CWHL announces finalists for Goaltender of the Year

Will Räty win Goaltender of the Year for the second straight season?

The CWHL announced its finalists for the 2019 Goaltender of the Year Award. This year, the finalists are Noora Räty of the Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays, Emerance Maschmeyer of Les Canadiennes de Montréal, and Alex Rigsby of the Calgary Inferno.

Räty, the winner of last year’s Goaltender of the Year Award, started in 20 games for the KRS Vanke Rays this season. The Finnish netminder finished the season with a .919 save percentage and a 2.56 GAA. Just like her first season in the CWHL, Räty had a heavy workload. She faced 4.9 more shots against per sixty minutes than Rigsby and 8.1 more SA60 than Maschmeyer this season.

This was Rigsby’s first season in the CWHL. The decorated American goaltender finished the season with an impressive 14-2-1 record for the Calgary Inferno. Rigsby’s .923 save percentage was one of the best in the league despite the fact that she had just one shutout during the regular season. Her consistent goaltending helped Calgary to a first place finish in the regular season standings.

As impressive as Räty and Rigsby’s numbers were, Maschmeyer’s were better.

Maschmeyer won a league-best 15 games this season. More importantly, she finished with the best save percentage (.935) and the highest number of quality starts (15) in the CWHL. Maschmeyer also earned four shutouts for Les Canadiennes and had her 12.032 goals saved above average was the highest in the league. She was a finalist for the Goaltender of the Year Award last season as well.

The winner of the 2019 Goaltender of the Year Award will be revealed on March 22 at the CWHL Awards Show in Toronto.

Previous Goaltenders of the Year

  • 2018 | Noora Räty, Kunlun Red Star
  • 2017 | Charline Labonté, Les Canadiennes de Montréal
  • 2016 | Charline Labonté, Les Canadiennes de Montréal
  • 2015 | Charline Labonté, Les Canadiennes de Montréal
  • 2014 | Delayne Brian, Calgary Inferno
  • 2013 | Geneviève Lacasse, Boston Blades
  • 2012 | Molly Schaus, Boston Blades
  • 2011 |  Kim St-Pierre, Montréal Stars
  • 2010 | Laura Hosier, Brampton Thunder
  • 2009 | Kim St-Pierre, Montréal Stars
  • 2008 | Kim St-Pierre, Montréal Stars/

Data courtesy of @CreaseGiants and thecwhl.com,