2020–21 Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey season

The 2020–21 Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey season was the 45th season of play for the program and the 21st in the WCHA conference. The Wildcats represented Northern Michigan University and were coached by Grant Potulny, in his 4th 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 Northern Michigan'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.
Northern Michigan began the season poorly. In their first 14 games the team's only wins were against Ferris State, the worst team in the nation. Their 4–10 record included an 8-game losing streak and made it all but impossible for the Wildcats to make the NCAA Tournament without winning their conference championship. The team went through a great deal of changes, including Grant Loven transferring to St. Thomas mid-season and bringing in Rico DiMatteo after the new year. it more than a month before DiMatteo made his first appearance for NMU but, once he did, the Wildcats' season completely turned around. DiMatteo helped Northern Michigan get the first win of the year that wasn't against FSU and then sweep a ranked Bemidji State team the very next weekend.
The team sagged at the end of the regular season, finishing 6th in the conference, and entered the WCHA Tournament with little hope of advancing. NMU gave #13 Bowling Green a surprise in the first game, winning 4–3, but when the Falcons roared back for a 5–0 victory in game two the series looked ready to be over. DiMatteo was shelled in the third game, facing a total of 40 shots in regulation, but he only allowed one by him while the Wildcat offense pumped 5 goals into the net and the team earned a surprising trip to the semifinals. The Wildcats were set against #3 Minnesota State and again pulled off a miraculous upset. The Wildcats fired 4 goals past the top goaltender in the nation and scored 5 in all before the Mavericks could even respond. The next day NMU was looking for the first championship in 29 years and only had Lake Superior State standing in their way. In the first ever postseason meeting between the two upper peninsula teams, Northern Michigan's magic ran out and they surrendered two goals in each period, losing the title game 3–6.
James Miller and John Roberts sat out the season.
==Departures==
Player 	Position 	Nationality	Cause
Josh Arnold 	Forward 	 	Left program
Philip Beaulieu 	Defenseman 	 	Graduation (Signed with Iowa Wild)
Darien Craighead	Forward 	 	Graduation (Signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Jarrett Lee 	Forward 	 	Transferred to Minnesota Duluth
Adam Roeder 	Defenseman 	 	Left program
Caleb Schroer 	Forward 	 	Left program
Mitch Slattery 	Forward 	 	Left program
Luke Voltin 	Forward 	 	Graduation
Rylan Yaremko 	Defenseman/Forward	 	Transferred to Mount Royal
==Recruiting==
Player 	Position 	Nationality	Age	Notes
Tyrell Boucher	Defenseman	 	21 	Grande Prairie, AB
Mack Byers 	Forward 	 	21 	Long Lake, MN
Mikey Colella 	Forward 	 	21 	Turnersville, NJ
Rico DiMatteo 	Goaltender	 	19 	Brasher Falls, NY
Colby Enns 	Defenseman	 	21 	Minot, ND; transfer from Omaha
Tim Erkkila 	Defenseman	 	19 	Brighton, MI
Alex Frye 	Defenseman	 	21 	Clarkston, MI; transfer from Alaska Anchorage
Noah Ganske 	Defenseman	 	21 	Bloomington, MN
Grant Johnson 	Goaltender	 	21 	Grand Forks, ND
David Keefer 	Forward 	 	22 	Howell, MI; transfer from Michigan State
Ian Malcolmson	Forward 	 	21 	Waukesha, WI
Connor Marritt	Forward 	 	21 	Kelowna, BC
James Miller 	Defenseman	 	21 	Spruce Grove, AB
Rylan Van Unen	Forward 	 	21 	Kamloops, BC
Brett Willits 	Forward 	 	21 	London, ON
==Roster==
As of March 1, 2021.
† Grant Loven played 6 games before transferring to St. Thomas.
==Standings==
==Schedule and Results==
|-
!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season
|-
!colspan=12 style=";" | 
|- align="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
|colspan=12|Northern Michigan Won Series 2–1
==Scoring Statistics==
Name 	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	
 	LW 	29 	12 	21 	33 	0
 	RW 	25 	10 	18 	28 	16
 	F 	29 	14 	13 	27 	22
 	F 	16 	5 	10 	15 	38
 	D 	29 	3 	11 	14 	47
 	F 	26 	7 	5 	12 	16
 	C/LW 	25 	5 	7 	12 	14
 	C 	25 	5 	6 	11 	14
 	RW 	28 	2 	9 	11 	8
 	F 	24 	4 	3 	7 	13
 	D 	29 	2 	5 	7 	6
 	D 	27 	1 	5 	6 	8
 	D 	26 	3 	2 	5 	23
 	F 	29 	0 	4 	4 	8
 	F 	26 	3 	0 	3 	10
 	D 	15 	0 	3 	3 	53
 	C 	23 	1 	1 	2 	4
 	D 	5 	0 	2 	2 	2
 	LW 	10 	0 	2 	2 	2
 	D 	15 	0 	2 	2 	14
 	F 	12 	1 	0 	1 	2
 	F 	19 	1 	0 	1 	8
 	D 	23 	0 	1 	1 	8
 	F 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	5 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	6 	0 	0 	0 	29
 	G 	10 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	10 	0 	0 	0 	2
 	G 	14 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	F 	15 	0 	0 	0 	0
Bench	- 	- 	- 	- 	- 	8
Total	 	 	79 	130 	209 	377
==Goaltending statistics==
Name 	Games	Minutes	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals Against	Saves	Shut Outs	 	
 	14 	823 	7 	6 	1 	39 	391 	1 	.909	2.84
 	10 	589 	2 	7 	0 	32 	248 	0 	.886	3.26
 	4 	130 	0 	1 	0 	10 	68 	0 	.872	4.59
 	5 	207 	2 	3 	0 	18 	99 	0 	.846	5.21
Empty Net	- 	16 	- 	- 	- 	4 	- 	- 	- 	-
Total 	29 	1767 	11 	17 	1 	103 	806 	1 	.887	3.50
==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 	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 	 	 	
==Awards and honors==
Player 	Award 	Ref
André Ghantous	WCHA Scoring Champion	
Joseph Nardi 	WCHA Second Team 	
André Ghantous	WCHA Third Team 	
Rico DiMatteo 	WCHA Rookie Team 	
==References==
Category:Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey seasons
Northern Michigan Wildcats 
Northern Michigan Wildcats 
Northern Michigan Wildcats