UConn’s Tia Chan named NCAA women’s college goalie of the year

One of the most talented puck stoppers in college hockey has rounded out her career with one of the game’s highest honors.

On Thursday, the Women’s Hockey Commissioners’ Association announced that Tia Chan of the Connecticut Huskies has been named the Women’s College Hockey Goalie of the Year.

Chan becomes the first goaltender in the program’s history to be granted the award.

The graduate student finished up her tenure in Storrs with one of her best performances. She played in all but two games this season, posting a 27-8-2 record, tied with Penn State netminder Katie DeSa for second in the NCAA in wins, both trailing Quinnipiac’s Felicia Frank. Chan’s .951 save percentage ranked second in the country, with a 1.54 goals-against average, placing her fourth. She is also tied for ninth with five shutouts.

The Hamilton, Ont. native was named a Hockey East First-Team All-Star for the second year in a row, as well as earning the title as the conference’s goaltender of the year once again.

Chan’s individual performance helped the Huskies go far in the postseason. Her heroics helped UConn win the conference championship for the second time in program history, with the team winning a game in the national tournament for the first time. The Huskies beat Princeton in the first round, but lost to the Nittany Lions in the regional finals.

Chan, one of the top goaltending prospects expected to head to the PWHL Draft, finishes her collegiate career record of 64-37-13, a 1.58 GAA, a .944 SV% and 23 shutouts.

This is the sixth year the award has been presented. Current PWHL stars and former Northeastern standouts Aerin Frankel (Boston Fleet) and Gwyneth Philips (Ottawa Charge) previously took home the honor, with Frankel being named the NCAA’s top women’s goaltender in 2021 and 2022. With Chan winning the award, four of the six goalies of the year have come from Hockey East.