NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Junior forward Cal Burke has been named one of 17 nominees for the 2019 Hockey Humanitarian Award. Currently Notre Dame’s leading scorer, Burke has excelled on the ice, in the classroom and in the community.
Prior to the start of the season, the Burke was voted an alternate captain by his teammates. As a business analytics major in the Mendoza College of Business, Burke now carries an impressive 3.427 cumulative GPA. The team’s 2018 Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Student-Athlete Award winner, Burke also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors following the 2017-18 season.
Burke serves as the team’s Student Athlete Advisory Council representative and leads the Irish in multiple service initiatives, including serving as the team’s point person for the team’s Fighting Irish Fight for Life program. Burke also serves on a mental health sub-group within the Student Athlete Advisory Council, which is working to reduce the stigma around mental health and help-seeking.
The Boxborough, Massachusetts, native leads the team with nine goals and 20 points. Burke scored his second career hat trick in the third period to lift Notre Dame to a 6-6 tie in the season opener versus Mercyhurst (Oct. 12) as he became the first Irish player with multiple career hat tricks since Anders Lee had two (Oct. 8, 2010 and Oct. 1, 2011). He had a career-high five-point game in Notre Dame’s 8-2 win at Omaha (Oct. 20) on two goals and a career-high three assists. One of his goals in that win over the Mavericks was his first career shorthanded tally. He also scored the overtime, game-winning goal against Northern Michigan to lift the Irish to a the 2-1 victory (Nov. 27).
The award is presented annually to college hockey’s finest citizen — a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism.
Finalists for the 2019 Hockey Humanitarian Award will be announced in February. The 2019 recipient will be honored in a ceremony on Friday, April 12th as part of the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four weekend in Buffalo, New York.
Burke and the Irish return to Compton Family Ice Arena this weekend (Jan. 11-12) for a pair of games against Big Ten foe Minnesota. Puck drop for both contests is set for 7 p.m. ET. For tickets, visit und.com/buytickets or call 833-ND-IRISH and keep up to date with all ticketing information by following @NDtix on Twitter.
The following are this year’s nominees:
Name Cl. Pos. School Hometown
Cam Beecy Sr. D Norwich University Stowe, Vermont.
Devin Brosseau Jr. F Clarkson University Saint-Lambert, Quebec
Jake Bunz Sr. D University of Wisconsin Middleton, Wis.
Cal Burke Jr. F University of Notre Dame Boxborough, Mass.
Stevie DeForge Sr. F Babson College Norwood, Mass.
Vincent Desharnais Sr. D Providence College Laval, Quebec
Ian Edmondson Sr. D Canisius College Toronto, Ontario
Jessie Eldridge Sr. F Colgate University Barrie, Ontario
Ryan Galt Sr. F Univ. of Nebraska Omaha Omaha, Neb.
Nick Kossoff Sr. G Lake Superior State Univ. West Des Moines, Iowa
Annie Pankowski Sr. F University of Wisconsin Laguna Hills, Calif.
Tommy Parran Sr. D The Ohio State University Shaker Heights, Ohio
Jacyn Reeves Sr. F The Ohio State University Holmen, Wis.
Samantha Ridgewell Sr. G Merrimack College Outlook, Saskatchewan
Luke Rivera * Sr. F SUNY Fredonia Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Josh Teves Sr. D Princeton University Calgary, Alberta
James Varney Jr. F Stonehill College Smithfield, Maine
* Repeat Nominee
— ND —