2020 - 2021 Conference Updates

Start of 2020-21 Season Announced 10/15/2020 - Atlantic Hockey has announced that the 2020-21 season will officially begin on the weekend of November 13-14, 2020. The schedule features 24 games and allows for up to 28 games for our member institutions. The season concludes with the Atlantic Hockey Tournament, which will include all 11 teams and be played over three weekends culminating with a return to Buffalo's LECOM HarborCenter. "First off, I'm extremely excited to be announcing we have an approved league schedule for the 2020-21 season. It's been a long process, and involved quite a bit of discussion, but it's a testament to all those involved that we have managed to get Atlantic Hockey on the ice in 2020-21," said Commissioner Robert DeGregorio. "We put this schedule together to maximize the student-athlete experience during such uncertain times. We found a way to schedule up to 28 games while maintaining a focus on the health and safety of all parties by reducing travel times and overnight trips as much as we could." To mitigate some of the risk factors regarding COVID-19 exposure during travel, Atlantic Hockey has separated the league into eastern and western pods, with Air Force standing alone as the geographic outlier. The eastern pod is made up of AIC, Army, Bentley, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart. The western pod consists of Canisius, Mercyhurst, Niagara, RIT, and Robert Morris. All teams will play five games against each pod member (20 total games), play Air Force for a pair of games (2) for 22 league games, and then play a two-game set against LIU, who is being worked in as a scheduling partner for the 2020-21 season. Air Force will play each team twice and add in the Sharks for four games, two home and two on the road. Prior to the possibility of LIU becoming a scheduling partner was even on the league's radar, it was decided that league standings would be determined by point percentage this season, not by total points or even win percentage. Atlantic Hockey decided to move in this direction for two reasons: 1) unfortunately there is no guarantee each team plays a full league schedule and 2) wins are not valued the same in the 3-on-3 OT model that is now our operating overtime so win percentage, while easier to comprehend, was not viable. With that in place, moving to a schedule where Air Force had 20 league games and all other members had 22 did not impact the ability to make a schedule like this work. Atlantic Hockey is still working to finalize the return-to-play protocols for the season, but LIU has agreed to abide by all protocols for the 2020-21 season, including testing, screening, sanitization, and other preventative measures outlined in the document. The full 2020-21 Atlantic Hockey schedule, with scheduled non-conference games, will be released at a later date.

2020 Atlantic League Champion - A.I.C.

Big 10 Competition begins as soon as Nov. 13 and culminates with modified Big Ten Tournament ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference office announced today that the 2020-21 hockey season will begin as soon as November 13, 2020, and will feature 24-game conference schedules, plus an additional four games per school against Arizona State University hosted at Big Ten venues. The 2020-21 schedule will conclude March 18-20, 2021, with the Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. "The 2020-21 hockey season builds on the rich traditions of Big Ten Hockey and brings new competitive opportunities to the Conference with the Arizona State University scheduling agreement," said Commissioner Kevin Warren. "As our teams return to competition, we will continue to keep the health and safety of our student-athletes at the forefront of our decisions." The 2021 Big Ten Hockey Tournament will return to the one-weekend, single-elimination format used during the first four years of Big Ten hockey and will feature all seven conference teams - Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. The tournament will be held March 18-20 and will consist of six games (three games on Thursday; two games on Friday; and the championship game on Saturday). "The 2020-21 schedule and the modified Big Ten Tournament format have been structured in a way that maximizes flexibility for the season," said Red Berenson, Special Advisor to the Commissioner, Hockey Operations. "The opportunity to return to competition in mid-November and the scheduling agreement with Arizona State is an exciting time for Big Ten Hockey." Big Ten hockey teams will follow the same medical protocols that were developed by the Big Ten Return to Competition Task Force and announced on Sept. 16, 2020, including daily antigen testing, enhanced cardiac screening and an enhanced data-driven approach when making decisions about practice/competition. Arizona State has agreed to adhere to the same testing protocols as the Big Ten Conference. The full 2020-21 Big Ten hockey schedule, including times and television designations, as well as further details regarding the 2021 Big Ten Hockey Tournament will be announced at a later date.

2020 Big 10 Regular Season Champion - Penn State

Jul 10, 2020 ECAC Hockey today announced the continued development of schedule models for its men's and women's leagues for the 2020-21 campaign. All models feature a balanced scheduling approach that includes league contests and opportunities for member institutions to play non-league opponents. Such models are being compiled as options given the ever-changing conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of the past several months, ECAC Hockey has engaged league coaches and administrators in a national dialogue about providing a robust student-athlete experience that prioritizes the health and safety of all stakeholders in a COVID-19 environment. League staff has therefore begun work on schedule models to attain that objective. Committed first and foremost to ensuring the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, staff, on-ice officials and fans, development and implementation of any league schedule models remain contingent upon an environment for competition that is safe for all participants. ECAC Hockey will continue to partake in the national conversation to bring collegiate athletics back in a safe way. We look forward to a safe, healthy, and competitive college hockey season.

2020 ECAC Regular Season Champion - Cornell

Jul 29, 2020 The Hockey East Association announced today its intent to play the 2020-21 college hockey season while prioritizing competition between league members and the completion of a regular-season schedule. Details regarding the new schedules, including a new start date and specifics of regular-season competition, will be released at a later date. Hockey East and its member institutions have been facing uncertain and unprecedented times and anticipate further challenges as the 2020-21 season approaches. Ensuring the health, safety, and physical and mental well-being of our student-athletes, coaches, on-ice officials, league staff, and school administrators has been and will continue to be the league's top priority. Ultimately, Hockey East is committed to providing the best experience possible for its student-athletes. By emphasizing competition between Hockey East member institutions, the league allows itself to make significant and often difficult decisions in real time that will protect the health and safety of all parties involved in the administration of the conference schedule. Further, Hockey East's geography allows the league to conduct conference competition, including the men's and women's championships, while mitigating non-essential travel and allowing maximum flexibility to adjust its schedule based on ever-changing developments and best medical practices surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the league plans to construct multiple balanced schedule models for both the men's and women's leagues for the 2020-21 season. These models will include added safety measures and allow for maximum scheduling flexibility. Hockey East member institutions will continue to rely upon the most up-to-date medical information available to establish best protocols for a return to on-campus workouts and resocialization of athletes. These protocols will remain in full compliance with federal, state, and local guidelines while the conference office formalizes a league-wide return to play plan. This plan will also account for all guidelines set forth in the NCAA Resocialization of College Sport publication.

2020 Hockey East Regular Season Champion - Boston College

UPDATE! COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado: "After thorough discussion and thoughtful planning over the past few months, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) has finalized its plans for the 2020-21 season. The 26-game conference schedule and two-part format, which includes utilizing a centralized location ("Pod") for all NCHC games to start the season, was unanimously approved by the NCHC's Board of Directors on Thursday, Oct. 15. With the focus on the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, staff, and officials, the Conference has intentionally attempted to limit team travel. Because of this, NCHC teams have been divided into two divisions based on geography for 2020-21 scheduling purposes: East and West. The East Division consists of Miami, Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State and Western Michigan. The West Division consists of Colorado College, Denver, North Dakota and Omaha. Teams will play each of their divisional opponents six times (18 games total) and each cross-division opponent twice (8 games total), with all cross-division games taking place in the Pod to alleviate travel. The second portion of the season will then take place January through March, with all divisional foes playing each other at home and on the road. "Throughout the past eight months we have learned to adjust and think creatively about how we live our personal and professional lives," NCHC Commissioner Josh Fenton said. "I'm proud of our membership for their entrepreneurial spirit to build a concept grounded in health and safety that we believe gives a group of deserving student-athletes the best opportunity to conduct a successful season." The Conference will commence the pursuit of the Penrose Cup on Tuesday, Dec. 1 in the Pod, which will take place in Omaha, Nebraska, where the University of Nebraska Omaha's Baxter Arena will host all eight NCHC teams. Competition in the Pod will include 10 games per team (40 games total) and run through the first three weeks of December, with games held throughout each week. In addition to the cross-division games at Baxter Arena, each team will also play two games against one divisional foe in the Pod. Overall medical support and COVID-19 testing for all participating student-athletes, staff and officials in the Pod will be conducted through the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), located in Omaha. Medical protocols and testing strategies for the entire season are currently being developed with top medical professionals from UNMC and the Global Center for Health Security. "NCHC Presidents and Chancellors have been committed to finding ways for our student-athletes to return to the ice safely. We believe this plan accomplishes that," said Greg Crawford, Miami University President and Chair of the NCHC Board of Directors. "On behalf of our Board of Directors, I want to thank the leadership of Dr. Jeffrey Gold at the University of Nebraska Omaha and University of Nebraska Medical Center for providing their institutional resources and medical expertise toward helping the Conference start the season successfully." The second portion of the conference slate will begin in the New Year and take place in all home NCHC venues. Following a break after the Pod, all eight teams will resume play the first weekend in January with weekend series through the conclusion of the scheduled regular season on March 5-6. Teams will play 16 games during the second part of the season, all against divisional foes, with eight games at home and eight games on the road. In addition, teams will have multiple and consistent bye weekends during the travel portion of the season to allow for flexibility in the schedule.

2020 NCHC Regular Season Champion - North Dakota

Sept. 10, 2020 The Men's League of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association will delay the start of its 2020-21 season, WCHA Men's League Commissioner Bill Robertson announced today. "We continue to engage in thorough evaluation and discussion of various options for safely opening the 2020-21 season, both nationally and within the WCHA, as the health and safety of everyone associated with our league is our top priority." Robertson said. "There was a strong desire to open the season as scheduled on October 3, but that is not possible given the realities we are facing. While we are still finalizing plans for our season at this point, we owe it to our student-athletes, coaches, officials and great fans to acknowledge the fact we will not begin play on time." With 10 teams in five states, WCHA member institutions are currently operating under multiple state, local, university system, institutional and NCAA COVID-19 mandates. Delaying the start of the season will provide league and member administrators the opportunity to continue detailed discussions regarding the implementation of a return to play plan that addresses the diverse guidelines all WCHA institutions must adhere to and recognizes the rapidly-evolving medical and safety environments that exist today. The new 2020-21 league schedule and details regarding non-league play and the WCHA postseason tournament will be announced later this fall.

2020 WCHA Regular Season Champion - Minnesota State

2020 Hobey Baker Hat Trick	Team	Conference
Jordan Kawaguchi	North Dakota	NCHC
Jeremy Swayman	Maine	Hockey East
Scott Perunovich	Minnesota Duluth	NCHC
2020 Hobey Baker Award - Scott Perunovich

2020 Mike Richter Award

2020 Mike Richter Award Final Five - Winner TBA April 10.	Team
Matthew Galajda	Cornell
Spencer Knight	Boston College
Strauss Mann	Michigan
Dryden McKay	Minnesota State
Jeremy Swayman	Maine
2020 Richter Award Winner - Jeremy Swayman

2020 Hockey Humanitarian Award

2020 Hockey Humanitarian Award Final Five	Team
Devin Brosseau	Clarkson
Cal Burke	Notre Dame
Amanda Conger	St. Anselm
Dakota Keene	UMass Boston
Delaney Wolf	St. Mary's
2020 Hockey Humanitarian Award Winner - Amanda Conger

2020 Spencer Penrose Award

2021 NCAA Regionals and Frozen Four - TBD

National Championship: TBD
7:30 PM	Period 1	Period 2	Period 3	O.T.	Final
-	-	-	-	-	-
-	-	-	-	-	-
2021 NCAA National Champions - TBD

2019 NCAA National Champions - Minnesota Duluth

2021 NCAA Northeast Regionals - Manchester, NH
	TBD
2021 NCAA East Regionals - Bridgeport, CT
	TBD
2021 NCAA Midwest Regionals - Loveland, CO
	TBD
2021 NCAA West Regionals - Fargo, ND
	TBD

2020 - 21 Division 1 Conference Alignment, Rosters and Schedules

59 Division One college hockey teams are listed below by conference. Arizona State is an Independent

If you feel you are a potential Division 1 prospect, it may be beneficial to review each team's current depth chart. Click on the school name to view each team's roster. Review the rosters to see the number of seniors who will graduate this year. This will give you an idea of how many spots will be open for next season. There are many variables to consider including positions, players who leave early for the NHL, and overall strength of the program. Questions? Email info@d1hockey.com

						Independent
Air Force	Ohio State	Brown	Boston College	Colorado College	Alabama Huntsville	Arizona State
American International	Penn State	Clarkson	Boston University	Denver	Alaska	Long Island University
Army	Michigan	Colgate	University of Connecticut	Miami	Bemidji State
Bentley	Michigan State	Cornell	Maine	Minnesota Duluth	Bowling Green
Canisus	Minnesota	Dartmouth	Merrimack	Nebraska Omaha	Ferris State
Holy Cross	Notre Dame	Harvard	Northeastern	North Dakota	Lake Superior
Mercyhurst	Wisconsin	Princeton	Providence College	St. Cloud State	Michigan Tech
Niagara		Quinnipiac	UMass Amherst		Minnesota State
Robert Morris		RPI	UMass Lowell		Northern Michigan
Rochester Institute of Tech.		Union	University of New Hampshire
Sacred Heart		St. Lawrence University	Vermont
		Yale

Email your questions or comments to info@d1hockey.com