The Hockey Commissioners Association released its 32-player watch list for the annual Mike Richter Award, given the top collegiate goaltender, and Atlantic Hockey accounts for 25% of the names on the list.

Atlantic Hockey boasts Jarrett Fiske (Niagara), Thomas Gale and Jason Grande (Holy Cross), Nicholas Grabko (Bentley), Owen Say (Mercyhurst), Tommy Scarfone (RIT), Chad Veltri (Robert Morris) and Nils Wallstrom (AIC) on this year’s list, as AHA netminders continue to pace goaltending metrics.

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Eight AHA Goaltenders Named to Richter Award Watch List.

📰: https://t.co/CTLrpgJR69 pic.twitter.com/iTOvpvmY5P

— Atlantic Hockey (@Atlantic_Hockey) January 12, 2024

Fiske, a graduate transfer and fifth-year senior, holds a 7-6 record with a .916 save percentage and 2.47 goals against average, which rank 13th and 19th, respectively, for goaltenders who have played a minimum of 10 games this season.

He went 10-8-6 for AIC last season with a .923 SV% and 2.38 GAA, along with two shutouts. He was the starting netminder after just four games over the previous three seasons.

Gale and Grande join the list as the only teammates. With equal playing time in the Crusaders’ crease, they have brought stability to Holy Cross, which sits tied for fifth in Atlantic Hockey.

Gale, a junior, is 17th in the NCAA with a 2.38 GAA and 12th nationally with a .918 SV%. Despite a 4-7-2 record, he’s had two shutouts this season.

Grande holds a 6-3-2 record, along with a shutout, .922 SV% (seventh in the NCAA) and 2.15 GAA (eighth in the NCAA). He went 12-7-1 last season as a key piece to the Crusaders’ postseason underdog run, prior to a loss in the conference championship.

Grabko, a senior, is in the midst of a career year with the Falcons, already eclipsing his previous win total (five wins in 2020-2021 and 2022-2023). His two shutouts this season are the only two on his NCAA resume, and his current .904 SV% and 2.52 GAA both are career highs in 11 regular-season games remaining for Bentley.

Tied for fifth place in the AHA, Say has been a stable presence for Mercyhurst’s offense-first style, which allows an average of 37.5 shots per game, or fourth-most in the NCAA.

The sophomore has gone 6-9-3 with a .918 SV% (12th nationally) and 3.04 GAA, both promising upticks from his 2022-2023 numbers (.903 SV% and 3.39 GAA).

Scarfone, a junior at RIT, holds a 12-6-1 record, along with two shutouts, .930 SV% (NCAA third-best) and 2.24 GAA (NCAA 11th-best).

Scarfone is the workhorse for the current AHA powerhouse, and they’re eyeing a national tournament run in the spring.

After four seasons with Niagara, Veltri transferred to Robert Morris as a bankable netminder during the Colonials return to the NCAA. Veltri entered RMU with a 41-46-9 career record, .912 SV% and 2.61 GAA.

RMU’s offense has been a deterrent in Veltri’s win-loss balance, holding a 6-12-3 record, but a formidable 2.91 GAA and .922 SV% rank him 45th and seventh in the NCAA.

Wallstrom, a freshman, has stepped into a big role following the loss of Fiske for AIC.

The Swede sits at 11-8-1 with a 2.63 GAA, .902 SV% and single shutout.

An eight-game stretch from Nov. 2 to Nov. 28 saw Wallstrom hold opponents to two or fewer goals in each game en route to HCA Goaltender of the Month.

His promising rookie campaign has AIC sitting in third place in Atlantic Hockey. After recently winning four consecutive regular-season championships (2019-2022), the program is retooling.

AIC's Nils Wallstrom Named HCA Goaltender of the Month!

📰: https://t.co/bgSA7C9m6v pic.twitter.com/07kbhvC4lO

— Atlantic Hockey (@Atlantic_Hockey) December 1, 2023

An NCAA panel will narrow the list by about half the names in early February, before the winner is selected during the Frozen Four, set to take place in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from April 10-13.

See the complete list of players to watch for the Mike Richter Award.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @Jacob_Messing.