Denver’s Hayton takes home monthly HCA nod as November’s best
St. Lawrence junior goaltender Kyle Hayton has been named the Hockey Commissioners’ Association National Division I Player of the Month for November.
Hayton led the Saints to a No. 19 national ranking last month and finished November tied among all of his Division I counterparts in games started (8), posting a 5-0-3 record. He began the first weekend of the month by recording back-to-back shutout home wins in league play over Princeton and then-No. 6-ranked Quinnipiac. In doing so, he broke Bill Sloan‘s 60-year-old St. Lawrence program record for career shutouts with 10. He became the first Saints goaltender to post back-to-back shutouts since current volunteer goaltender coach Alex Petizian did it on Feb. 27-28, 2009, at RPI and Union.
The Denver native continued to backbone the Saints throughout the month, logging 494:36 minutes between the pipes, which was the most among all men’s Division I goaltenders. Hayton only allowed a total of nine goals, while making 232 saves for a .963 save percentage, which was fourth-best in the nation. He allowed two goals or fewer in all games, posting a 1.09 GAA, which was also fourth-best among his counterparts during November.
He capped-off the month by recording 37 saves in blanking Quinnipiac in the Friendship Four Tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Nov. 25 as the two teams skated to a scoreless overtime tie. He followed it up with a 35-save performance the following evening in a 2-2 overtime tie versus Massachusetts.
Hayton is now on a personal nine-game unbeaten streak (5-0-4), improving his overall winning percentage to .667, which has helped the Saints gain the top spot in league play with 12 points and a 5-0-2 record. He was also named ECAC Hockey’s Goaltender of the Month for November.
During his youth hockey days, Hayton played for the CC Jr. Tigers, the Colorado Thunderbirds and the Colorado Hockey Club (now Rampage).
Hayton was also the 2015-16 Colorado Rubber Magazine NCAA Player of the Year.