Junior Hunter Shepard, who backstopped the University of Minnesota Duluth to an NCAA championship last spring, is 20 goalies named to the watch list for the 2019 Mike Richter Award, which annually honors the most outstanding goaltender in NCAA Division I men's hockey.

The winner of the sixth annual award will be announced at the 2019 NCAA Men's Frozen Four in Buffalo, N.Y.

A 2017-18 All-NCHC second team selection and semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award, Shepard finished second among the nation's puckstoppers in shutouts last winter with a UMD-record eight. He came into 2017-18 with just two collegiate appearances to his name and wound up compiling a 1.91 goals against average and a .925 saves percentage (both program single-season bests) while going 25-14-1 in 41 outings. Shepard closed out the year having made 39 consecutive starts -- a run that began on Oct. 21, 2017.
 
In alphabetical order, the goalies on the watch list for the 2019 Mike Richter Award are:

Name (School, Year)
Ryan Bednard  (Bowling Green, Jr.)
Billy Christopoulos (Air Force, Sr.)
Matthew Galajda *  (Cornell, So.)
Hayden Hawkey (Providence, Sr.)
Christoffer Hernberg (UMass-Lowell, Sr.)
Dávid Hrenák# (St. Cloud State, So.)
Corbin Kaczperski (Yale, Jr.)
Jake Kielly# (Clarkson, Jr.)
Jake Kupsky (Union, Sr.)
Francis Marotte  (Robert Morris, Jr.)
Cale Morris@  (Notre Dame, Jr.)
Jake Oettinger+  (Boston U., Jr.)
Cayden Primeau* (Northeastern, So.)
Mat Robson (Minnesota, Jr.)
Sean Romeo# (Ohio State, Sr.)
Hunter Shepard# (UMD, Jr.)
Jeremy Swayman (Maine , So.)
Atte Tolvanen (Northern Michigan, Sr.)
Daniel Urbani (Canisius, Jr.)
Joseph Woll  (Boston College , Jr).
 
@2018 winner
*2018 finalist
#2018 semifinalist
+2017 semifinalist