2020–21 Connecticut Huskies men's ice hockey season

The 2020–21 Connecticut Huskies Men's ice hockey season was the 61st season of play for the program, the 23rd at the Division I level, and the 7th season in the Hockey East conference. The Huskies represented the University of Connecticut and were coached by Mike Cavanaugh, in his 8th 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 Connecticut'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.
UConn began the season going through a gauntlet or ranked teams. The stiff competition handed the Huskies a 1–4–1 record and left the team with wallowing near the bottom of the conference standings. Despite the bad start, Connecticut turned its season around with a solid performance in January. While facing a slightly easier schedule, the Huskies ended the month a game over .500 and, after defeating Northeastern at the start of February, the team found itself in the top-20. The ranking didn't last long, however, and Connecticut's 4-game losing streak nearly ended any hope for the team. Winning the last two games of the regular season put the Huskies at .500 and, because Hockey East used a power index for ranking for the 2021 season, UConn finished 4th in the conference, the best result to date.
In spite of their mediocre record, Connecticut had a small chance to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament but it would need a good performance to make itself stand out from the other 'bubble teams'. They got a good chance in the conference quarterfinals, facing Providence at home. The Huskies started slow and were badly outshot in the first period. When they did finally score the Friars had already built a 3-oal lead and their opponents cruised to a 6–1 victory. 
Darion Hanson, Ryan Keane, Matt Pasquale, and Bradley Stone sat out the season.
==Departures==
Player 	Position 	Nationality	Cause
Ben Freeman 	Forward 	 	Graduation (Signed with Wheeling Nailers)
Justin Howell 	Forward 	 	Graduation
Ruslan Iskhakov 	Forward 	 	Signed professional contract (HC TPS)
Wyatt Newpower 	Defenseman	 	Graduation (Signed with Cleveland Monsters)
Alexandre Payusov	Forward 	 	Graduation
Jordan Timmons 	Forward 	 	Transferred to Robert Morris
==Recruiting==
Player 	Position 	Nationality	Age	Notes
Cassidy Bowes 	Forward 	 	21 	Kelowna, BC
Nick Capone 	Forward 	 	18 	East Haven, CT; selected 157th overall in 2020
Darion Hanson 	Goaltender	 	23 	East Bethel, MN; transfer from Union
Gavin Puskar 	Forward 	 	19 	Westfield, NJ
Hudson Schandor	Forward 	 	19 	North Vancouver, BC
Artem Shlaine 	Goaltender	 	19 	Moscow, RUS; selected 130th overall in 2020
John Spetz 	Defenseman	 	20 	Oak Ridge, NJ; graduate transfer from Sacred Heart
Ryan Tverberg 	Forward 	 	18 	Richmond Hill, ON; selected 213th overall in 2020
==Roster==
As of February 12, 2021.
==Standings==
==Schedule and Results==
|-
!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season
|- 
!colspan=12 style=";" | 
==Scoring Statistics==
Name 	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	
 	F 	23 	14 	15 	29 	12
 	C 	23 	4 	18 	22 	6
 	C 	22 	6 	8 	14 	10
 	RW 	23 	9 	4 	13 	10
 	F 	23 	6 	6 	12 	14
 	LW 	13 	3 	9 	12 	12
 	D 	22 	3 	8 	11 	10
 	D 	21 	1 	8 	9 	6
 	D 	23 	1 	8 	9 	27
 	C 	23 	1 	8 	9 	16
 	LW/C 	18 	5 	2 	7 	27
 	C 	14 	4 	3 	7 	16
 	D 	16 	1 	5 	6 	0
 	D 	16 	1 	5 	6 	4
 	D 	23 	1 	5 	6 	12
 	F 	23 	3 	2 	5 	16
 	D 	21 	2 	3 	5 	8
 	RW 	20 	1 	4 	5 	8
 	LW 	11 	1 	2 	3 	6
 	D 	18 	2 	0 	2 	8
 	F 	23 	0 	2 	2 	2
 	G 	14 	1 	0 	1 	0
 	C 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	23 	0 	0 	0 	2
Bench	- 	- 	- 	- 	- 	6
Total	 	 	70 	125 	195 	238
==Goaltending statistics==
Name 	Games	Minutes	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals Against	Saves	Shut Outs	 	
 	23 	1393 	10 	11 	2 	66 	659 	1 	.909	2.84
Empty Net	- 	7 	- 	- 	- 	3 	- 	- 	- 	-
Total 	23 	1400 	10 	11 	2 	69 	659 	1 	.905	2.96
==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	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	20 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	- 	NR 	 	 	
USA Today	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	15 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	NR 	 	 	
USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.
==Awards and honors==
Player 	Award 	Ref
Jonny Evans 	AHCA East Second Team All-American	
Jonny Evans 	Hockey East Scoring Champion 	
Jonny Evans 	Hockey East Three-Stars Award 	
Jonny Evans 	Hockey East First Team 	
Tomáš Vomáčka 	Hockey East Third Team 	
Jáchym Kondelík	Hockey East Third Team 	
==References==
Category:UConn Huskies men's ice hockey seasons
Connecticut Huskies 
Connecticut Huskies 
Connecticut Huskies