Darien’s Knight is Hockey East Player of Year

Darien’s Spencer Knight, a sophomore goalie on the Boston College men’s ice hockey team, has been named the 2020-21 Hockey East Player of the Year, becoming the first Eagles’ netminder to win the league’s top individual award outright.

Former Eagle Thatcher Demko, who now plays with Vancouver in the NHL, shared the honor with UMass-Lowell’s Kevin Boyle for the 2015-16 season

Knight, a unanimous selection for the Hockey East first team as chosen by conference coaches, was also named the conference Goaltender of the Year.

Knight, who was chosen by the Florida Panthers as the 13th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, leads Hockey East with a save percentage of .937, and has a conference mark of 15-2-1, giving him five more wins than any other league goalie. He has averaged more than 30 saves per game, making 534 stops against 570 shots.

He began the season with a personal unbeaten streak of 11 games (10-0-1), and has posted three shutouts, including in back-to-back wins over then-No. 12 Providence College, 9-0 and 3-0, in December.

On February 26, Knight was named a finalist for the Mike Richter Award for the second straight year. That award is given annually to the top men’s goaltender in NCAA ice hockey.

Knight was the starting goaltender for the U.S. National Junior Team, which claimed the goal medal at the World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Knight made 35 saves as the US shut out heavily-favored Canada 2-0 in the title game.

That win gave Knight the record for most career shutouts for a Team USA goalie in the WJC tournament.

Boston College is the top seed in the Hockey East tournament and opened the postseason with a 3-2 win over No. 9 New Hampshire in the quarterfinals on Sunday. Knight, who was making his first career playoff start, had 35 saves, including 13 in the third period as the Eagles held on for the victory.

Boston College will host No. 7 UMass-Lowell in the semifinals at 4:30 p.m., Wednesday.