March 14, 2018
NOTRE DAME, Indiana — University of Notre Dame goaltender Cale Morris, the national leader in save percentage, has been named one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award.
Morris, who was named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year, makes the top-10 cut after having been one of three Irish players up for the Hobey Fan Vote in the previous round (Jake Evans, Jordan Gross). He is joined in the final 10 by Henrik Borgström, Denver; Ryan Donato, Harvard; Matthew Galajda, Cornell; Adam Gaudette, Northeastern; Dylan McLaughlin, Canisius; Colton Point, Colgate; Jimmy Schuldt, St. Cloud; Dylan Sikura, Northeastern and CJ Suess, Minnesota State. Morris is the only player from the Big Ten still in the running for the award.
Morris becomes the fourth player in program history to make the Hobey Top 10, joining Anders Bjork (2017), goaltender David Brown (2007) and Dave Poulin (1982). Brown finished as the runner-up in 2007 while piloting the Irish to their first-ever NCAA tournament victory, earning the highest finish in Hobey voting by a Notre Dame player.
The ten finalists were selected by voting from all 60 Division I college hockey head coaches and by online fan balloting. Next, the 27-member Selection Committee and an additional round of fan balloting through the Hobey website at www.hobeybaker.com from March 14-25 will determine this year’s Hobey Baker winner. Criteria for the award include: displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game, strength of character on and off the ice, sportsmanship and scholastic achievements.
The Hobey Hat Trick (three finalists) will be announced on March 29, 2018, and the Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced on Friday, April 6, 2018, from St. Paul, Minnesota, during the NCAA Frozen Four. The award announcement will take place at the legendary Roy Wilkins Auditorium. The announcement will be televised live on the NHL Network and streamed on the Hobey Baker website at 6:00 p.m. ET.
Morris, also a Richter Award semifinalist for the nation’s top goaltender, is 23-7-1 on the season to go along with a 1.93 goals against average and a .946 save percentage. He leads the nation in save percentage and is tied for the national lead in victories. His goals against average led the Big Ten, as did his four shutouts.
In Notre Dame’s single-season record book, Morris’ save percentage would rank first all-time, while his goals against average would be third and his total saves would be sixth. Morris is a semifinalist for the Richter Award given to the nation’s most outstanding goalie. Morris has also been named a Big Ten Star of the week eight times this season, including five First Star honors.
B1G Championship Game
Morris and the third-ranked Irish host the championship game of the 2018 Big Ten Hockey Tournament on Saturday, March 17, when No. 5 Ohio State visits Compton Family Ice Arena. Faceoff is set for 8 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on Big Ten Network. Click here to purchase tickets.