John Lethemon Named Mike Richter Award Semifinalist

EAST LANSING -- Michigan State senior goaltender John Lethemon has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award, it was announced Tuesday, March 24 by Let's Play Hockey. The seventh annual award that honors the top collegiate goaltender will be announced April 10. The five finalists will be announced Monday, March 30.

Lethemon posted the best season of his career in 2019-20. His .935 save percentage ranked sixth in the country and was the third-best single-season save percentage in MSU history, trailing only Ryan Miller (.950 in 2000-07; .936 in 2001-02). His 2.13 GAA was third in the Big Ten and the eighth-best single-season mark in program history - the lowest since Jeff Lerg in 2005-06 (1.96).

One of three finalists for the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year award, Lethemon was at his best in conference play. He led the Big Ten in conference play in GAA (1.99), save percentage (.942), shutouts (4), saves (743) and faced the most shots (789). He had 15 games with 35 or more saves, including a career-high 48 in a 2-0 shutout win at No. 6 Penn State in November. His other shutouts came vs. Michigan (Nov. 16, 35 saves); vs. Wisconsin (Dec. 6, 35 saves); vs. Arizona State (Dec. 15, 35 saves); at Wisconsin (Jan. 17, 39 saves).

The native of Northville made the biggest jump of his career in 2019-20 as his .935 save percentage was .037 better than his career average entering the year, while his 2.13 GAA was a full goal below is average through his first three seasons.

The 10 semifinalists for the Richter Award include: Zach Driscoll of Bemidji State; Matt Galajda of Cornell; Spencer Knight of Boston College; John Lethemon of Michigan State; Strauss Mann of Michigan; Frank Marotte of Clarkson; Dryden McKay of Minnesota State; Hunter Shepard of Minnesota Duluth; Jeremy Swayman of Maine; and Tyler Wall of UMass-Lowell.

Players Mentioned

John Lethemon

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