# 2020–21 Mercyhurst Lakers men's ice hockey season

The 2020–21 Mercyhurst Lakers men's ice hockey season was the 34th season of play for the program, the 22nd at the Division I level, and the 18th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Lakers represented Mercyhurst University and were coached by Rick Gotkin, in his 33rd season.
The start of the college hockey season was delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As a result, Mercyhurst's first scheduled game was in mid-November as opposed to early-October, which was the norm.

## 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 Mercyhurst's players would lose a season of play. 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.
Mercyhurst managed to recover after the program's worst season, posting a middling record amidst an ever-changing schedule. Despite playing 14 fewer games, the Lakers won three more games than they had the year before. including three over ranked opponents.
Ashton Stockie and Carver Watson sat out the season.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| James Anderson | Forward | United States | Graduation |
| Stefano Cantali | Goaltender | Canada | Signed Professional Contract (Chiefs Leuven) |
| Cory Caruso | Forward | Canada | Left Program |
| Colin DeAugustine | Goaltender | United States | Graduation |
| Ethan Johnson | Forward | United States | Left Program |
| Jonathan Lazarus | Forward | United States | Graduation |
| Garrett Metcalf | Goaltender | United States | Transferred to Long Island |
| Brendan Riley | Forward | United States | Graduation |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Carson Brière | Forward | United States | 21 | Haddonfield, NJ |
| Wyatt Head | Defenseman | Canada | 21 | Kelowna, BC |
| Austin Heidemann | Forward | United States | 21 | Maple Grove, MN |
| Hank Johnson | Goaltender | United States | 24 | Minneapolis, MN; transfer from Bemidji State |
| Noah Kane | Forward | United States | 20 | Buffalo, NY |
| Matt Lenz | Goaltender | Canada | 21 | Calgary, AB |
| Jac Lymn | Goaltender | United States | 19 | Charlotte, NC |
| Kyle McClellan | Goaltender | United States | 21 | Manchester, MO |
| Devon Mussio | Defenseman | Canada | 21 | Vancouver, BC |
| Marko Reifenberger | Forward | United States | 21 | Hastings, MN |
| Dante Sheriff | Forward | Canada | 21 | Woodbridge, ON |
| Rylee St. Onge | Forward | Canada | 22 | St. Catharines, ON; transfer from Alaska Anchorage |
| Keanan Stewart | Defenseman | Canada | 20 | Guelph, ON |

## Roster

As of December 31, 2020.

## Standings

2020–21 Atlantic Hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | OW | OL | SW | PTS | PT% | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #15 American International †* | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | .889 | 47 | 18 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 67 | 40 |
| Army | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 30 | .667 | 42 | 33 | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 71 | 48 |
| Robert Morris | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 29 | .644 | 58 | 48 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 85 | 69 |
| Canisius | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | .615 | 42 | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 59 | 46 |
| RIT | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | .590 | 43 | 40 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 68 | 70 |
| Sacred Heart | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 20 | .513 | 35 | 38 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 43 | 59 |
| Mercyhurst | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 23 | .479 | 54 | 50 | 21 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 64 | 67 |
| Bentley | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16 | .356 | 35 | 48 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 42 | 51 |
| Niagara | 15 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15 | .333 | 39 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 57 | 70 |
| Air Force | 13 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | .231 | 32 | 49 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 35 | 56 |
| Holy Cross | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .194 | 22 | 38 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 30 | 52 |
| Championship: March 20, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll |||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Site | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| December 5 | 1:30 PM | at #18 Bowling Green* | Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio | Johnson | W 2–1 | 300 | 1–0–0 |
| December 6 | 3:00 PM | vs. #18 Bowling Green* | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Johnson | L 1–3 | 149 | 1–1–0 |
| December 12 | 5:00 PM | vs. #7 Clarkson* | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Johnson | L 3–4 $^{OT}$ | 89 | 1–2–0 |
| December 13 | 4:00 PM | vs. #7 Clarkson* | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Johnson | L 2–6 | 89 | 1–3–0 |
| December 16 | 5:05 PM | vs. Niagara | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Johnson | T 3–3 $^{SOW}$ | 97 | 1–3–1 (0–0–1) |
| December 18 | 7:00 PM | at Niagara | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | Johnson | W 7–4 | 0 | 2–3–1 (1–0–1) |
| January 2 | 4:35 PM | at Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | Johnson | L 2–3 | 0 | 2–4–1 (1–1–1) |
| January 3 | 3:00 PM | vs. Canisius | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Johnson | L 0–3 | 127 | 2–5–1 (1–2–1) |
| January 8 | 5:00 PM | vs. Air Force | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Johnson | W 5–2 | 127 | 3–5–1 (2–2–1) |
| January 9 | 3:00 PM | vs. Air Force | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | McClellan | W 6–3 | 137 | 4–5–1 (3–2–1) |
| January 19 | 4:30 PM | vs. #17 Robert Morris | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Johnson | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 127 | 5–5–1 (4–2–1) |
| January 23 | 4:35 PM | vs. #17 Robert Morris | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Johnson | W 7–5 | 75 | 6–5–1 (5–2–1) |
| January 28 | 5:00 PM | at RIT | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | Johnson | L 4–6 | 0 | 6–6–1 (5–3–1) |
| January 30 | 7:30 PM | vs. Robert Morris | Colonials Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | Johnson | L 3–5 | 0 | 6–7–1 (5–4–1) |
| February 5 | 5:00 PM | at RIT | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | McClellan | L 1–2 | 0 | 6–8–1 (5–5–1) |
| February 6 | 5:05 PM | vs. RIT | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Johnson | W 6–2 | 0 | 7–8–1 (6–5–1) |
| February 9 | 7:05 PM | vs. Canisius | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | McClellan | L 1–3 | 0 | 7–9–1 (6–6–1) |
| February 16 | 7:05 PM | at Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | McClellan | L 4–5 $^{OT}$ | 0 | 7–10–1 (6–7–1) |
| February 19 | 7:05 PM | vs. Niagara | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | McClellan | W 1–0 | 0 | 8–10–1 (7–7–1) |
| February 20 | 7:00 PM | vs. Niagara | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | McClellan | L 1–2 | 0 | 8–11–1 (7–8–1) |
| Atlantic Hockey Tournament ||||||||||
| March 8 | 5:00 PM | vs. Niagara* | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania (First Round) | McClellan | L 2–3 | 163 | 8–12–1 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Carson Brière | C/RW | 21 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 10 |
| Jonathan Bendorf | LW | 21 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 2 |
| Dante Sheriff | F | 19 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 31 |
| Gueorgui Feduolov | F | 21 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 16 |
| Joseph Maziarz | D | 20 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 8 |
| Austin Heidemann | F | 16 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 9 |
| Geoff Kitt | C | 19 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 |
| Owen Norton | D | 19 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Michael Bevilacqua | D | 21 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 8 |
| Paul Maust | LW | 21 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 28 |
| Josh McDougall | D/F | 17 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| Steven Ipri | F | 11 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 12 |
| Noah Kane | C | 19 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Marko Reifenberger | C | 21 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| Cade Townend | D | 21 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 |
| Brendan Schneider | C | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Rylee St. Onge | LW | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Devon Daniels | D | 18 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Justin Cmunt | LW | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Dante Spagnuolo | C | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| Keanan Stewart | F | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| Dalton Hunter | RW | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Quinn Wichers | D | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Khristian Acosta | F | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Hank Johnson | G | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Wyatt Head | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Devon Mussio | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle McClellan | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | | | 64 | 117 | 181 | 214 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Kyle McClellan | 6 | 355 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 164 | 1 | .932 | 2.03 |
| Hank Johnson | 15 | 904 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 52 | 469 | 0 | .900 | 3.45 |
| Empty Net | - | 13 | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 21 | 1273 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 67 | 633 | 1 | .904 | 3.16 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 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.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award |
| Joseph Maziarz | Atlantic Hockey Second Team |
| Jon Bendorf | Atlantic Hockey Second Team |
| Carson Brière | Atlantic Hockey Second Team |
| Carson Brière | Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team |
| Austin Heidemann | Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team |