St. Lawrence University freshman hockey goaltender Kyle Hayton is one of five finalists for the 2015 Richter Award, presented to the top goalie in the nation.

Let's Play Hockey and the Herb Brooks Foundation announced today the five finalists for the 2015 Mike Richter Award, which honors the most outstanding goaltender in NCAA men's hockey. The second annual award will be presented by Mike Richter at the 2015 NCAA Men's Frozen Four in Boston.

Arguably the top rookie goaltender in college hockey this season, Kyle Hayton backstopped St. Lawrence to a second-place finish in the ECAC. A native of Denver, Hayton owns a 20-12-3 record and has played in all but one game this season for the Saints. He ranks tied for first in the nation in save percentage (.939) and fifth in shutouts (5), and ranks sixth in goals-against average (1.90). Hayton ranks first in the ECAC in save percentage,  third in goals-against average.

His five shutouts broke the school record and is just four shutouts short of Bill Sloan's career mark of nine. Hayton has posted a .930 or better save percentage in all but five games this season (his first five games as a collegiate goalie) and has made 1,035 saves this season, the most in the nation. He has 16 games with 30 or more saves, including a 51-save effort in a 2-1 loss at Miami on Oct. 25 and a 46-save performance in a 5-1 win at Harvard on Jan. 17. Hayton is undecided on a major and owns a GPA of 3.472.