Spencer Knight Named One of Five Finalists for the Mike Richter Award
Photo by BCEagles.com
This afternoon Boston College goaltender Spencer Knight was named one of five finalists for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the nation’s top goalie.
Knight started all but one game for the Eagles during his freshman season and posted a 1.97 goals against average and .931 save percentage. The goals against average was good enough for the sixth best single-season mark all time by a BC goalie.
His five shutouts also place him in a tie with Scott Clemmensen for fourth fourth most in a single season in that category in BC history. Thatcher Demko had 10 in in 2015, Corey Schneider had eight and six in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
He’ll look to become the second BC goalie to win the award which debuted following the 2013-14 season. Demko took home the hardware during that impressive 10-shutout season. To date, three of the six award winners have come from Hockey East. Connor Hellebuyck took home the first award with UMass-Lowell, and Northeastern alum Cayden Primeau is the most recent recipient.
Knight faces some stiff competition for the award. Maine’s Jeremy Swayman, Cornell’s Matthew Galajda, Michigan’s Strauss Mann and Minnesota State’s Dryden McKay are the other four finalists.
McKay and Swayman will most likely be the two favorites. Minnesota State’s netminder McKay went 30-4-2 with a 1.31 goals against average and 10 shutouts.
Playing for Maine, Swayman’s junior-year numbers weren’t all that impressive; he’s the only finalist with a GAA north of 2.00. Nevertheless, the Alaska native has received much praise from experts because of his workload. Swayman started 33 of 34 games for the Black Bears and ended up playing most of the 34th as well. He faced 1099 shots, almost 100 more than any other goalie in the nation. He had five 40-plus save games, including a season-opening loss where he gave up seven goals but still made 52 saves and a 48-save shutout to close the regular season.
Mann, much like the Michigan team in front of him, came on late in the season. He posted a 1.13 GAA over his final eight games and finished the season with back-to-back shutouts.
Galajda’s numbers mimic McKay’s, albeit with a smaller sample size due to playing for an Ivy League school. The junior had the second lowest GAA in the nation and only lost two of the 29 games he suited up for.
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