# 2020–21 USHL season

The 2020–21 USHL season was the 42nd season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league.
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. As pandemic-related restrictions were still in effect, the start of the 2020–21 season was delayed to November 2020.
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.
The regular season ran from November 6, 2020, to April 24, 2021, with a 54-game schedule for each team. 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.

## Regular season

Due to the unbalanced schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic, the league ranked teams on points percentage.
Final standings:
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 |
| Matthew 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 |

### 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:
| Conference Semifinals (Best-of-3) | Conference Semifinals (Best-of-3) | Conference Semifinals (Best-of-3) | Conference Finals (Best-of-3) | Conference Finals (Best-of-3) | Conference Finals (Best-of-3) | Clark Cup Championship (Best-of-5) | Clark Cup Championship (Best-of-5) | Clark Cup Championship (Best-of-5) |
| E1 | Chicago | 2 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Dubuque | 0 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Dubuque | 0 | E1 | Chicago | 2 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Chicago | 2 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Muskegon | 0 | | | |
| E2 | Muskegon | 2 | E2 | Muskegon | 0 | | | |
| E3 | Green Bay | 0 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Green Bay | 0 | | | | E1 | Chicago | 3 |
| | | | | | | W4 | Fargo | 1 |
| W1 | Tri-City | 1 | | | | | | | W4 | Fargo | 1 |
| W4 | Fargo | 2 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Fargo | 2 | W3 | Sioux City | 0 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W3 | Sioux City | 0 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W4 | Fargo | 2 | | | |
| W2 | Omaha | 0 | W4 | Fargo | 2 | | | |
| W3 | Sioux City | 2 | | | | | | |

## Conference Semifinals
### Eastern Conference
#### (E1) Chicago Steel vs. (E4) Dubuque Fighting Saints

* Chicago wins series 2 – 0

#### (E2) Muskegon Lumberjacks vs. (E3) Green Bay Gamblers

* Muskegon wins series 2 – 0

### Western Conference
#### (W1) Tri-City Storm vs. (W4) Fargo Force

* Fargo wins series 2 – 1

#### (W2) Omaha Lancers vs. (W3) Sioux City Musketeers

* Sioux City wins series 2 – 0

## Conference Finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (E1) Chicago Steel vs. (E2) Muskegon Lumberjacks

* Chicago wins series 2 – 0

### Western Conference
#### (W3) Sioux City Musketeers vs. (W4) Fargo Force

* Fargo wins series 2 – 0

## Clark Cup Finals
### (E1) Chicago Steel vs. (W4) Fargo Force

* 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 |
| Matthew 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 |
| Jack 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 |

## 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 |
| Forward of the Year | Matthew Coronato | Chicago Steel |
| Defenseman of the Year | Mason Lohrei | Green Bay Gamblers |
| Rookie of the Year | Cole Sillinger | Sioux Falls Stampede |
| Goaltender of the Year | Akira Schmid | Sioux City Musketeers |
| Coach of the Year | Mike Hamilton | Muskegon Lumberjacks |
| Scholar-Athlete | Connor Kurth | Dubuque Fighting Saints |
| Curt Hammer | Will Dineen | Sioux Falls Stampede |
| General Manager of the Year | Ryan Hardy | Chicago Steel |
| Executive of the Year | Jeff Mitchell | Green Bay Gamblers |
| Organization of the Year | All member organizations | All member organizations |

### All-USHL First Team

| Pos | Name | Team |
| G | Akira Schmid | Sioux City |
| D | Mason Lohrei | Green Bay |
| D | Ryan Ufko | Chicago |
| F | Matthew Coronato | Chicago |
| F | Sean Farrell | Chicago |
| F | Danil Gushchin | Muskegon |
Source

### 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

### 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

### 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

### 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