Minnesota State Mankato goalie Dryden McKay named WCHA Player of the Year

Dryden McKay, the goalie who's won 71 games for Minnesota State Mankato over the past three seasons, on Friday was named WCHA Player of the Year by the league's head coaches. McKay swept three major conference awards this week, also being named the WCHA Goaltender of the Year and the first-team All-WCHA goalie.

McKay, a candidate for both the Hobey Baker and Mike Richter awards and a first-team All-America selection last year, leads the nation with a 1.32 goals-against average, eight shutouts and .895 winning percentage (17-2). His .933 save percentage ranks sixth among goalies with 10 or more starts. In WCHA play this season, he set a conference record with a 1.07 GAA, doing so for the third consecutive year.

On Feb. 12, McKay posted his 22^nd career shutout, setting a WCHA record and moving into second place on the NCAA career list, trailing only the 26 shutouts recorded by Michigan State's Ryan Miller from 1999-2002.

Other candidates for player of the year were Minnesota State forward Julian Napravnik and defenseman Akito Hirose, Bowling Green defenseman Will Cullen and Bemidji State defenseman Elias Rosen. McKay, a junior from Downers Grove, Ill., joins former Mavericks forwards Marc Michaelis (2019-20) and C.J. Suess, (2017-18) as conference player of the year.

McKay is the 10^th goalie to win WCHA MVP or Player of the Year honors, joining Minnesota's Murray McLachlan (1968-69, 1969-70), Denver's Ron Grahame (1972-73), Minnesota Duluth's Bob Mason (1982-83), Minnesota's Robb Stauber (1987-88), Wisconsin's Curtis Joseph (1988-89), Wisconsin's Duane Derksen (1991-92), Colorado College's Richard Bachman (2007-08), Denver's Marc Cheverie (2009-10) and Bemidji State's Michael Bitzer (2016-17).