Maine Goaltender is the First Black Bear to Win the Award
Jeremy Swayman Wins 2020 Mike Richter Award
Maine Goaltender is the First Black Bear to Win the Award

WAKEFIELD, Mass. - Maine junior goaltender Jeremy Swayman (Anchorage, Alaska) has been awarded the 2020 Mike Richter Award, given annually to the best goaltender in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey, it was announced tonight on SportsCenter. Swayman was also named to the CCM/AHCA All-American First Team and was a Hobey Hat Trick Finalist.

Swayman is the fourth player in Hockey East history to collect the award in its seven-year history. Earlier this year, Swayman was named the 2019-20 Hockey East Player of the Year, the first Maine goaltender to win Hockey East's top individual honor and the first Black Bear to be so named since Spencer Abbot in 2011-12.

During the Hockey East regular season, Swayman led the league in saves (782), save percentage (.932) and tied for the lead in shut outs (3) while his 12 wins in Hockey East tied for second. The junior's 782 saves in conference action is the 10th-most of any goaltender in league history and the highest single-season total since 2010-11. Swayman's 2.27 goals against average in league play was fourth-best among conference netminders.

Overall, Swayman carried a record of 18-11-5 and led the NCAA in saves with 1,099 stops. His save percentage of .939 ranked second among all goaltenders in the nation, while his 2.07 goals against average was good for 15th in the country. A 2017 fourth-round draft choice of the Boston Bruins who signed his entry level contract on March 17, Swayman had 25 games of at least 30 saves this season, including five outings with at least 40 stops.

The Black Bears' backstop helped his team to the fourth-seed in the Hockey East Tournament by posting three shutouts over their final six games of the regular season, including a 48-save shutout in a 1-0 win in the season finale. Swayman is the first goalie to win the Hockey East Player of the Year outright since Northeastern's Brad Theissen in 2008-09 after Boston College's Thatcher Demko and UMass Lowell's Kevin Boyle split the award in 2015-16.

He was named Stop It Goaltender of the Month for his performance in February, Hockey East Player of the Week on March 9, and twice honored as Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week. Swayman was announced as a Hobey Baker Top 10 Finalist on Wednesday, March 18.