The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) began the 2020-21 season in a unique way. The conference’s eight teams descended upon Omaha, Nebraska for a bubble-style “pod” hosted by the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 21, each team played 8-10 games within the “NCHC Pod” complete with upsets, overtime and so much more. Before the conference resumes play and travel to their opponents’ barns, let’s take a team-by-team look back at the NCHC Pod.

Colorado College

The Tigers were late arrivers to the pod after some positive COVID tests in the weeks leading up to the season forced quarantines. This forced Colorado to have two games canceled so they only played eight. The Tigers entered the season ranked seventh out of eight but made a splash in their first game with a 3-3 tie with Western Michigan, ranked 18th in the country before the season began. Colorado won in a shootout. The Tigers made headlines again on Dec. 13 when they upset No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth 4-1. Freshman Dominic Basse made 30 stops in his first career start, holding the Bulldogs scoreless until under two minutes to play, while sophomore Grant Cruikshank scored twice in Colorado’s best game in the pod. Overall, the Tigers 2-4-2, winning both ties in the shootout. Colorado begins the second half at home against Denver on New Year’s Day at 7 pm.

Denver

Denver came into the pod ranked fifth in the country and projected to finish second in the NCHC. It was a tough start for the Pioneers, losing their first three games by one goal each. Denver got its revenge against top-ranked North Dakota just four days after falling in overtime in its most impressive win of the pod. Freshman Carter Savoie scored the game-winner with 2:02 to go for the then-No. 9 Pioneers as they upset the then-No. 1 Fighting Hawks 3-2. Savoie led his team with seven goals and 11 points in ten games in the pod. 3-6-1 Denver travels to in-state rival Colorado College on Jan. 1 to resume its season.

Miami (OH)

The RedHawks leave the pod in seventh place in the NCHC, one spot higher than they were projected, but played a number of close games and picked up a pair of impressive wins. Their first win came against then-No. 18 Omaha 1-0. Swedish freshman Hampus Rydqvist scored the only goal in the second period while fellow Swedish freshman Ludvig Persson stopped all 30 shots he faced. Persson came up huge again when Miami upset then-No. 8 Denver 3-0, making 26 saves. Phil Knies, Matt Barry, and Robby Drazner scored the goals in that game. Persson leads the NCHC with a 1.19 goals-against average and a .962 save percentage. Although Miami only picked up two wins and is the only team in the conference that didn’t receive votes in the most recent United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) poll, the RedHawks have an opportunity to stay out of the NCHC basement with six games against the current last-place team, Western Michigan, beginning on Jan. 2 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Minnesota Duluth

The Bulldogs lost a game due to the Colorado College situation but still managed a 5-2-2 record, winning one of their two ties in the shootout. They came in ranked third in the country and left ranked fourth. Outside of the upset loss to Colorado College, Duluth played very well but a loss to North Dakota in their last game coupled with the canceled contest put the team in third in the NCHC at the break. The Bulldogs did beat Omaha and notched a shootout win over North Dakota for some quality wins. They also beat Denver twice, highlighted by a 2-1 comeback win over the then-No. 5 Pioneers featuring goals by Jackson Cates and Kobe Roth 58 seconds apart in the third. The defending national champs were led in scoring by Nick Swaney’s 13 points and had eight players with at least two goals. Duluth faces St. Cloud State for the first time this season on Jan. 2 to kick off its second half.

North Dakota

UND began the season ranked first in the country and played a strong pod to sit atop the NCHC at the break. The 7-2-1 Fighting Hawks’ losses came to then-No. 9 Denver 3-2 and a St. Cloud State team that got better as the pod went on 5-3. They lost to Duluth in the shootout but got revenge on the Bulldogs later. Shane Pinto and Jordan Kawaguchi were unstoppable at times; both finished the pod with 13 points to lead the NCHC and Kawaguchi, the North Dakota captain, leads the conference with ten assists. Although the Hawks got bumped down to third in the USCHO rankings, they’re still the top team in the NCHC and look to continue their strong start at home on Jan. 8 against the second-best team in the NCHC, Omaha.

Omaha

The hosts of the pod played very well on their home rink. The Mavericks finished the pod at 6-3-1, good for second in the NCHC and ranked 11th in the nation. They bounced back from a 5-3 loss to Duluth in the opener to impressively throttle then-No. 18 Western Michigan 10-2 as an unranked team. The schedule may have been fairly easy playing the current bottom three teams in the NCHC twice apiece but sophomore Austin Roden shutout St. Cloud State 2-0 and Omaha beat Duluth in a shootout. An upset loss to Miami 1-0 was the low point of an otherwise solid pod. The Mavericks leave Baxter Arena for the first time to visit North Dakota on Jan. 8 to continue their season.

St. Cloud State

The Huskies rattled off some impressive wins with a tough schedule and sit at 6-3-0, losing a game due to the Colorado College situation. It’s hard to pick a favorite with two over Denver and one over Omaha but a 5-3 victory against then-No. 1 North Dakota stands out. The then-No. 11 Huskies traded goals with the Fighting Hawks most of the game but a Kevin Fitzgerald power-play goal made it 4-2 in the second and gave St. Cloud all the insurance it needed. St. Cloud State has six games left against Duluth, who they are tied with in the standings, beginning at home on Jan. 2.

Western Michigan

Probably the most disappointing team in the pod, the Broncos went from ranked 18th in the nation by USCHO to last in the NCHC. They went 2-6-2, last in the conference, and got blown out by Omaha 10-2 and North Dakota 8-2 in the early going. It is important to note that starting goaltender Brandon Bussi was injured in the opener against St. Cloud State forcing Austin Cain to start nine games. Should Bussi return at some point this season, Western Michigan could have a chance to rebound in the second half but goaltending may hold the Broncos back. They open up the second half at home against Miami on Jan. 2.

With five ranked teams in the latest USCHO poll and two more receiving votes, the NCHC is shaping up to be one of the best conferences in college hockey. It should be a competitive fight to the finish as the podless second half of the season gets underway.

John Smark