March 23, 2017
By Dan Colleran
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame junior goaltender Cal Petersen has been named one of five finalists for the 2017 Mike Richter Award, which was announced by Let’s Play Hockey and the Herb Brooks Foundation on Thursday afternoon (March 23).
The junior captain joins Michael Bitzer (Bemidji State), Tanner Jaillet (Denver), Hunter Miska (Minnesota Duluth) and Charles Williams (Canisius) as finalists for the award, which is presented annually to the most outstanding goaltender in NCAA men’s hockey. The winner will be announced on Friday, April 7, at the 2017 Frozen Four in Chicago.
Petersen is 21-11-5 on the season with a 2.14 goals against average, a .928 save percentage and six shutouts. His save percentage currently ranks ninth in the country, while his six shutouts are tied for the NCAA lead. Petersen’s 2016-17 numbers have been compiled against a tough schedule that has included 21 games against top-25 offenses (team currently ranked in the top 25 in goals per game).
A First Team Hockey East All-Star, Petersen led the Irish to a weekend sweep of Providence College in the Hockey East quarterfinals (March 10-11). In the two games versus the Friars, Petersen posted a 1.00 goals against average and a .973 save percentage to go along with a 43-save, game one shutout. He earned Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honors following the series.
Petersen was also named the Hockey East Co-Defensive Player of the Week following back-to-back shutouts versus Alaska (Dec. 31 and Jan. 1), including a 34-save performance in game one of that series. From Dec. 10 to Jan. 6, Petersen went 207:10 without allowing a goal, which is the second-longest shutout streak in program history.
A fifth-round selection by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Petersen helped the Irish secure a top four finish in the Hockey East standings and a first-round bye when he stopped 37 of the 38 shots he faced in a 3-1 win at Boston University during the final weekend of play (Feb. 24).
Petersen has started 87-consecutive games in goal for the Irish, the fourth-longest streak in NCAA history. He ranks first in career save percentage (.925) at Notre Dame, while also ranking second in saves (2,948), third in goals against average (2.27), and fourth in shutouts (11), victories (53), minutes played (6,315:23) and games played (107). He was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team in 2015.
Petersen has been a nominee for the Mike Richter Award in each of his three seasons with the Fighting Irish.
The Fighting Irish will play Minnesota at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 25 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Northeast Regional in Manchester, New Hampshire. The game will be televised by ESPNU.
— ND —
Dan Colleran, associate athletics communications director at the University of Notre Dame, has been a part of Fighting Irish Media since August 2015 and coordinates all media and publicity efforts surrounding the Notre Dame hockey and golf programs. A native of Walpole, Massachusetts, Colleran spent the previous three years working with the men’s hockey and soccer programs at Providence College. Colleran also spent two years as an Assistant Executive Director of Communications & Championships at the Ivy League and is a graduate of Providence College (’06 & ’08G).