2020–21 Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey season

The 2020–21 Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey season was the 52nd season of play for the program, the 25th at the Division I level and the 22nd in the WCHA conference. The Mavericks represented Minnesota State University, Mankato and were coached by Mike Hastings, in his 9th 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 Minnesota State'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.
After missing out on a chance at postseason glory last year, Minnesota State didn't miss a beat and came into this year a house afire. The Mavericks won 9 of their first 11 games with Dryden McKay earning 6 shutouts. The second half of the regular season was nearly as outstanding as the first; MSU went 9–2 down the stretch and finished miles ahead of the second place team in the WCHA. With their record, the Mavericks were guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament but could improve their ranking with a good performance in the conference tournament.
As the top seed, MSU played woeful Ferris State in the quarterfinals. The Mavericks' offense was quiet for much of the series but the defense was stout. Minnesota State surrendered one goal in two games and swept the Bulldogs. They faced an upstart Northern Michigan team in the semifinals and laid a complete egg. Northern Michigan scored the first five goals of the game, chasing McKay from the cage, and then played a defensive shell over the final 20 minutes to upset the Mavericks.
Losing in the semifinal cost MSU the chance to earn a #1 seed and they dropped all the way to 6th in the rankings. The team had to face Quinnipiac in the opening game and got off to a bad start. The Bobcats scored twice in the first while MSU could only muster 6 shots. The Mavericks woke up in the second and cut the lead in half near the end of the period. The third saw the team having to kill off a lengthy 2-man advantage only to surrender a goal a couple of minutes later. MSU bore down and scored with more than 5 minutes to play but, as time ticked away, the team was forced to pull McKay for an extra attacker and Cade Borchardt tied the game with 62 seconds remaining. The game went into overtime and, just like they had been in the third, Minnesota State was the aggressor. The Mavericks continued to put pressure on the Quinnipiac net until Ryan Sandelin banged in a lose puck and won the game for the Mavericks.
The win was the first tournament victory for Minnesota State at the Division I level, snapping a 6-game losing streak. The last NCAA Tournament win for the program had come 30 years earlier when the school was still called 'Mankato State University'
After the win, the team appeared to relax and played their next opponent, Minnesota, like the juggernaut they had been during the regular season. MSU held the Gophers, which had the #2 offense in the nation, to just 9 shots in the first two periods. The Mavericks scored twice in the opening frame and twice more in the third. McKay held the fort during Minnesota's attempted comeback in the final period but he surrendered nothing. The shutout was the 10th of the season for McKay, placing him just 2 behind Ryan Miller for the most in a career.
Minnesota State advanced to its first Frozen Four as the highest remaining seed and faced former WCHA rival St. Cloud State in the semifinal. McKay wasn't sharp in the game, allowing 3 goals in the first 23 minutes, but MSU fought back and took a 4–3 lead early in the third. The Huskies tied the game for the fourth time mid-way through the period but neither team seemed able to finish the scoring in regulation. With less than a minute to play St. Cloud deflected a puck into the net and MSU was unable to earn a tying goal, ending their season.
Tanner Edwards and Evan Foss sat out the season.
==Departures==
Player 	Position 	Nationality	Cause
Jake Berger 	Goaltender	 	Transferred to St. Thomas
Josh French 	Forward 	 	Graduation (signed with Knoxville Ice Bears)
Charlie Gerard 	Forward 	 	Graduation (signed with Colorado Eagles)
Edwin Hookenson	Defenseman	 	Graduation (signed with Utah Grizzlies)
Connor Mackey 	Defenseman	 	Signed professional contract (Calgary Flames)
Marc Michaelis 	Forward 	 	Graduation (signed with Vancouver Canucks)
Nick Rivera 	Defenseman	 	Graduation (signed with Wheeling Nailers)
Ian Scheid 	Defenseman	 	Graduation (signed with Colorado Eagles)
Jaxson Stauber 	Goaltender	 	Transferred to Providence
Parker Tuomie 	Forward 	 	Graduation (signed with Eisbären Berlin)
==Recruiting==
Player 	Position 	Nationality	Age	Notes
Todd Burgess 	Forward 	 	24 	Phoenix, AZ; graduate transfer from Rensselaer; Selected 103rd overall in 2016
Ryan Edquist 	Goaltender	 	22 	Lakeville, MN; graduate transfer from Boston College
Tanner Edwards 	Forward 	 	20 	Anchorage, AK
Brendan Furry 	Forward 	 	22 	Toledo, OH
Connor Gregga 	Forward 	 	20 	Markham, ON
Akito Hirose 	Defenseman	 	21 	Calgary, AB
Jake Livingstone	Defenseman	 	21 	Creston, BC
Sam Morton 	Forward 	 	21 	Lafayette, CO; transfer from Union
Ondřej Pavel 	Forward 	 	20 	Praha, CZE
==Roster==
As of December 17, 2020.
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==Standings==
==Schedule and Results==
|-
!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season
|-
!colspan=12 style=";" | 
|- align="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
|colspan=12|Minnesota State Won Series 2–0
|-
!colspan=12 style=";" | 
==Scoring Statistics==
Name 	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	
 	RW 	27 	10 	18 	28 	4
 	C 	28 	9 	16 	25 	16
 	F 	28 	9 	15 	24 	10
 	RW 	25 	10 	11 	21 	33
 	LW 	28 	9 	10 	19 	31
 	RW 	28 	10 	7 	17 	26
 	C/LW 	28 	4 	12 	16 	2
 	D 	28 	1 	14 	15 	14
 	C/RW 	25 	5 	9 	14 	6
 	D 	28 	4 	10 	14 	16
 	LW 	28 	5 	8 	13 	19
 	F 	24 	1 	12 	13 	27
 	C 	27 	7 	2 	9 	28
 	F 	17 	5 	4 	9 	6
 	D 	26 	3 	6 	9 	4
 	LW 	23 	3 	4 	7 	8
 	D 	28 	2 	5 	7 	10
 	D 	27 	1 	5 	6 	8
 	C 	11 	0 	4 	4 	8
 	D 	10 	1 	2 	3 	2
 	LW 	16 	1 	2 	3 	12
 	LW 	11 	0 	1 	1 	23
 	F 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	7 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	26 	0 	0 	0 	0
Bench	- 	- 	- 	- 	- 	8
Total	 	 	100 	177 	277 	321
==Goaltending statistics==
Name 	Games	Minutes	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals Against	Saves	Shut Outs	 	
 	26 	1522 	21 	4 	0 	39 	477 	10 	.924	1.54
 	4 	175 	1 	1 	1 	5 	28 	0 	.848	1.71
Empty Net	- 	9 	- 	- 	- 	2 	- 	- 	- 	-
Total 	28 	1707 	22 	5 	1 	46 	505 	10 	.917	1.62
==Rankings==
Poll 	Week	Week	Week	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	4 	5 	6 	6 	6 	5 	5 	5 	4 	5 	2 	3 	6 	3 	3 	3 	4 	3 	3 	5 	- 	 	 	 	
USA Today	5 	4 	5 	6 	6 	5 	5 	5 	4 	4 	2 	2 	4 	3 	3 	3 	4 	3 	3 	6 	1 	 	 	 	
USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.
==Awards and honors==
Player 	Award 	Ref
Mike Hastings 	Spencer Penrose Award 	
Dryden McKay 	AHCA West Second Team All-American	
Dryden McKay 	WCHA Player of the Year 	
Julian Napravnik	WCHA Offensive Player of the Year 	
Dryden McKay 	WCHA Goaltender of the Year 	
Akito Hirose 	WCHA Rookie of the Year 	
Mike Hastings 	WCHA Coach of the Year 	
Dryden McKay 	WCHA First Team 	
Julian Napravnik	WCHA First Team 	
Nathan Smith 	WCHA Second Team 	
Akito Hirose 	WCHA Third Team 	
Riese Zmolek 	WCHA Third Team 	
Akito Hirose 	WCHA Rookie Team 	
Jake Livingstone	WCHA Rookie Team 	
==References==
Category:Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey seasons
Minnesota State Mavericks
Minnesota State Mavericks
Minnesota State Mavericks