2020–21 Merrimack Warriors men's ice hockey season

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2020–21 Merrimack Warriors
men's ice hockey season
Merrimack Warriors.svg
Conference9th Hockey East
Home iceJ. Thom Lawler Rink
Rankings
USCHO.comNR
USA Today/
US Hockey Magazine		NR
Record
Overall5–11–2
Conference5–11–2
Home2–6–1
Road3–5–1
Neutral0–0–0
Coaches and Captains
Head CoachScott Borek
Assistant Coaches
Captain(s)Chase Gresock
Merrimack Warriors men's ice hockey seasons
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The 2020-21 Merrimack Warriors Men's ice hockey season was the 66th season of play for the program, the 32nd at the Division I level, and the 32nd season in the Hockey East conference. The Warriors represented Merrimack College and were coached by Scott Borek, 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 Merrimack'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]

Due to cancellations and rescheduling Merrimack began the season playing ranked teams in eight consecutive games. As a result, the team's record was a paltry 1–7. Despite the losses, the team was able to keep the score close in most games and used the experience to improve in the second half of the season. Merrimack ended the regular season on a 4–4–2 run, not a particularly stellar record, but a vast improvement over their start. The Warriors had risen to 9th in the conference and were getting ready to play Vermont on the final week of the regular season. Unfortunately, several members of the team entered COVID-19 protocols on March 4. As a result, not only was the Vermont series cancelled but, since the team could not feasibly receive a clean bill of health before the Hockey East Tournament began on March 10, Merrimack had to withdraw from postseason play and end their season.[3]

James Corcoran and Jordan Seyfert sat out the season.

Departures[]

Player Position Nationality Cause
Joey Cassetti Forward  United States Transferred to Miami
Tyler Drevitch Forward  United States Graduation (Signed with Wheeling Nailers)
Tyler Irvine Forward  United States Graduation (Signed with Binghamton Devils)
Griff Jeszka Forward  United States Graduation (Signed with Worcester Railers)
Sami Tavernier Forward  France Graduation (Signed with Syracuse Crunch)
August Von Ungern-Sternberg Forward  United States Signed professional contract (Rostock Piranhas)

Recruiting[]

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Zachary Borgiel Goaltender  United States 20 Fort Gratiot, MI
Alex Jefferies Forward  United States 18 Lunenburg, MA; selected 121st overall in 2020
Filip Karlsson-Tägtström Forward  Sweden 21 Stockholm, SWE
Jakob Lee Forward  Canada 21 Owen Sound, ON
Conor Lovett Forward  United States 19 Franklin, MA
Mick Messner Forward  United States 21 Madison, WI; transfer from Wisconsin
Max Newton Forward  Canada 22 Vancouver, BC; transfer from Alaska
Kevin Sadovski Defenseman  United States 21 Palm Coast, FL

Roster[]

As of February 12, 2021.[4]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Finland Jere Huhtamaa Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 2000-04-10 Helsinki, Finland Jokerit U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga) —
2 Massachusetts Patrick Holway Senior D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1996-10-01 Cohasset, Massachusetts Maine (HEA) DET, 170th overall 2015
3 Michigan Declan Carlile Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2000-05-18 Hartland, Michigan Muskegon (USHL) —
4 Massachusetts Conor Lovett Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 2001-04-07 Franklin, Massachusetts Lawrence Academy (USHS–MA) —
5 California Jacob Modry Sophomore D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1999-01-23 El Segundo, California Wenatchee (BCHL) —
6 Alberta Zach Vinnell Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-04-03 Cochrane, Alberta Camrose (AJHL) —
7 Ontario Zach Uens Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-05-13 Belleville, Ontario Wellington (OJHL) FLA, 105th overall 2020
8 Ontario Liam Dennison Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1999-02-07 Manotick, Ontario Youngstown (USHL) —
9 Pennsylvania Liam Walsh Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 1999-07-14 Bridgeville, Pennsylvania Cedar Rapids (USHL) —
10 British Columbia Max Newton Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-11-14 Vancouver, British Columbia Alaska (WCHA) —
11 Wisconsin Mick Messner Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1999-04-20 Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin (Big Ten) —
12 Pennsylvania Jordan Seyfert Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1999-04-03 Annville, Pennsylvania Fargo (USHL) —
13 Ohio Chase Gresock (C) Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 211 lb (96 kg) 1998-08-13 Powell, Ohio Youngstown (USHL) —
14 Massachusetts Patrick Kramer Graduate F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1997-03-06 Bridgewater, Massachusetts Youngstown (USHL) —
15 Sweden Hugo Esselin Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 199 lb (90 kg) 2000-07-15 Stockholm, Sweden Djurgårdens J20 (J20 SuperElit) —
16 Ontario Regan Kimens Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1999-03-28 Vaughan, Ontario Coquitlam (BCHL) —
17 Michigan Mac Welsher Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1999-04-24 Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan Des Moines (USHL) —
18 British Columbia Ben Brar Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1998-11-19 Abbotsford, British Columbia Prince George (BCHL) —
19 Massachusetts Alex Jefferies Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 199 lb (90 kg) 2001-11-08 Lunenburg, Massachusetts The Gunnery (USHS–CT) NYI, 121st overall 2020
20 Ontario Jakob Lee Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 1999-02-12 Owen Sound, Ontario Brooks (AJHL) —
21 Massachusetts Christian Simeone Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1997-02-12 Milton, Massachusetts Alberni Valley (BCHL) —
22 Massachusetts Logan Drevitch Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 1998-04-14 Middleborough, Massachusetts Boston Bandits (NCDC) —
23 Florida Kevin Sadovski Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-07-06 Palm Coast, Florida Utica (NCDC) —
24 Illinois Ryan Nolan Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1998-07-14 Winnetka, Illinois Victoria (BCHL) —
25 Sweden Filip Karlsson-Tägtström Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-07-14 Stockholm, Sweden Sioux Falls (USHL) —
26 Saskatchewan Tyler Heidt Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1998-11-07 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Melfort (SJHL) —
27 New York (state) Dominic Dockery Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-01-02 Lockport, New York Youngstown (USHL) —
28 Sweden Filip Forsmark Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 166 lb (75 kg) 1998-06-23 Skövde, Sweden Tri-City (USHL) —
29 Michigan Zachary Borgiel Freshman G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-04-27 Fort Gratiot, Michigan Cowichan Valley (BCHL) —
30 New Jersey Troy Kobryn Sophomore G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1999-02-14 Hillsborough, New Jersey Cedar Rapids (USHL) —
31 Massachusetts James Corcoran Sophomore G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-02-23 Walpole, Massachusetts Winchendon (USHS–MA) —

Standings[]

2020–21 Hockey East Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SOW HEPI GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#6 Boston College 21 16 4 1 3 2 0 58.61 82 46 24 17 6 1 91 58
#11 Boston University 14 10 3 1 3 1 1 56.36 49 37 16 10 5 1 52 45
#1 Massachusetts * 22 13 5 4 1 1 1 55.44 76 42 29 20 5 4 103 48
Connecticut 22 10 10 2 1 4 2 52.01 69 63 23 10 11 2 70 69
#16 Providence 23 10 8 5 0 0 2 50.80 63 61 25 11 9 5 71 67
Northeastern 20 9 8 3 1 0 3 49.94 68 60 21 9 9 3 69 64
#19 Massachusetts–Lowell 16 7 8 1 1 1 0 48.00 46 53 20 10 9 1 59 63
Maine 15 3 10 2 0 1 2 46.66 41 61 16 3 11 2 43 68
Merrimack 18 5 11 2 0 1 0 45.38 47 66 18 5 11 2 47 66
New Hampshire 21 5 13 3 3 2 2 43.66 51 83 23 6 14 3 60 88
Vermont 12 1 9 2 0 0 0 38.02 17 37 13 1 10 2 20 42
Championship: March 20, 2021[5]
No Regular Season Champion Awarded[6]
* indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and Results[]

[7]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
December 5 4:30 PM at #8 Massachusetts Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts NESN+ Borgiel L 1–3  0 0–1–0 (0–1–0)
December 6 4:35 PM vs. #8 Massachusetts J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts   Borgiel W 3–2  0 1–1–0 (1–1–0)
December 12 6:05 PM at #17 Northeastern Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts NESN Kobryn L 2–8  0 1–2–0 (1–2–0)
December 13 4:05 PM vs. #17 Northeastern J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts   Borgiel L 3–6  0 1–3–0 (1–3–0)
January 9 7:05 PM at #14 Northeastern Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts   Borgiel L 2–3 OT 0 1–4–0 (1–4–0)
January 10 3:05 PM vs. #14 Northeastern J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts   Kobryn L 2–3  0 1–5–0 (1–5–0)
January 16 7:00 PM at #3 Boston College Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts NESN Borgiel L 1–2  0 1–6–0 (1–6–0)
January 17 4:05 PM vs. #3 Boston College J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts   Borgiel L 3–5  0 1–7–0 (1–7–0)
January 22 7:00 PM at New Hampshire Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire   Borgiel W 5–2  0 2–7–0 (2–7–0)
January 23 4:05 PM vs. New Hampshire J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts   Borgiel T 2–2 SOL 0 2–7–1 (2–7–1)
January 29 3:05 PM vs. Connecticut J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts   Borgiel L 1–6  0 2–8–1 (2–8–1)
January 30 3:00 PM at Connecticut Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum • Storrs, Connecticut   Kobryn L 2–6  0 2–9–1 (2–9–1)
February 6 2:05 PM vs. #16 Providence J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts   Borgiel L 1–5  0 2–10–1 (2–10–1)
February 7 2:00 PM at #16 Providence Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island   Borgiel W 3–2  0 3–10–1 (3–10–1)
February 19 4:00 PM at New Hampshire Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire   Borgiel T 3–3 SOL 0 3–10–2 (3–10–2)
February 20 4:05 PM vs. New Hampshire J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts   Borgiel W 6–2  0 4–10–2 (4–10–2)
February 26 4:05 PM at #8 Boston University Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts   Huhtamaa W 5–2  0 5–10–2 (5–10–2)
February 27 4:05 PM vs. #8 Boston University J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts   Borgiel L 2–4  0 5–11–2 (5–11–2)
Hockey East Tournament
Participation Cancelled
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

Scoring Statistics[]

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Filip Forsmark LW/RW 18 4 9 13 16
Liam Walsh LW 17 7 5 12 10
Alex Jefferies LW 12 4 6 10 2
Declan Carlile D 14 2 8 10 10
Logan Drevitch LW 12 3 6 9 12
Zach Vinnell D 16 3 6 9 6
Patrick Holway D 18 3 6 9 22
Ben Brar F 15 4 4 8 10
Chase Gresock F 16 4 4 8 2
Max Newton F 9 3 4 7 4
Zach Uens D 14 1 6 7 8
Dominic Dockery D 14 1 6 7 2
Regan Kimens LW 16 3 3 6 2
Conor Lovett F 15 3 2 5 23
Patrick Kramer C 17 0 5 5 10
Mac Welsher C 13 1 1 2 6
Ryan Nolan F 13 0 2 2 8
Mick Messner LW 14 0 2 2 2
Liam Dennison D 15 1 0 1 4
Christian Simeone F 4 0 1 1 0
Jere Huhtamaa G 3 0 0 0 0
Troy Kobryn G 3 0 0 0 0
Kevin Sadovski D 3 0 0 0 0
Hugo Esselin C 6 0 0 0 4
Filip Karlsson-Tägtström C 9 0 0 0 2
Jacob Modry D 10 0 0 0 2
Tyler Heidt D 12 0 0 0 4
Jakob Lee C 13 0 0 0 10
Zachary Borgiel G 15 0 0 0 0
Bench - 18 - - - 4
Total 47 86 133 185

[8]

Goaltending statistics[]

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Jere Huhtamaa 3 141 1 0 0 7 67 0 .905 2.97
Zachary Borgiel 15 792 4 8 2 41 310 0 .883 3.10
Troy Kobryn 3 147 0 3 0 14 73 0 .839 5.72
Empty Net - 11 - - - 4 - - - -
Total 18 1092 5 11 2 66 450 0 .872 3.63

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 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR - NR
USA Today NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.[9]

Awards and honors[]

Player Award Ref
Alex Jefferies Hockey East Rookie Team [10]

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. ^ "COVID-19 ends season for Merrimack hockey team". The Eagle-Tribune. March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  4. ^ "2020–21 Merrimack College Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Merrimack Warriors.
  5. ^ "Hockey East Unveils 2021 Tournament and Seeding Format - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  6. ^ "2021 Hockey East Women's Tournament Field Set". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  7. ^ "Merrimack Warriors (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  8. ^ "Merrimack College 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  9. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  10. ^ "Hockey East Names Men's Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
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