University of Minnesota senior goaltender and Penticton Vees alumnus Jack LaFontaine has been named a top-three finalist for the Mike Richter Award, handed out to college hockey’s top goaltender.
The 23-year-old from Mississauga, Ont. has been lights out for the Golden Gophers this season, posting a 21-6-0 record and leading his team to the Big Ten tournament championship.
LaFontaine has the second-highest save percentage in the NCAA with a mark of .936 and he owns the third-best goals-against average at 1.74. The Carolina Hurricanes 2016 draft pick also has five shutouts on the year, which is second most in all of college hockey.
The other two finalists for the award are Boston College sophomore Spencer Knight and Minnesota State junior Dryden McKay.
The Richter Award is voted on by the Hockey Commissioners Association and the winner will be announced at the Frozen Four Tournament, which takes place Apr. 8 to 10.
LaFontaine played one season with Penticton in 2018-19 during his transfer year after spending two seasons with the University of Michigan. In his lone BCHL season, he finished second in the league in both save percentage (.923) and goals-against average (2.19) and was named the league’s Top Goaltender.
Minnesota plays the University of Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday in their opening-round contest at the NCAA national tournament.
