona L 3–4  0 3–7–1 (3–7–1)
January 2 7:07 PM vs. Colorado College #16 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado  Kaczperski W 6–1  0 4–7–1 (4–7–1)
January 17 7:05 PM vs. #2 North Dakota #18 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado  Chrona W 4–1  0 5–7–1 (5–7–1)
January 18 7:05 PM vs. #3 North Dakota #19 Magness ArenaDenver, ColoradoCBSSN Chrona L 1–5  0 5–8–1 (5–8–1)
January 23 5:07 PM at #11 Omaha #19 Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska  Kaczperski W 4–1  1,322 6–8–1 (6–8–1)
January 24 5:00 PM at #11 Omaha #19 Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska  Kaczperski L 2–5  611 6–9–1 (6–9–1)
February 5 7:07 PM vs. #9 Omaha Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado  Chrona W 3–1  0 7–9–1 (7–9–1)
February 6 6:07 PM vs. #9 Omaha Magness ArenaDenver, ColoradoCBSSN Kaczperski L 4–5 OT 0 7–10–1 (7–10–1)
February 12 6:37 PM at #2 North Dakota Ralph Engelstad ArenaGrand Forks, North Dakota  Chrona L 0–3  2,286 7–11–1 (7–11–1)
February 13 5:07 PM at #2 North Dakota Ralph Engelstad ArenaGrand Forks, North Dakota  Chrona L 2–5  2,466 7–12–1 (7–12–1)
February 25 7:07 PM at Colorado College Broadmoor World ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado  Chrona W 5–1  0 8–12–1 (8–12–1)
February 27 7:05 PM vs. Colorado College Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado  Chrona W 4–0  0 9–12–1 (9–12–1)
NCHC Tournament
March 13 1:30 PM vs. #11 Omaha Ralph Engelstad ArenaGrand Forks, North Dakota (NCHC Quarterfinals)  Chrona W 5–4  1,864 10–12–1
March 15 7:00 PM at #2 North Dakota Ralph Engelstad ArenaGrand Forks, North Dakota (NCHC Semifinals)  Chrona L 1–2 OT 2,509 10–13–1
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Mountain Time.

[8]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Cole GuttmanC238142212
Carter SavoieLW241372023
Kohen OlischefskiRW234101421
Michael BenningD2138118
Bobby BrinkRW1529114
Antti TuomistoD24291123
Hank CroneLW135494
Ryan BarrowF2445910
McKade WebsterLW2236916
Slava DeminD2135822
Jaakko HeikkinenF241786
Brett StapleyC134372
Justin LeeD244266
Steven JandricLW201566
Brett EdwardsF2022412
Jake DurflingerRW2222414
Connor CaponiF2422425
Bo HansonD121344
Kyle MayhewD2004417
Reid IrwinC/D123036
Jack DoremusF140226
Magnus ChronaG180220
Griffin MendelD2402212
Lane KrenzenD30114
Carter KingF30110
Jack WorksF50112
Corbin KaczperskiG90110
Jack CarusoG10000
Bench-----8
Total67117184273

[9]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Jack Caruso13:050000101.0000.00
Magnus Chrona1810437110434211.9072.47
Corbin Kaczperski9392321171120.8682.60
Empty Net-17---6----
Total24145610131665341.8902.72

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 5 4 5 4 9 8 14 16 17 18 19 20 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR - NR
USA Today 4 5 6 4 8 7 12 14 NR NR 15 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.[10]

Awards and honors

Player Award Ref
Carter Savoie NCHC Rookie Team [11]

Players drafted into the NHL

2021 NHL Entry Draft

Round Pick Player NHL team
236Shai BuiumDetroit Red Wings
261Sean BehrensColorado Avalanche
370Carter MazurDetroit Red Wings

† incoming freshman [12]

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. "Bracketology: With Selection Sunday around the corner, taking one last stab at how the NCAA hockey tournament field will look". USCHO. March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  4. "Denver Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  5. "2019–20 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Denver University. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  6. "Kohen Olischefski Named Captain for 2020-21 Season". Denver University. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  7. "Ian Mitchell Signs with Chicago Blackhawks". Denver University. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  8. "Denver Pioneers (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  9. "Denver Univ. 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  10. "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  11. "Five Teams Represented on 2020-21 NCHC All-Rookie Team". nchchockey.com. March 8, 2021. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  12. "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2021 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
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