CHICAGO — The Big Ten announced their annual awards on Tuesday afternoon and Notre Dame’s Bobby Nardella, Cale Morris, Michael Graham, Dylan Malmquist and Cal Burke each earned honors following the 2018-19 regular season.
Nardella was named an All-Big Ten First Team selection, while Morris earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors. Graham was named to the six member Big Ten All-Freshman Team, while Malmquist was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection. Burke was named the team’s Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.
Nardella, a senior from Rosemont, Illinois, leads the team with 31 points in 35 games on seven goals and a team-best 24 assists. After becoming the 54th player in program history to hit the century mark with 23 goals and 77 assists in 144 games, he ranks seventh all-time at Notre Dame in scoring among defensemen.
Nardella’s 31 points this season mark a career-high total, as do his 24 assists. Named an alternate captain prior to the start of the season, he opened the year with a career-high three assists versus Mercyhurst in Notre Dame’s 6-6 tie (Oct. 12). He posted a career-high five points in Notre Dame’s 8-2 win at Omaha on two goals and three assists. Nardella’s additional season highlights have included scoring a goal and adding two assists to help lead Notre Dame to a 6-4 win at Wisconsin (Jan. 18). He also scored the game-tying goal with three minutes left in the third period in Notre Dame’s eventual 1-1 tie versus Michigan State on Jan. 26 and the Irish went on to secure the additional Big Ten point in the shootout, helping the team place second in the standings.
Morris, a junior from Larkspur, Colorado, has once again put together a stellar season in the Notre Dame goal. He has 17 wins on the season to go along with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage, which ranks seventh in the country. A 2018 All-American and Mike Richter Award winner, he was also named a 2019 Mike Richter Semifinalist (March 14). Morris has made 21 starts this season against top-20 offenses (rated by goals per game).
During the 2018-19 regular season, he shutout Providence in a 3-0 win on Oct. 13 and blanked Boston College in a 4-0 victory on Dec. 31. He posted a season-high 49 saves in Notre Dame’s 6-3 win over Michigan State, including 20 stops in the third period (Jan. 25).
Building on the strong regular season, Morris has put together a great start to the 2019 postseason to help lead the Irish to the championship game of the 2019 Big Ten Tournament. He posted his first two career playoff shutouts as the Irish blanked Michigan State in back-to-back Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal games by scores of 1-0 and 2-0 on March 8-9. He was named the NCAA’s First Star of the Week following his back-to-back shutouts of Michigan State (March 12). Then in Notre Dame’s overtime semifinal win against Minnesota, he stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced. In the three Big Ten Tournament games, he has a 0.33 goals-against average and a .988 save percentage.
Graham, a freshman from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, has had a breakout second half for the Irish, developing into one of the country’s top goal scorers over that time period. On the season he has skated in 36 games while scoring a team-high 12 goals and adding nine assists for 21 points.
Eleven of his 12 goals have come since Jan. 18 and eight have been on the power play. His eight power-play goals are tied for 14th in the country (tied for third among Big Ten skaters) and rank second nationally among freshmen. In Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament semifinal versus Minnesota (March 16), Graham scored the biggest goal of his young career when he fired home the overtime, game-winning power-play goal 53 seconds into the extra stanza to send the Irish to the Big Ten Championship game.
Malmquist, a senior from Edina, Minnesota, has a career-high 30 points on 10 goals and 20 assists in 37 games this season. His 10 goals rank tied for third on the team, while his 20 assists rank second. He had 18 points in Big Ten play (4-14-18) and totaled six multi-point games on the season. An alternate captain, he opened the year with a career-best four-point performance (1-3-4) in Notre Dame’s 6-6 tie with Mercyhurst (Oct. 12). He also had two goals and an assist to lead the Irish to a 6-3 win over Michigan State (Jan. 25). A finance major in the Mendoza College of Business, Malmquist has earned Hockey East or Big Ten All-Academic team honors in each of the previous three seasons.
Burke, a junior from Boxborough, Mass., is one of the team’s leading scorers with 27 points on 11 goals and 16 assists. He has played in 33 games this season while taking just three minor penalties for six PIMs. An alternate captain and one of just 17 2019 Hockey Humanitarian nominees, he is also one of Notre Dame’s leaders off the ice. He 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.
Up Next
Following No. 2 seeded Notre Dame’s dramatic 2-1 overtime win against Minnesota last Saturday night coupled with No. 4 seed Penn State defeating Ohio State 5-1 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, the Fighting Irish will host the Nittany Lions at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 23 at the Compton Family Ice Arena.
Saturday’s contest will be televised by the Big Ten Network. Ticket information for Saturday’s game is available here.
It will mark the second consecutive season Notre Dame will host the championship game since joining the Big Ten. Last season, after defeating Penn State 3-2 in the semifinals, the Irish posted an 3-2 overtime win against Ohio State to claim the 2018 Big Ten Tournament Championship.
2018-19 All-Big Ten Hockey Team and Individual Awards
As selected by Big Ten coaches and Media Voting Panel
FIRST TEAM*
TARO HIROSE, F, MICHIGAN STATE
Rem Pitlick, F, Minnesota
Mason Jobst, F, Ohio State
Evan Barratt, F, Penn State
Quinn Hughes, D, Michigan
Bobby Nardella, D, Notre Dame
Tommy Nappier, G, Ohio State
* – Additional honoree due to tie
SECOND TEAM
Patrick Khodorenko, F, Michigan State
Tyler Sheehy, F, Minnesota
Sasha Larocque, D, Ohio State
Wyatt Kalynuk, D, Wisconsin
Cale Morris, G, Notre Dame
HONORABLE MENTION
Will Lockwood, F, Michigan
Mitchell Lewandowski, F, Michigan State
Dylan Malmquist, F, Notre Dame
Tanner Laczynski, F, Ohio State
Brandon Biro, F, Penn State
Zach Osburn, D, Michigan State
Cole Hults, D, Penn State
K’Andre Miller, D, Wisconsin
Mat Robson, G, Minnesota
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
SAMMY WALKER, F, MINNESOTA
Michael Graham, F, Notre Dame
Gustaf Westlund, F, Ohio State
Dennis Cesana, D, Michigan State
K’Andre Miller, D, Wisconsin
Drew DeRidder, G, Michigan State
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Taro Hirose, F, Michigan State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Defenseman or Forward)
Sasha Larocque, D, Ohio State
GOALTENDER OF THE YEAR
Tommy Nappier, G, Ohio State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Sammy Walker, F, Minnesota
COACH OF THE YEAR
STEVE ROHLIK, OHIO STATE
SCORING CHAMPION
Taro Hirose, F, Michigan State
UNANIMOUS SELECTIONS IN ALL CAPS
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Jack Becker, Michigan; Brennan Sanford, Michigan State; Brent Gates Jr., Minnesota; Cal Burke, Notre Dame; Brendon Kearney, Ohio State; Chase Berger, Penn State; Peter Tischke, Wisconsin.
— ND —