Major College Hockey Awards Handed Out

Four major college hockey awards were handed out Friday night at the NCAA Frozen Four in Las Vegas.

Sophomore forward Max Plante (Minnesota-Duluth) earned this year's Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I men's college hockey. Hailing from Hermantown, Minn., he paced the Bulldogs with career-high totals of 27 goals and 25 assists for 52 points in 40 games, while also leading UMD to the NCAA tournament. He is the 11th player from the state of Minnesota to win the Hobey Baker, and the seventh Bulldog, both tops among the award's 44 winners all-time.

Junior netminder Trey Augustine (Michigan State) claimed this year's Mike Richter Award as the nation's top goaltender. A native of South Lyon, Mich., he fashioned a 24-9-1 record in 34 games this past season, with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage, while earning Big Ten Goaltender of the Year accolades. He is now a member of the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins. 

Senior forward Meg Simon (Middlebury) was the 2026 recipient of the Hockey Humanitarian Award. Originally from East Grand Rapids, Mich., she is the fifth skater from the NCAA Division III ranks to earn the award. She serves as the Co-Chair of Volunteering for Middlebury's women’s hockey program, and has worked with the Middlebury Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) and Special Olympics Vermont, among other organizations, both on and off campus. Simon tallied two assists in 39 career games with the Panthers while helping them to three NCAA tournament berths and two semifinal appearances.

Senior forward Kevin Anderson (Princeton) was this year's recipient of the Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award, named for the late Army skater, and which is bequeathed to the player judged to best exemplify sportsmanship, competitiveness, intelligence and work ethic. Anderson, from Regina, Sask., has helped create and cultivate the “Tiger Pals” program that pairs Princeton student-athletes with local children who need strong, consistent mentorship, and has also hosted his “Tiger Pals” program at Hobey Baker Rink for skates, games and social gatherings with the Tigers, while also serving with Team IMPACT. He finished his college career with 7-11-18 points in 87 games for Princeton, which came within an overtime goal of this year's NCAA tournament.

Freshman forward Ethan Wyttenbach (Quinnipiac) was named the winner of the 2026 Tim Taylor Award, which is named after the former longtime Yale head coach and goes to the Rookie of the Year in NCAA Division I men's hockey. A native of Roslyn, N.Y., Wyttenbach  paced all Division I men's scorers with 59 points (25g-34a) this past season while also leading the Bobcats to the NCAA tournament. He was drafted 144th overall by the Calgary Flames in last year's NHL Entry Draft.

2026 Richter Award Top 10 Announced

A list of the 10 semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award, which is annually awarded to the top goaltender in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey, was released last week, according to collegehockeynews.com:

Trey Augustine, Michigan State (Jr. – South Lyon, Mich.)

Alexis Cournoyer, Cornell (Fr. - Trois-Rivières, Que.)

Emmett Croteau, Dartmouth (Jr. – Bonnyville, Alb.)

Michael Hrabal, Massachusetts (Jr. – Prague, Czechia)

Jack Ivankovic, Michigan (Fr. - Mississauga, Ont.)

Josh Kotai, Augustana (Jr. - Abbotsford, B.C.)

Tyler Muszelik, Connecticut (Sr. - Long Valley, N.J.)

Jan Spunar, North Dakota (Fr. - Olomouc, Czechia)

Alex Tracy, Minnesota State (Sr. - Chicago, Ill.)

Lawton Zacher, Northeastern (Jr. - Buffalo, N.Y.)

Augustine is currently third among Division I men's netminders with 20 victories so far this season, while Ivankovic is fourth with 18 wins, and Tracy is first with five ties. Kotai is second with 1,080 minutes played, while Tracy is fourth with 1,755 minutes. Tracy is fourth with a 1.91 goals-against average, while Augustine is fifth (1.96) and Kotai is 10th (2.06). Kotai and Zacher are tied for the national lead with four shutouts, while Kotai ranks first overall with 890 saves made, and is also tied with Muszelik for second overall with a .935 save percentage.

The 2026 Mike Richter Award winner will be announced on April 10 at the Frozen Four in Las Vegas.

2025 Baker, Richter Award Finalists Announced

The top 10 finalists for the 2025 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I men's hockey were announced last week.

• Zeev Buium, So., D, Denver
• Jack Devine, Sr., F, Denver
• Aiden Fink, So., F, Penn State
• Mac Gadowsky, SO., D, Army West Point
• Isaac Howard, Jr., F, Michigan State
• Ryan Leonard, So., F, Boston College
• Ayrton Martino, Sr., F, Clarkson
• Liam McLinskey, Sr., F, Holy Cross
• Jimmy Snuggerud, Jr, F, Minnesota
• Alex Tracy. Jr., G, Minnesota State

Also announced were the four finalists for the 2025 Mike Richter Award as the top goaltender in NCAA Division I men's hockey.

• Trey Augustine, So., G, Michigan State
• Albin Boija, So., G, Maine
• Jacob Fowler, So., G, Boston College
• Alex Tracy. Jr., G, Minnesota State

(All players listed by last name along with class, position and school)

The winners for both awards will be announced on April 11 at the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Louis.

2024 Richter Award Trio Announced

The three finalists for the Mike Richter Award as the top goaltender in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey this year were announced last week:

Jacob Fowler, Fr., Boston College (29-5-1, 2.19, .925)

Kaidan Mbereko, So., Colorado College (21-15-1, 2.41, .905)

Kyle McClellan, Sr., Wisconsin (24-11-1, 1.92, .931)

(Stats indicate record, goals-against average, and save percentage for 2023-24, through March 27)

Fowler and McClelland will lead their respective schools into the 2024 NCAA regionals this weekend, while Mbereko's season ended with CC's 2-1 loss to Omaha in the NCHC tournament on March 17. The Tigers ultimately missed the NCAAs by just .0004 points in the Pairwise Rankings, which mimic the NCAA tournament selection process.

This year's winner will be announced during the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Paul next month. Current Buffalo Sabres netminder Devon Levi (Northeastern) was the recipient of the award the last two seasons, the first two-time winner since it was first handed out in 2014.

2021 Richter Award Finalists Announced for NCAA's Best Goalie

 

The three finalists for the 2020-21 Mike Richter Award as the best goaltender in NCAA Division I men’s hockey were announced late last week.

Dryden McKay, Junior, Minnesota State – The Downers Grove, Ill., native backstopped the Mavericks to their first-ever Frozen Four appearance next month by allowing just three goals over two games at the NCAA West Regional in Loveland, Col., posting victories over 11^th ranked Quinnipiac and third-ranked Minnesota. In 25 appearances so far this season, McKay, 23, has fashioned a 21-3-0 record to go with a 1.39 goals-against average, a .931 save percentage, and a nation-leading 10 shutouts. He is also a finalist for this year’s Hobey Baker Memorial Award as college hockey’s best player.

Spencer Knight, Sophomore, Boston College –The Darien, Conn. product concluded his 2020-21 campaign with 32 stops in a 4-1 season-ending loss to St. Cloud State in the NCAA Northeast Regional final in Albany, N.Y. on Sunday. The Hockey East Player of the Year, he put together a 16-4-1 record over 21 games with three shutouts (2.18, .932). Knight, 19, was chosen 13^th overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2019 NHL Draft, and like McKay is also a finalist for this year’s Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

Jack LaFontaine, Senior, Minnesota – A former transfer from Big Ten Conference rival Michigan, the Mississauga, Ont. native guided the Golden Gophers to this year’s Big Ten tournament championship, plus the final game of the 2021 NCAA West Regional in Loveland, Col. LaFontaine, 23, who finished the season at 22-7-0 in 29 games with five shutouts (1.79, .934), was chosen 75th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2016 NHL Draft.

The winner of this year’s Mike Richter Award, which is presented by Let’s Play Hockey, will be announced during the NCAA Frozen Four in Pittsburgh next month.

Perunovich Wins 40th Hobey Baker Award, Swayman Earns Richter Award

Scott Perunovich (Minnesota-Duluth) has been named the winner of the 40th annual Hobey Baker Memorial Award, as the top player in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey.

Perunovich, 21, from Hibbing, Minn., recorded a career-high 34 assists and 40 points this season in 34 games, and was also named the 2019-20 NCHC Player of the Year. The junior defenseman finished his collegiate career with 20 goals and 95 assists for 105 points in 115 career outings with the Bulldogs, whom he helped to two straight NCAA national titles (2018, 2019), plus a top five national ranking this year. A shot at a third straight NCAA crown was derailed last month by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has canceled almost all major sport seasons.

Perunovich becomes the sixth UMD Bulldog to win the Hobey Baker Award, following Tom Kurvers (1984), Bill Watson (1985), Chris Marinucci (1994), Junior Lessard (2004) and Jack Connolly (2012).

Jeremy Swayman (Maine) was named the winner of the 2019-20 Mike Richter Award as the top goaltender in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey. The junior from Anchorage, Alaska fashioned an 18-10-5 record for the Black Bears this past season with a 2.07 goals-against average and .939 save percentage, along with three shutouts, in backstopping them to a top 20 national ranking. In three seasons in Orono, Swayman, 21, went 47-40-12 in 100 career appearances (2.51, .927, 4 ShO). He was also a finalist for this year's Hobey Baker Award.

Both awards were revealed late Saturday night on ESPN, on an evening when the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey national title game was to have been played in Detroit. Both Perunovich and Swayman have bypassed their senior seasons to sign professional contracts with the NHL clubs that drafted them, Perunovich with the St. Louis Blues and Swayman with the Boston Bruins.

Denver's Butcher Wins Hobey Baker Award

University of Denver senior defenseman and team captain Will Butcher is the winner of the 2017 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey. The honor was bestowed upon Butcher on Friday in Chicago, site of this year’s NCAA Frozen Four. The award is presented by the Decathlon Club of Bloomington, Minn.

Butcher becomes the second Denver Pioneer to win the Hobey Baker Award in its 36-year history, and the first since fellow defenseman Matt Carle in 2005. That was the last year that DU, currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, won its most recent of seven NCAA hockey championships.

A native of Sun Prairie, Wis., and a 2013 draft choice of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, Butcher leads all Denver blueliners with seven goals and 30 assists for 37 points to go along with 18 penalty minutes in 42 games so far this season. In three years at DU, he has tallied 28-75—103 points and 53 PIM in 157 career outings, along with 15 power-play and four game-winning goals.

Also on Friday, Denver junior goaltender Tanner Jaillet copped the 2017 Mike Richter Award, which is annually awarded to the most outstanding netminder in NCAA men's hockey. In 37 outings so far this season, the Red Deer, Alta. native has posted a 27-5-4 record with a 1.83 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage. Denver head coach Jim Montgomery won the Spencer T. Penrose Award earlier in the week as Division I men's hockey's top coach.

Butcher, Jaillet, Montgomery and Denver will look to cap the 2016-17 campaign with a national title on Saturday night, when the Pioneers meet Minnesota-Duluth in the national title game at the United Center (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).