Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Five Up for Richter Award

Nation’s top goaltender comes down to goalies representing four conferences.

Five Up for Richter Award
Alex Lyon set Yale records for single-season save percentage, goals-against average and shutouts (Photo by Beverly Schaefer).

St. Lawrence’s Kyle Hayton, Michigan State’s Jake Hildebrand, Yale’s Alex Lyon, North Dakota’s Zane McIntyre and Michigan Tech’s Jamie Phillips are the five finalists for the second annual Mike Richter Award, which will be presented to the nation’s top goaltender at the NCAA Frozen Four in Boston.

ECAC Hockey boasts two of the finalists in Hayton and Lyon, who are also the two youngest in the group as a freshman and sophomore, respectively. The other three candidates are all juniors.

Hayton (Denver, Colo./Sioux City-USHL) has led St. Lawrence to a remarkable resurgence in his rookie campaign. He ranks second nationally with a .939 save percentage, just a fraction behind Lyon, and led the Saints to a second-place finish in ECAC Hockey.

Hildebrand (Butler, Pa./Cedar Rapids-USHL) was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year after leading Michigan State to a second-place finish in the conference. He played 99.2% of the Spartans’ minutes in goal – most of any goaltender – and leads the nation with a .951 save percentage since Christmas heading into the weekend.

Lyon (Baudette, Minn./Omaha-USHL) boasts the nation’s best save percentage (.939), goals-against average (1.58) and shutout total (7), all single-season Yale records. He surrendered more than three goals just once all season in 32 starts.

McIntyre (Thief River Falls, Minn./Fargo-USHL/BOS), a Boston Bruins draft pick, has led North Dakota to the No. 1 ranking and the NCHC regular-season title. The first-team All-NCHC selection ranks fifth nationally in saves (989) and sixth in save percentage (.932).

Phillips (Caledonia, Ont./Toronto-OJHL/WPG) stands third nationally in save percentage (.938) and shares the national lead in victories with McIntyre (27). He led Michigan Tech to a 10-0-0 start and posted six shutouts, including back-to-back shutouts in a WCHA quarterfinal sweep of Alabama-Huntsville last weekend. He was named first-team All-WCHA.