The HCA National Women’s Goalie of the Year Award Watch List is Out. Here's Who to Keep an Eye On.

The Women’s Hockey Commissioners Association released their 31-player watch list for their 2026 National Women’s Goalie of the Year award. The award was created in 2021 to recognize the top women’s goaltender in NCAA Division I hockey. The list includes goaltenders from every Division I conference. The watch list is made up of goalies who have a goals-against average of 2.20 or lower or a save percentage of .923 or higher. The voting committee will decide on a winner, who will be announced in March during the Frozen Four. A list of semifinalists will also be released, usually around the second week of February (like it has in years past).

Also of note: “The process allows for goalies not on this first list to be considered before the first vote.” So there is hope for some new names to appear later this season.

I went through the list and chose a few standout goaltenders that you should keep your eye on when the semifinalists and finalists are announced later.

If you have a favorite goalie on the 31-player list, let us know who it is! You can check out the full list and stats of each goalie here.

Let’s start with one of the best goaltenders in all of the NCAA.

Tia Chan - UConn

Chan is a lights-out goalie. Her current stats with the fifth-ranked UConn this season are the same as the ones she finished with last season, and there is still about a month to go in the regular season. Chan ended last season with 1.54 GAA,  a .945 save percentage, five shutouts, and a 14-8-2 record. Currently she has a 1.55 GAA, .952 save percentage, three shutouts, and a 18-3-2 record. Do you see the similarities? Chan finished as a semifinalist for this same award last year but I think we need to have a conversation about how great she plays and how incredible her record is. She hasn’t allowed more than three goals in a game this season, and she has a six game win streak at time of this writing. She recently reached 100 games played and her save percentage is second best in the country. Her stats have the chance to climb higher, especially because of how well she has been playing and also how well the team in front of her has been playing too.

I asked TIG’s Hockey East writer Emma Sullivan about Chan. She said Chan is one of the most consistent goalies in the NCAA since she started her career. Though UConn has had a massive defensive turnover the last two years, her stats haven’t faltered much at all despite that change. One of her biggest strengths according to Sullivan is Chan’s puck tracking ability.

Emilia Kyrkkö - St. Cloud State

Kyrkkö had an interesting freshman year last season. She arrived at St. Cloud State and was thrown into the backup goalie role behind the now Ottawa Charge netminder Sanni Ahola. Kyrkkö settled in with the Huskies and finished with a 2.10 goals against average in conference play. She was named to last year’s watch list and was also a WCHA Rookie of the Year finalist. She’s only made 14 appearances so far this season due to injury. Her return was great, though, as the team tied with Wisconsin in her first game back. In that same game, she made a career high 52 saves. Her 6-4-2 record isn’t something to write home about, but her save percentage of .939 and goals against average of 2.02 is. She also has three shutouts so far. Kyrkkö will be making her Olympic debut next month as she was chosen as one of Finland’s goaltenders for the games. She is a talented goalie and someone who has kept St. Cloud in games this season. For a Huskies team struggling this year, the numbers from her own play are still impressive and will continue to get better.

Ava Drabyk - Syracuse

The freshman has had a good run as of late. She began the new calendar year with four straight wins with three of those being shutouts and only allowing one goal. Drabyk also helped lead Syracuse to a tie, then a shootout win against then-fifth-ranked Cornell in November. That win was the first for the Orange against the Big Red in 17 games. In that game, she made a career high 48 saves and allowed no goals in the shootout. Her 2.15 goals against average ranks 18th in the nation and third in the AHA. She is second in the AHA with a .930 save percentage and first in the conference with 686 saves. Drabyk has been tested a lot this season, and though she’s a freshman, she’s put together some decent numbers. Her addition to this list isn’t a shock and it will be fun to see how she continues not only the rest of the season but her collegiate career as well.

Ava McNaughton - Wisconsin

McNaughton is the reigning HCA Goalie of the Year. She’s also a reigning national champ with Wisconsin, and was recently named an Olympian with Team USA. It’s pretty wild to remember she’s a college hockey goaltender! The junior has appeared in 21 games and has an 20-1-2 record. That is the most wins by any goalie in college. She ranks second nationally in shutouts with six, ranks fourth in save percentage with .943, but leads the nation in GAA with a 1.21 average. Sitting in the top five of those categories and only having one loss is great for McNaughton’s chances of repeating as the top goalie.

Annelies Bergmann - Cornell

Bergmann is a goalie I very much like. She was ECAC Goalie of the Year last season and was a finalist for this exact HCA award in 2024. I thought she was fantastic in Cornell’s NCAA playoff appearances last year, where they made it to the Frozen Four for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Now the Big Red have an 12-7-2 record and are sixth in the ECAC. Bergmann is still putting together a strong season. She began this season with a seven-game win streak and currently has a 1.91 goals against average and a .930 save percentage. She is also tied for sixth nationally with four shutouts. She’s appeared in 21 games and I think that’s a stat that should be considered when deciding on this award.

Katie DeSa - Penn State

Penn State started the season playing incredibly well. They had a 16-game win streak in the first half of the season and were 12-0 in AHA conference play too. DeSa began the season with a five-game win streak and was terrific in net for the Nittany Lions. She currently leads the country in shutouts, with seven, and is ranked second nationally in goals against average with an average of 1.35. The team has struggled as of late and DeSa’s only flaw is her save percentage of .928, which ranks 20th in the nation. But, she’s still a fantastic goalie that has played well and bounced back whenever PSU has needed it. The team is talented up front, but when they’ve played in close games, DeSa has been one of the reasons the team has come out with a win.

You can read more about DeSa in a section of this story here:

Checking In on Penn State’s Season So Far

A check-in on Penn State’s season at the holiday break.

The Ice GardenGiselle Velazquez

Hannah Clark - Minnesota

In 17 appearances this season, Clark has a 14-3-0 record. One of those 13 wins came against top ranked and reigning national champions, Wisconsin, who suffered their first loss of the season that night. In that game, Clark made 39 saves and allowed only one goal. For the record, Wisconsin has a goals per game average of 5.50 in conference play. She also had two big wins against Ohio State this season as well. She has a GAA of 1.92 and a save percentage of .925, has three shutouts and has made 370 saves so far this season. Nationally, her GAA and save percentage are ranked in the top 20. She’s only in her sophomore season but I can see her numbers getting stronger the rest of the way. And with Minnesota finding their winning ways once again – Clark and the team are currently on a seven-game win streak – she’s going to be able to keep making a case for herself to appear in the semifinalists list at least.

Felicia Frank - Quinnipiac

One of a few goalies in college hockey that can reach a win record like McNaughton’s is Quinnipiac’s Felicia Frank. The Swedish netminder started her Bobcats career with back-to-back shutouts last season and hasn’t let up at all this season, starting off with nine straight wins. In those nine wins, she had two shutouts. There is no such thing as a sophomore slump for Frank. She has a 1.31 GAA, a .945 save percentage, and a 19-5-2 record. 

I asked TIG’s resident ECAC writer Eli Fastiff about Frank and he shared an interesting stat about her. Frank has only allowed three or more goals four times in her career. FOUR! That’s a super strong stat. He also called Frank a shutout “machine.” She can carry her own even with a solid Bobcats defense in front of her.

With those numbers and that record, Frank is having a stellar season and should be taken into serious consideration for a semifinalist spot – even a finalist spot too.

Lisa Jönsson - Northeastern

Sweden’s Lisa Jönsson made her second straight appearance on the HCA watch list. The sophomore currently boasts a 13-4-0 record, a 1.82 GAA, and a .925 save percentage. At one point this season she had won seven straight games. She made a season-high 36 saves against Providence earlier this month and has only allowed more than four goals in one game this season, against Quinnipiac. Last year as a freshman she was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team and the All-USCHO Rookie Team as well. She was also the Beanpot MVP in 2025.

Sullivan added her own expertise of what makes Jönsson special including her awareness of where a play is developing and her ability to be at the right place at the right time which helps Northeastern win games. Jönsson was getting looked at for Sweden’s Olympic hockey team and though she didn’t make the cut, it speaks a lot to what Jönsson is capable of.

Ève Gascon - Minnesota Duluth

Aside from Bergmann, Gascon is one of my most favorite goaltenders in college hockey. She was a finalist for this award the last two seasons and was the WCHA Goaltender of the Year last season and appeared at The Rivalry Series for Canada in the fall. She didn’t make the Canadian Olympic team but at least she’s on this watch list. Minnesota Duluth hasn’t been having a typical Duluth season. They are currently 12-10-2 and ranked ninth by the USCHO, which aren’t numbers we saw last year with the Bulldogs. Gascon, on the other hand, started the season with a 4-0 record with two of those wins being shutouts. She has struggled a bit this year, but I don’t fault Gascon for that. The Bulldogs didn’t look great during last year’s NCAA playoffs and that seems to have bled into this season, hence the record. I do believe Gascon is one of the best goaltenders in the conference, and even though her numbers aren’t stunning, her gameplay is reliable and saves Duluth’s butt when needed. Her 10-8-1 record won’t do her favors but her save percentage of .933 is good. Her goals against average of 2.15 isn’t the best, but if any goalie can carry a team, better her own numbers, and help her team turn around their second half, it’s Gascon.

Mari Pietersen - Boston University

Pietersen is one of the interesting stories in college hockey. She appeared in 10 games in the 2024-25 season and won six of those games. The majority of the starts that season went to Callie Shanahan, who was drafted by the New York Sirens of the PWHL in June. The Terriers had two solid options in net this season with the transfer of Michelle Pasiechnyk after a year off and Pietersen. Though BU got off to an 0-5 record to start the season and Pietersen struggled at times too, she’s bounced back nicely. At the Friendship Series in Belfast, she led the Terries to an upset win in a shootout against then-eighth-ranked Quinnipiac. She won MVP after defeating Harvard in the final. She then helped beat Harvard in the final with a 3-2 win. Don’t worry, she followed that up by backstopping BU to a win against Northeastern at the Beanpot last week. She did all that in the span of about 10 days. Her season stats currently read 13 starts with a 2.28 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Pietersen is gaining recognition at a time when she’s playing well.

Maggie Hatch - Robert Morris University

This is the redshirt junior’s third appearance on the watch list. She’s fourth in the nation with five shutouts (tied with fellow AHA goaltender Ava Drabyk) She is 8-9-2, has a GAA of 2.08 and a save percentage of .932. Though her record doesn’t look great at first glance, her save percentage is ranked 13th nationally and first in the AHA. She is also 2-0 in shootouts. Hatch has played over 1100 minutes for the Colonials and is described as a consistent backbone of the team’s defense. She is only the third goaltender in program history to make more than 2,000 career saves and has made 30 or more saves in 40 games. Hatch was most recently Co-Goalie of the Month in December, sharing the honor with McNaughton. A tried and true goalie with collegiate recognition already in her career, Hatch is a workhorse, proving she can handle any kind of pressure on the ice.

Honorable Mentions

• Grace Campbell - Boston College
• Zoe Cliche - Vermont
• Abby Hornung - Holy Cross
• Sedona Blair - UNH
• Ainsley Tuffy - Harvard
• Anya Zupkofska - Brown