2020–21 NCDC season
| 2020–21 NCDC season | |
|---|---|
| League | United States Premier Hockey League National Collegiate Development Conference |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | Regular season September 22, 2020 – March 11, 2021 Post-season March 13 – 28, 2021 |
| Number of games | 45–29 |
| Number of teams | 13 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Jersey Hitmen |
| Dineen Cup Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Jersey Hitmen |
| Runners-up | Rockets Hockey Club |
The 2020–21 NCDC season was the 4th season of the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) Division of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). The regular season ran from September 2020 to March 2021 with an unbalanced schedule. The Jersey Hitmen won the regular season championship and went on to defeated the Rockets Hockey Club 5 to 2 to capture the Dineen Cup.
COVID precautions
Due to restriction levied at both the state and federal levels, the NCDC was forced to implement unique rules for this season. Games that were cancelled for any reason would not be made up. Because this could easily lead to an unbalanced schedule, the league also altered its playoff structure to allow all league members to participate. The particular regulations in Massachusetts for quarantining also forced the USPHL to have separate North Division quarterfinals; one for Bay State teams and another for the clubs located in Maine and New Hampshire.
Member changes
- In November of 2019, the Boston Bandits sold the rights to their Tier II club to the Philadelphia Hockey Club.[1] The team began play this season.
- In early 2020, the Rochester Monarchs were notified that their franchise would be removed from the NCDC due to poor on ice performance. After finishing the year with just 3 wins, the club dissolved and was soon followed by its Premier division affiliate.[2]
- In June, the Boston Advantage were officially welcomed as members of the USPHL.[3] While the flagship franchise would join the NCDC, the organization would also found several other clubs at the lower levels.
Regular season
The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:[4]
Note: x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched regular season title
Standings
North Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Boston Junior Bruins | 42 | 30 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 63 | 160 | 99 |
| x – South Shore Kings | 39 | 22 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 116 | 123 |
| x – New Hampshire Junior Monarchs | 34 | 18 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 111 | 118 |
| x – Islanders Hockey Club | 43 | 16 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 127 | 169 |
| x – Twin City Thunder | 31 | 12 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 27 | 91 | 106 |
| x – Boston Advantage | 43 | 10 | 26 | 3 | 4 | 27 | 107 | 164 |
| x – Northern Cyclones | 29 | 11 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 74 | 109 |
South Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xyz – New Jersey Hitmen | 45 | 37 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 78 | 197 | 87 |
| x – Rockets Hockey Club | 44 | 35 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 74 | 176 | 80 |
| x – P.A.L. Jr. Islanders | 41 | 20 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 47 | 143 | 127 |
| x – Connecticut Jr. Rangers | 35 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 37 | 96 | 113 |
| x – Utica Jr. Comets | 36 | 13 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 104 | 140 |
| x – Philadelphia Hockey Club | 40 | 10 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 101 | 168 |
Dineen Cup playoffs
Due to exigent circumstances, the three non-Massachusetts teams in the North Division played a Round-Robin series in the first round. The teams played each other once with the top two finishers advancing to the Division Semifinal.
In the semifinal round, teams were arranged so that the top northern qualifier played the second southern qualifier and vice versa.
| Division Quarterfinals (Best-of-3, Round-Robin) | Division Semifinals (Best-of-3) | Semifinals (Best-of-1) | Championship (Best-of-1) | |||||||||||||||
| S1 | Jersey Hitmen | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Connecticut Jr. Rangers | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| S3 | P.A.L. Jr. Islanders | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| S6 | Philadelphia Hockey Club | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Jersey Hitmen | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
South Division | ||||||||||||||||||
| N5 | Twin City Thunder | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Rockets Hockey Club | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| S3 | P.A.L. Jr. Islanders | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Connecticut Jr. Rangers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| S5 | Utica Jr. Comets | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Jersey Hitmen | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Rockets Hockey Club | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Boston Junior Bruins | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| N6 | Boston Advantage | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Boston Junior Bruins | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
Massachusetts Quarterfinal | ||||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Islanders Hockey Club | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| N2 | South Shore Kings | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Islanders Hockey Club | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Boston Junior Bruins | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
North Division | ||||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Rockets Hockey Club | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| N5 | Twin City Thunder | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| N5 | Twin City Thunder | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| N7 | Northern Cyclones | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| N7 | Northern Cyclones | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| N3 | New Hampshire Junior Monarchs | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
References
- ^ "Philadelphia Hockey Club Buys NCDC Franchise, Will Join League In 2020-21". USPHL. November 14, 2019.
- ^ "Junior Spotlight – National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC)". Sports Kreezee. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
- ^ "Boston Advantage Joins USPHL, NCDC". Neutral Zone. June 9, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
- ^ "USPHL Standings". United States Premier Hockey League. Retrieved May 30, 2025.