Penn State men’s hockey goaltender Josh Fleming was named to the Mike Richter Award watch list by the Hockey Commissioners Association on Wednesday. The award, named after the NHL Hall of Famer, is given out to the best goaltender in college hockey.

Fleming was one of 29 goalies named to the watch list, which lists its criteria as “meeting minimum GAA (2.30 or lower) and save percentage (.920 or higher) standards. Other names may be added for consideration before the first formal vote.” He was one of four Big Ten goalies named, joining Michigan’s Jack Ivankovic, Michigan State’s Trey Augustine, and Wisconsin’s Daniel Hauser.

The freshman from Montreal, Quebec, has enjoyed a spectacular debut season while splitting goaltending duties with sophomore transfer Kevin Reidler. In nine starts, Fleming is 6-3-0 with a .938 save percentage and 1.91 goals against average (GAA). He paces the nation in save percentage, while ranking seventh in GAA.

From here, the Hockey Commissioners Association will narrow down the list to 12 in the next three weeks before three finalists are selected ahead of the Frozen Four in April. The last Penn State goalie to be named to the midseason watch list was Liam Souliere in 2023-24. Notable winners of the award include Connor Hellebuyck in 2014, Thatcher Demko in 2016, and Jeremy Swayman in 2020.

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Michael Zeno

Michael is a junior from Eastampton, NJ, majoring in international politics. He's a diehard Knicks, Yankees, Rangers, and Giants fan. When he's not watching old OBJ highlights, he likes to bowl and play pickup basketball. He'll forever believe that Michael Penix Jr. was short. You can contact him at @MichaelZeno24 on Twitter or zenomanknows@gmail.com

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