The Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) has announced the semifinalists for this year’s Mike Richter Award and Michigan Tech senior Blake Pietila has been selected as one of the nine goaltenders from a “Watch List” of 41, singled out by a panel of voters from across the hockey community. The award is given annually to the top goalie in men’s NCAA Division I hockey since 2014.
Pietila (Howell, Mich.) has started 31 games for the Huskies this season and is 20-8-3 overall with a 1.98 goals-against average, and a .928 save percentage. He holds the Michigan Tech single-season shutout record with eight and career shutout record with 18. The national leader in shutouts (8), he is second in wins (20) and minutes played, fifth in save percentage (.928), and fifth in goals-against average (1.98). Michigan Tech ranks second nationally in penalty-killing percentage (88.7) and second in scoring defense (2.09).
A semifinalist for the third straight year, Pietila is also a Hobey Baker candidate for the third season in a row and was named the CCHA Goaltender of the Month for January and October, the CCHA Goaltender of the Week six times, and the Most Valuable Player of the Desert Hockey Classic.
2023 Mike Richter Award Semifinalists
Ryan Bischel, Notre Dame (Big Ten)
Magnus Chrona, Denver (NCHC)
Justen Close, Minnesota (Big Ten)
Jakub Dobeš, Ohio State (Big Ten)**
Mitchell Gibson, Harvard (ECAC Hockey)
Devon Levi, Northeastern (Hockey East)** # @
Victor Ostman, Maine (Hockey East)
Yaniv Perets, Quinnipiac (ECAC Hockey)** #
Blake Pietila, Michigan Tech (CCHA)**
**2022 Semifinalist; #2022 Finalist; @2022 Winner
There is a distinct international feel to the semifinalists with three each from Canada and the United States, two from Sweden, and one from the Czech Republic. Five are seniors, two are juniors, and two are sophomores. Four were semifinalists last year.
Three finalists will be announced in early March and the winner of this year’s Mike Richter Award will be announced in April during the NCAA Frozen Four in Tampa. Last year’s recipient, Devon Levi of Northeastern, is again a semifinalist.
Five NCAA Division I conferences are represented among the semifinalists with the Big Ten boasting three goalies, followed by ECAC Hockey and Hockey East with two each and the CCHA and the NCHC with one each.
Past Richter Award Recipients: 2014 - Connor Hellebuyck, UMass Lowell; 2015 - Zane McIntyre, North Dakota; 2016 - Thatcher Demko, Boston College; 2017 - Tanner Jaillet, Denver; 2018 - Cale Morris, Notre Dame; 2019 - Cayden Primeau, Northeastern; 2020 - Jeremy Swayman, Maine; 2021 - Jack LaFontaine, Minnesota; 2022 - Devon Levi, Northeastern.