2020–21 Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey season

College ice hockey team season

2020–21 Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey season


NCAA Tournament, Regional semifinal

Conference	2nd Hockey East
Home ice	Agganis Arena
Rankings
USCHO.com	11
USA Today/ US Hockey Magazine	12
Record
Overall	10–5–1
Conference	10–3–1–3–1–1
Home	4–3–0
Road	6–1–1
Neutral	0–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Albie O'Connell
Assistant coaches	Paul Pearl Len Quesnelle Brian Eklund
Captain(s)	Logan Cockerill
Alternate captain(s)	Ty Amonte David Farrance Max Kaufman
Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey seasons « 2019–20 2021–22 »

The 2020–21 Boston University Terriers Men's ice hockey season was the 99th season of play for the program and the 37th season in the Hockey East conference. The Terriers represented Boston University and were coached by Albie O'Connell, in his 3rd 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 Boston University'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.

Due to COVID-19, the start to BU's season was delayed until even later than most schools. The Terriers weren't able to play their first game until January 8, but once they did make it onto the ice, Boston University performed very well. The Terriers won 9 out of 11 games and shot up the Hockey East standings despite playing much fewer games than their colleagues. As the team progressed BU was also hit by the injury bug. Ty Amonte, who missed the entire previous season due to an injury, was lost after just 2 games. During the season two of the team's top players, Drew Commesso and David Farrance, both were lost for several games but BU continued to find a way to win.

Further cancellations and delays limited the team to just 14 games in the regular season. In spite of their limited schedule, BU finished the season second place in Hockey East and was ranked in the middle of the top-20. The program was all but guaranteed a berth into the NCAA Tournament with their 10–3–1 record, which proved fortunate as the team lost its opening game in the conference quarterfinals. The Terriers were rather lackluster in the playoff match, recording just 17 shots on goal for the game and losing 1–2.

As predicted, Boston University was selected for the tournament. They were given the 3-seed in the Northeast region and set to face St. Cloud State in the opening round. BU managed to kill off a 5-minute major in the first period to keep the game scoreless and then opened the second with a goal after just 8 seconds. The Huskies responded with two goals in rapid succession but Boston University tied the game less than two minutes later. St. Cloud got a second lead before the period was out and the two entered the final frame with both still very much in contention. Despite a push by the Terriers, the team was unable to get any of their 16 shots into the net while St. Cloud State scored three more times and ended with a 6–2 victory over BU.

John Copeland sat out the season.

Departures

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Hugo Blixt	Defenseman	Sweden	Transferred to Colorado College
Alex Brink	Forward	United States	Graduation
Gabe Chabot	Forward	Canada	Graduation (signed with Rapid City Rush)
Cam Crotty	Defenseman	Canada	Signed professional contract (Arizona Coyotes)
Patrick Curry	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Grand Rapids Griffins)
Patrick Harper	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Nashville Predators)
Kasper Kotkansalo	Defenseman	Finland	Signed professional contract (Ässät)
Nico Lynch	Goaltender	United States	Graduation
Vinnie Purpura	Goaltender	United States	Transferred to Long Island
Sam Tucker	Goaltender	United States	Graduation
Trevor Zegras	Forward	United States	Signed professional contract (Anaheim Ducks)

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Joseph Campolieto	Defenseman	United States	22	Eynon, PA; transfer from Union
Drew Commesso	Goaltender	United States	18	Norwell, MA; selected 46th overall in 2020
Vincent Duplessis	Goaltender	United States	21	Quebec City, QC
Thomas Jarman	Defenseman	United States	19	Pittsburgh, PA
Max Kaufman	Forward	United States	24	Pittsford, NY; graduate transfer from Vermont
Jay O'Brien	Forward	United States	19	Hingham, MA; transfer from Providence; selected 19th overall in 2018
Dylan Peterson	Forward	United States	18	Roseville, CA; selected 86th overall in 2020
Luke Tuch	Forward	United States	18	Baldwinsville, NY; selected 47th overall in 2020
Cade Webber	Defenseman	United States	18	Meadville, PA; selected 99th overall in 2019
Nick Zabaneh	Forward	Canada	19	Toronto, ON

Roster

As of February 12, 2021.

No.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
2	Case McCarthy	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	2001-01-09	Clarence Center, New York	USNTDP (USHL)	NJD, 118th overall 2019
3	Ty Amonte (A)	Junior (RS)	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1998-01-11	Norwell, Massachusetts	Penticton (BCHL)	—
4	David Farrance (A)	Senior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1999-06-23	Victor, New York	USNTDP (USHL)	NSH, 92nd overall 2017
5	Thomas Jarman	Freshman	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2001-04-09	Gibsonia, Pennsylvania	Maryland (NAHL)	—
7	Alex Vlasic	Sophomore	D	6' 6" (1.98 m)	199 lb (90 kg)	2001-06-05	Wilmette, Illinois	USNTDP (USHL)	CHI, 43rd overall 2019
8	Cade Webber	Freshman	D	6' 7" (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	2001-01-05	Meadville, Pennsylvania	Penticton (BCHL)	CAR, 99th overall 2019
9	Logan Cockerill (C)	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-03-03	Brighton, Michigan	USNTDP (USHL)	NYI, 201st overall 2017
10	Nick Zabaneh	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	2001-03-27	Toronto, Ontario	Green Bay (USHL)	—
11	Luke Tuch	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	2002-03-07	Baldwinsville, New York	USNTDP (USHL)	MTL, 47th overall 2020
12	Jamie Armstrong	Sophomore	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	1998-08-07	Warwick, Rhode Island	Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC)	—
13	Dylan Peterson	Freshman	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2002-01-08	Roseville, California	USNTDP (USHL)	STL, 86th overall 2020
14	Sean Driscoll	Sophomore	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	1998-07-02	Mequon, Wisconsin	Janesville (NAHL)	—
15	Markus Boguslavsky	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1999-05-15	Calgary, Alberta	Drumheller (AJHL)	—
16	Robert Mastrosimone	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-01-24	East Islip, New York	Chicago (USHL)	DET, 54th overall 2019
17	Jake Wise	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-02-28	Reading, Massachusetts	USNTDP (USHL)	CHI, 69th overall 2018
18	Jay O'Brien	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	1999-11-04	Hingham, Massachusetts	Penticton (BCHL)	PHI, 19th overall 2018
19	Jack DeBoer	Junior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	2000-08-17	Madison, New Jersey	USNTDP (USHL)	—
20	Matthew Quercia	Junior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	1999-02-24	Andover, Massachusetts	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
21	Max Kaufman	Graduate	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1996-06-26	Rochester, New York	Vermont (HEA)	—
22	Jake Witkowski	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	178 lb (81 kg)	1996-08-28	Melrose, Massachusetts	Alberni Valley (BCHL)	—
23	Domenick Fensore	Sophomore	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2001-09-07	Thornwood, New York	USNTDP (USHL)	CAR, 90th overall 2019
25	Sam Stevens	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	2000-04-27	Montreal, Quebec	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
26	Joseph Campolieto	Senior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1998-04-29	Eynon, Pennsylvania	Union (ECAC)	—
27	John Copeland	Sophomore	D	6' 6" (1.98 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	1999-03-03	Wellesley, Massachusetts	Carleton Place (CCHL)	—
28	Ethan Phillips	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2001-05-07	Dartmouth, Nova Scotia	Sioux Falls (USHL)	DET, 97th overall 2019
29	Drew Commesso	Freshman	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2002-07-19	Norwell, Massachusetts	USNTDP (USHL)	CHI, 46th overall 2020
30	Ashton Abel	Sophomore	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1999-10-22	Fort McMurray, Alberta	Okotoks (AJHL)	—
31	Vinny Duplessis	Freshman	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1999-03-19	Quebec City, Quebec	Whitecourt (AJHL)	—
32	Wilmer Skoog	Sophomore	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	1999-07-17	Tyresö, Sweden	Maryland (NAHL)	—

Standings

2020–21 Hockey East Standings v t e
	Conference record										Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	OTW	OTL	SOW	HEPI	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#6 Boston College	21	16	4	1	3	2	0	58.61	82	46	24	17	6	1	91	58
#11 Boston University	14	10	3	1	3	1	1	56.36	49	37	16	10	5	1	52	45
#1 Massachusetts *	22	13	5	4	1	1	1	55.44	76	42	29	20	5	4	103	48
Connecticut	22	10	10	2	1	4	2	52.01	69	63	23	10	11	2	70	69
#16 Providence	23	10	8	5	0	0	2	50.80	63	61	25	11	9	5	71	67
Northeastern	20	9	8	3	1	0	3	49.94	68	60	21	9	9	3	69	64
#19 Massachusetts–Lowell	16	7	8	1	1	1	0	48.00	46	53	20	10	9	1	59	63
Maine	15	3	10	2	0	1	2	46.66	41	61	16	3	11	2	43	68
Merrimack	18	5	11	2	0	1	0	45.38	47	66	18	5	11	2	47	66
New Hampshire	21	5	13	3	3	2	2	43.66	51	83	23	6	14	3	60	88
Vermont	12	1	9	2	0	0	0	38.02	17	37	13	1	10	2	20	42
Championship: March 20, 2021 No Regular Season Champion Awarded * indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and Results

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Regular season
January 8	6:00 PM	vs. #16 Providence		Walter Brown Arena • Boston, Massachusetts	NESN+	Commesso	L 3–7	0	0–1–0 (0–1–0)
January 9	7:00 PM	at #16 Providence		Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island	NESN	Commesso	W 6–4	0	1–1–0 (1–1–0)
January 17	3:30 PM	at #8 Massachusetts		Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts	NESN	Commesso	W 4–2	0	2–1–0 (2–1–0)
January 18	3:05 PM	vs. #8 Massachusetts		Walter Brown Arena • Boston, Massachusetts		Commesso	W 4–3	0	3–1–0 (3–1–0)
January 22	3:35 PM	vs. Maine		Walter Brown Arena • Boston, Massachusetts	NESN	Commesso	W 3–2	0	4–1–0 (4–1–0)
January 23	1:05 PM	vs. Maine		Walter Brown Arena • Boston, Massachusetts		Commesso	W 5–1	0	5–1–0 (5–1–0)
February 5	7:00 PM	at #1 Boston College	#15	Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts	NESN+	Abel	L 3–4	0	5–2–0 (5–2–0)
February 6	7:05 PM	vs. #1 Boston College	#15	Walter Brown Arena • Boston, Massachusetts		Duplessis	W 3–1	0	6–2–0 (6–2–0)
February 12	6:00 PM	at Vermont	#13	Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont		Duplessis	W 1–0	0	7–2–0 (7–2–0)
February 13	6:00 PM	at Vermont	#13	Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont		Duplessis	W 5–1	0	8–2–0 (8–2–0)
February 20	4:00 PM	at Connecticut	#11	Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum • Storrs, Connecticut		Duplessis	W 3–2	0	9–2–0 (9–2–0)
February 26	4:05 PM	vs. Merrimack	#8	Walter Brown Arena • Boston, Massachusetts		Duplessis	L 2–5	0	9–3–0 (9–3–0)
February 27	4:05 PM	at Merrimack	#8	J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts		Commesso	W 4–2	0	10–3–0 (10–3–0)
March 6	3:00 PM	at Massachusetts–Lowell	#10	Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts		Commesso	T 3–3	0	10–3–1 (10–3–1)
Hockey East Tournament
March 14	1:05 PM	vs. Massachusetts–Lowell*	#9	Walter Brown Arena • Boston, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal)	NESN+	Commesso	L 1–2	0	10–4–1
NCAA Tournament
March 27	1:00 PM	vs. #7 St. Cloud State*	#10	Times Union Center • Albany, New York (Regional semifinal)	ESPNews	Commesso	L 2–6	1,136	10–5–1
*Non-conference game. Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

Scoring statistics

Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	PIM
Jay O'Brien	C	16	8	8	16	8
David Farrance	D	11	5	11	16	4
Luke Tuch	LW	16	6	5	11	12
Logan Cockerill	LW/RW	12	5	5	10	6
Wilmer Skoog	C	14	4	4	8	2
Robert Mastrosimone	C/LW	15	3	5	8	6
Alex Vlasic	F	16	3	5	8	10
Domenick Fensore	D	16	2	6	8	16
Max Kaufman	F	15	1	7	8	4
Nick Zabaneh	F	16	0	7	7	4
Dylan Peterson	C	16	3	3	6	25
Markus Boguslavsky	RW	15	4	1	5	4
Matthew Quercia	F	16	2	1	3	4
Jack DeBoer	C	7	1	2	3	0
Jamie Armstrong	LW	16	1	2	3	6
Ty Amonte	RW	2	1	1	2	2
Jake Wise	C	5	1	1	2	4
Case McCarthy	D	12	1	1	2	8
Sam Stevens	F	11	0	2	2	2
Cade Webber	D	14	0	2	2	15
Thomas Jarman	D	16	0	2	2	10
Sean Driscoll	D	4	1	0	1	2
Ethan Phillips	C/RW	1	0	0	0	0
Ashton Abel	G	2	0	0	0	0
Vinny Duplessis	G	5	0	0	0	0
Jake Witkowski	F	6	0	0	0	6
Drew Commesso	G	11	0	0	0	0
Joseph Campolieto	D	16	0	0	0	4
Bench	-	-	-	-	-	10
Total			52	81	133	174

Goaltending statistics

Name	Games	Minutes	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals Against	Saves	Shut Outs	SV %	GAA
Vinny Duplessis	5	253	4	1	0	7	107	1	.939	1.66
Drew Commesso	11	641	6	3	1	32	346	0	.915	2.99
Ashton Abel	2	77	0	1	0	5	38	0	.884	3.89
Empty Net	-	23	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-
Total	16	974	10	5	1	45	491	1	.916	2.77

Rankings

Main article: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings

Poll	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	20	20	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	15	15	13	11	8	10	9	11	10	-	11
USA Today	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	15	15	13	12	8	11	10	11	11	12	12

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.

Awards and honors

Player	Award	Ref
David Farrance	AHCA East First Team All-American
David Farrance	Hockey East First Team
Drew Commesso	Hockey East Rookie Team
Luke Tuch	Hockey East Rookie Team

Players drafted into the NHL

2021 NHL Entry Draft

Round	Pick	Player	NHL team
1	10	Tyler Boucher	Ottawa Senators
6	186	Shane Lachance	Edmonton Oilers
7	217	Ty Gallagher	Boston Bruins

† incoming freshman

References

"NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility". CBS Sports. August 21, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
"DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately". NCAA. December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
"From BU head coach Albie O'Connell". Twitter. January 20, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
"Helleson Beats the Buzzer, Pushes No. 1 BC Past No. 15 BU in Overtime". Sports Illustrated. February 6, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
"Citing rising COVID-19 numbers, Boston University pauses all athletics, including men's, women's hockey, for rest of January". USCHO. January 27, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
"Bracketology: With Selection Sunday around the corner, taking one last stab at how the NCAA hockey tournament field will look". USCHO. March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
"2020–21 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Retrieved August 11, 2017.
"Hockey East Unveils 2021 Tournament and Seeding Format - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
"2021 Hockey East Women's Tournament Field Set". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
"Boston University Terriers (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
"Boston Univ. 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
"USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
"Boston College, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin lead way with three All-American college hockey players apiece for '20-21 season". USCHO.com. April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
"Hockey East Names 2020-21 Men's All-Star Teams - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
"Hockey East Names Men's Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
"NCAA player rankings, selections in 2021 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.

v t e Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey
Playing venues	Boston Arena (1918–1971) Walter Brown Arena (1971–2005) Agganis Arena (2005–present)
Head coaches	Edgar Burkhardt (1917–1918) Harold Stuart (1919–1920) John J. O'Hare (1922–1924) Chippy Gaw (1924–1928) Wayland Vaughan (1928–1940) Syd Borofsky (1940–1941) Wayland Vaughan (1941–1943) Harry Cleverly (1945–1962) Jack Kelley (1962–1972) Leon Abbott (1972–1973) Jack Parker (1973–2013) David Quinn (2013–2018) Albie O'Connell (2018–2022) Jay Pandolfo (2022–present)
Seasons	1917–18 1919–20 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Conference affiliations	ECAC Hockey (1961–1984) Hockey East (1984–Present)
Rivalries	Boston College Eagles (Green Line Rivalry) Beanpot Maine Black Bears
All-time leaders	Statistical leaders John Cullen (241 Points) Chris Drury (113 Goals) Sean Fields (62 Wins)
National championships	1971 1972 1978 1995 2009
Frozen Four appearances	1950 1951 1953 1960 1966 1967 1971 1972 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1990 1991 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 2009 2015 2023 2024
NCAA Tournament appearances	1950 1951 1953 1960 1966 1967 1971 1972 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1984 1986 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2009 2012 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2023 2024
Conference Tournament titles	ECAC Hockey: 1972 1974 1975 1976 1977 Hockey East: 1986 1991 1994 1995 1997 2006 2009 2015 2018 2023
Hobey Baker winners	Chris Drury (1998) Matt Gilroy (2009) Jack Eichel (2015)
Boston University Boston, MA

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