GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota sophomore Cam Johnson has been named one of 26 national nominees for the 2016 Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goaltender in NCAA Division I men's hockey.
Johnson's former North Dakota teammate, Zane McIntyre, won the award last season.
In 22 games (21 starts) this season, Johnson is 15-3-1 and ranks second nationally in both goals against average (1.54) and save percentage (.940). His save percentage currently stands as a UND single-season record while his goals against average ranks as the second-best in UND single-season history behind only Bob Peters' 1.27 mark in 1957-58.
A native of Troy, Mich., Johnson has been named National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Goaltender of the Week a league-leading six times and was both the NCHC and American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Player of the Month in December. Johnson enjoyed a stretch of four consecutive shutouts from Dec. 5 to Jan. 1 and established a school-record shutout streak of 298 minutes, 25 seconds, eclipsing Gerald “Spike” Schultz's streak of 249:41 in Jan. 1954.
Johnson's streak ranked as the second longest in NCAA Division I men's hockey history and he joined Schultz (4) and Lake Superior State's Blaine Lacher (5 in 1993-94) as the only Division I men's goaltenders to record four or more shutouts in a row.
In 24 career appearances, Johnson owns a 1.68 goals against average and .935 save percentage, both of which would be UND school records if Johnson were to meet the 40-game threshold required for UND's career goaltending record books. Both numbers also lead all active Division I men's goaltenders.
Candidates for the Mike Richter Award were determined by nominations from all 60 NCAA Division I men's hockey head coaches. The finalists and winner will be selected by a committee of coaches, scouts and members of the media. The five finalists for the 2016 Mike Richter Award will be announced on Wednesday, March 16.
In order to be considered for the award, candidates must display outstanding skills on the ice and be in good academic standing at an NCAA college or university. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and sportsmanship, as well as the candidate's activities within the community.
The winner of the Mike Richter Award will be presented by Mike Richter at the 2016 NCAA Men's Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla.
