For Immediate Release Oct. 5, 2017 Contact: Kevin Kurtt (952-288-9319, [email protected], www.letsplayhockey.com)

20 goalies named to Mike Richter Award Watch List for 2017-18 Fifth annual award to be presented at 2018 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn.

CHANHASSEN, MINN. — Let’s Play Hockey and the Herb Brooks Foundation announced today the 20 goalies named to the watch list for the 2018 Mike Richter Award, which annually honors the most outstanding in NCAA Division I men’s hockey. The winner of the fifth annual award will be announced at the 2018 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn.

In alphabetical order, the goalies on the watch list for the 2018 Mike Richter Award are:

Name School Year Name School Year Michael Bitzer * Bemidji State Senior Merrick Madsen # Harvard Senior Ben Blacker Western Michigan Sophomore Francis Marotte Robert Morris Sophomore Hayden Hawkey Providence Junior Jake Oettinger # Boston University Sophomore Kyle Hayton ^ Wisconsin Senior Jason Pawloski Minnesota State Junior Adam Huska Connecticut Sophomore Aidan Pelino Bentley Sophomore Tanner Jaillet $ Denver Senior Eric Schierhorn Minnesota Junior Cam Johnson ! North Dakota Senior Andrew Shortridge Quinnipiac Sophomore Peyton Jones Penn State Sophomore Atte Tolvanen Northern Michigan Junior Justin Kapelmaster Ferris State Sophomore Tyler Wall UMass Lowell Sophomore Jake Kielly Clarkson Sophomore Joseph Woll Boston College Sophomore $ 2017 Mike Richter Award winner * 2017 finalist # 2017 semifinalist ! 2016 finalist ^ 2015 finalist

Goalies on the Mike Richter Award watch list are chosen by members of Let’s Play Hockey, utilizing both past performance and future potential. Freshmen are not included.

Candidates for the Mike Richter Award will be determined by nominations from all 60 NCAA Division I men’s hockey head coaches. The semifinalists, finalists and winner are selected by a committee of coaches, scouts and members of the media.

Criteria for the Mike Richter Award: -Candidates must display outstanding skills on the ice - Candidates should be in good academic standing at an NCAA college or university - Consideration should be given to academic achievement and sportsmanship - Candidates must comply with all NCAA rules; be full-time students at an NCAA college or university; and complete 50 percent or more of the season - Consideration should be given to the candidate’s activities in the community

Past winners: 2017 Tanner Jaillet (Denver), 2016 (Boston College), 2015 Zane McIntyre (North Dakota), 2014 (UMass Lowell)

About Let’s Play Hockey: In its 45th season and based in the Twin Cities, Let’s Play Hockey is the longest-running hockey newspaper in the U.S., serving the largest hockey market in the nation. Let’s Play Hockey is published 25 times a year – weekly during the hockey season and monthly during the offseason. About the Herb Brooks Foundation: The Herb Brooks Foundation is dedicated to growing the game of hockey and giving the game back to the kids. Founded in 2003 by Dan Brooks and Kelly Brooks Paradise, Herb’s family and friends created the foundation to preserve his legacy by continuing his life’s work by growing the game by “making hockey fun for kids and letting them learn to love the game the way we did.”