Augustana’s Nace Langus, right, takes a shot on Northern Michigan University’s Oliver Auyeung-Ashton that the Wildcats’ goaltender saves during their CCHA game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette last Saturday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — Freshman Oliver Auyeung-Ashton of Northern Michigan University is one of 29 goaltenders named to the Mike Richter Award watch list who will compete for the honor given to the top NCAA Division I goalie at the end of the season.

The award, inaugurated in 2014, is decided by a committee of voters that include coaches, administrators, scouts and the media.

They will first pare the list down to about a dozen semifinalists in the next three weeks before picking a single winner from among three finalists to be announced in April at the NCAA Frozen Four.

A similar award for the top women’s netminder in the NCAA is presented by the Hockey Commissioners Association.

A native of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Auyeung-Ashton made an immediate impact with the Wildcats, backstopping a 45-save effort in his first collegiate outing at Ohio State in October.

That was the most by a freshman goalie in his NMU debut in the “modern” NCAA era (since 2004) and most by a Northern freshman since Atte Tolvanen made 46 stops on Oct. 30, 2015.

It was also just the ninth time a freshman goalie made 45 saves or more in a collegiate debut nationwide in the past two decades and only the second time in the past 10 years.

Going on to earn CCHA Rookie of the Week honors for that performance, he then missed nearly two months and eight games due to injury, last playing on Nov. 8 before returning for the recent Lake Superior State series in Sault Ste. Marie on Jan. 3-4.

In the four games he and the Wildcats have played his month, he’s given up two goals in each game — not counting an empty-netter in a 3-0 loss last weekend to Augustana — and has a .939 saves percentage and 2.02 goals-against average in those contests.

For the season, he’s had a .923 or better saves percentage in nine of 12 games.

“Oliver has played well for us in his starts, and he gives us a chance to win,” Wildcats head coach Dave Shyiak said in an NMU Sports Information news release announcing the news.

Of Division I goalies playing 12 or more games, Auyeung-Ashton leads freshmen with a .934 saves percentage and is second only to Michigan State’s Trey Augustine at .938 among all goalies.

Augustine was a finalist for the Richter award a year ago.

Other CCHA goaltenders also on the Richter watch list include senior Alex Tracy of Minnesota State-Mankato, also a finalist last season, along with sophomore Rorke Applebee of Lake Superior State, junior Owen Bartoszkiewicz of Michigan Tech and junior Josh Kotai of Augustana.

Auyeung-Ashton and Kotai lead the CCHA in saves percentage, each at .934.

Auyeung-Ashton is one of 13 Canadian goalies on the watch list, joining nine from the United States, three from Sweden and two each from Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

While Quebec has five of Canada’s 13, Michigan is the leading state for the U.S. with three of the nine.

This young-leaning group includes 11 freshmen, eight sophomores, six juniors and four seniors.

Finally, eight of the 29 on this year’s list were also on last year’s, and Augustine and Tracy were among the four finalists in 2025.

Two of the eight from last year are now at different schools — Connor Hasley went from Bentley to Arizona State, while Lawton Zahcer went from Brown to Northeastern.

Goalies qualified with a 2.40 or better goals-against and .917 saves percentage, with others who may be considered before the first vote.

These are the past Richter honorees — 2014, Connor Hellebuyck, Mass-Lowell; 2015, Zane McIntyre, North Dakota; 2016, Thatcher Demko, Boston College; 2017, Tanner Jaillet, Denver; 2018, Cale Morris, Notre Dame; 2019, Cayden Primeau, Northeastern; 2020, Jeremy Swayman, Maine; 2021, Jack LaFontaine, Minnesota; 2022, Devon Levi, Northeastern; 2023, Devon Levi, Northeastern; 2024, Kyle McLellan, Wisconsin; 2025, Jacob Fowler, Boston College.

Here are the other watch list goalies, listed by conference and with their school and year:

Big Ten — Trey Augustine, Michigan State, junior; Josh Fleming, Penn State, freshman; Daniel Hauser, Wisconsin, freshman; Jack Ivankovic, Michigan, freshman

NCHC — Adam Gajan, Minnesota Duluth, sophomore; Connor Hasley, Arizona State, senior; Quentin Miller, Denver, freshman; Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan, sophomore; Jan Spunar, North Dakota, freshman; Samuel Urban, Arizona State, freshman

Hockey East — Louka Cloutier, Boston College, freshman; Jackson Irving, UMass, junior; Max Lundgren, Merrimack, sophomore; Tyler Muszelik, Connecticut, senior; Philip Svedeback, Providence, senior; Lawton Zacher, Northeastern, junior

ECAC — Roan Clarke, Dartmouth, junior; Alexis Cournoyer, Cornell, freshman; Emmett Croteau, Dartmouth, sophomore; Cameron Korpi, Union, sophomore

Atlantic Hockey — Ajeet Gundarah, Sacred Heart, sophomore; Teagan Kendrick, Sacred Heart, freshman; Jakub Krbecek, RIT, sophomore; Lukas Swedin, Bentley, freshman

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release reviewing the announcement. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.