SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Alex Lyon of the Chicago Wolves is the recipient of the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award for the 2021-22 season. Since 1972, the award has been presented to the goaltender(s) on the team which allows the fewest goals per game in the regular season.
To qualify for the award, a goaltender must have appeared in at least 25 of his team’s games.
The Wolves, who won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the AHL’s regular-season champions with a record of 50-16-5-5 (.724), allowed an average of 2.55 goals per game in 2021-22, leading the league for the first time since joining the AHL in 2001.
Lyon made 30 appearances in net for Chicago, posting a record of 18-7-3 and ranking second in the AHL with a 2.16 goals-against average while registering a .912 save percentage and three shutouts. He also played two games in the NHL with the parent Carolina Hurricanes. The sixth-year pro from Baudette, Minn., has a career mark of 93-61-18 with a 2.65 GAA, a .913 save percentage and nine shutouts in 179 AHL appearances with Chicago and Lehigh Valley.
Lyon was one of eight goaltenders to appear in a game for the Wolves this season, joining Pyotr Kochetkov, Eetu Makiniemi, Jack LaFontaine, Dylan Wells, Daniel Mannella, Michael Lackey and Beck Warm.
The Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award, which was first awarded in 1948 to the goaltender with the best goals-against average in the AHL, is named for Hockey Hall of Famer Harry “Hap” Holmes, a prominent figure in early professional hockey and an outstanding goaltender of his time. Previous winners or co-winners of the award include Gil Mayer (1951, ’53, ’54, ’55, ’56), Johnny Bower (1957, ’58), Marcel Paille (1961, ’62), Gerry Cheevers (1965), Gilles Villemure (1969, ’70), Pete Peeters (1979), Pelle Lindbergh (1981), Clint Malarchuk (1983), Vincent Riendeau (1987, ’88), Corey Hirsch (1993), Olaf Kolzig (1994), Byron Dafoe (1994), Mike Dunham (1995), Manny Legace (1996), Jean-Sebastien Giguere (1998), Martin Biron (1999), Cory Schneider (2009), Matt Murray (2015), Tristan Jarry (2017), Casey DeSmith (2017), Garret Sparks (2018), Calvin Pickard (2018), Troy Grosenick (2020), Connor Ingram (2020), Pheonix Copley (2021) and Zach Fucale (2021).
In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for all 32 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of all players competing in the NHL are AHL graduates, and through the years the American Hockey League has been home to more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
