Tag: Frozen Four

Minnesota Duluth reached the Frozen Four with an epic win in the fifth overtime

Six hours of hockey.

We’re not talking Cawlidge Hawkey here. None of that grating Northeast accent in this post.

This is Midwest hockey and …. well, I don’t know how to write out a Minnesota accent. I think it’s like, “Oh, dontcha know there was a good game the other night and also here is a lovingly crafted pie I just baked.”

But this was a very good game, one that took more than six hours (or 142.13 of playing time) to complete. In the end, the two-time defending champion Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs won the longest game in NCAA Tournament history 3-2 in the fifth overtime to return to the men’s Frozen Four:

Slow motion, better angle:

That’s freshman Luke Mylymok, who appeared in all of 11 games this year, scoring off the rush on the 119th shot of the game. (I hereby decree that all Fifth OT goals scored in hockey, anywhere and everywhere, are now and forever known as “Mylymoks.”)

Mylymok hadn’t played a game in exactly a month, so maybe he had really fresh legs?

No. 1 seed North Dakota had tied this game by scoring two goals in the final two minutes after pulling its goalie.

https://twitter.com/betthepucks/status/1375992356688830467

Hilariously, the highlight package for this game stretches *16 minutes.*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F189nkF4vo&t=16s

Fighting Hawks coach Brad Berry had a wonderful way of putting the game into perspective after the crushing loss. From the Grand Forks Herald:

“It will probably go down as one of the most memorable games, even though we lost the game in overtime,” UND coach Brad Berry said. “That’s what sports is. I told the guys after the game, ‘This is life. This is what life is. It’s not fair.’ At the end of the day, we could have argued all day who should have won the game. . . we felt we had a very good opportunity. We had a ton of opportunities to win the game. We felt it wasn’t fair that we didn’t win the game. But again, that’s what sports is, that’s what life is. You keep moving on.”

Well said.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://ftw.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Former Notre Dame Goaltender Cale Morris Signs With Rockford IceHogs

The Chicago Blackhawks really seem to like Notre Dame products.

The Chicago Blackhawks really seem to like Notre Dame products. Over the past couple of months, we’ve seen them sign Cam Morrison and draft Landon Slaggert. Now, former Irish goaltender Cale Morris is joining the organization. More specifically, he has signed his first professional contract with the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.

Morris was Notre Dame’s starting goaltender for three of his four seasons. He played 105 games and earned a 58-35-10 record with a 2.17 GAA, a .932 save percentage and 11 shutouts. He was between the pipes when the Irish made the national title game in 2018. Two years in a row, he was the Most Outstanding Player in the Big Ten tournament.

During the 2019-20 season, Morris earned his third consecutive Academic All-Big Ten selection. He was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, a Senior Class Finalist and a unanimous selection to the First Team Preseason All-Big Ten. He was one of the conference Three Stars of the Week three times and an NCAA Star of the Week once.

Chicago Blackhawks Anticipating Clutch Goals from Cam Morrison

It could be a while before we know if former Notre Dame forward Cam Morrison makes the Chicago Blackhawks’ roster for 2020-21.

It could be a while before we know if former Notre Dame forward Cam Morrison makes the Chicago Blackhawks’ roster for 2020-21. He’ll probably start the season with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. What we do know is that he has a history of performing in the clutch. That’s what the Blackhawks are banking on according to a Chicago Sun-Times feature.

The story cites a few prominent moments in Morrison’s Notre Dame career. In 2017, he scored the tying goal (his second of the game) of the Irish’s overtime victory over UMass-Lowell that put them in the Frozen Four. The next year, he had the overtime goal in the Big Ten title game against Ohio State and later assisted on Jake Evans’ goal with six seconds left against Michigan that put the Irish in the national title game. The year after that, Morrison tormented Michigan again by scoring the game-winning goal in the Big Ten title game and also had an overtime tally against Clarkson in the NCAA tournament.

Irish coach Jeff Jackson agrees that Morrison has a knack to come up big when needed:

“Not every player has that ability to elevate in those key moments. Whatever characteristic that is, I’ve not had many players that have found a way to play their best hockey at the biggest moments. [But] he’s one of those guys that can do that.”

Jackson also assessed how Morrison needs to do to make the NHL and stay there:

“In order to become more than a role guy, he’s going to need to use that body and that reach more effectively on a consistent basis. He did that here at times, but the physical element to his game [needs] a little bit of a nasty streak at times to create more space for himself and be able to get into those dirty areas and compete for that ice.”

Best of luck to Morrison as he continues his hockey career. He’ll have the chance to prove himself. Whether he’s successful in doing that is up to him.

Former Notre Dame Defenseman Lucia Named CCHA Commissioner

In 1971, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association began play.

In 1971, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association began play. It thrived until massive realignment throughout college hockey led to its demise in 2013. Now, a new CCHA is set to begin play for the 2021-22 season. Someone needs to run it, and that someone is Don Lucia.

Lucia, a Notre Dame defenseman from 1977 to 1981, has been named commissioner of the new CCHA. As a player, he tabulated 23 of his 30 points for assists while playing under Lefty Smith. Immediately after graduating, he went into a coaching career, starting as an assistant at Alaska-Fairbanks and then Alaska-Anchorage before returning to Fairbanks to serve as head coach from 1987 to 1993. After taking the reins at Colorado College from 1993 to 1999, he went to coach at Minnesota and had his greatest achievements, becoming the winningest coach in program history and leading the Gophers to back-to-back national championships and five Frozen Fours before his retirement from coaching in 2018.

In 31 seasons as a head coach, Lucia went 736-403-102. He was the 1994 national coach of the year, the WCHA Coach of the Year three times and the 2014 Big Ten Coach of the Year. Now, he begins the next chapter of his hockey life. Best wishes to him for continued success.

Watch: Notre Dame’s Top 10 Hockey Game-Winning Goals

Notre Dame’s hockey team didn’t have the chance for its season to be cut short because it was knocked out of the Big Ten tournament.

Notre Dame’s hockey team didn’t have the chance for its season to be cut short because it was knocked out of the Big Ten tournament before the coronavirus hit. But we all could use a little goodness in our lives right now, so the athletic department’s YouTube channel has been releasing a bunch of top 10 countdowns to help provide that goodness. As of this writing, the most recent list ranks game-winning goals in the NCAA tournament for the Irish. Relive the thrills here:

Notre Dame Hockey: Cal Burke Signs With Colorado Eagles

Just because sports aren’t going on doesn’t mean sports aren’t going on.

Just because sports aren’t going on doesn’t mean sports aren’t going on. Though not nearly as big a story as Tom Brady leaving New England, it’s worth mentioning that Cal Burke, a senior captain for Notre Dame this past year, has signed a standard player contract with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL for the 2020-21 season. And yes, they’re affiliated with the Colorado Avalanche for those ignorant of minor league hockey.

In his final season for the Irish, Burke recorded seven goals and 14 assists over 37 games. He was a finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian Award for the second straight year and also was one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. The Business Analytics major will graduate from the Mendoza College of Business.

While helping the Irish get to the Frozen Four in 2017 and 2018 and win three straight Big Ten championships, Burke played 146 games and scored 88 points, 36 of them for goals.

Notre Dame Hockey: Dello Named Defensive Player of the Year Finalist

Tory Dello was named one of three finalists for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

Tory Dello continued what’s already been a busy offseason for Notre Dame on Wednesday by being named one of three finalists for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. The other nominees are Penn State’s Cole Hults and Michigan State’s Jared Rosburg.

Dello, who will graduate from the College of Arts and Letters in May as an American Studies major, played in all 37 games for the Irish this season. Ten of his 13 points were assists. Naturally, the alternate captain made his biggest impact on the blue line, and his 80 blocked shots were among the most in the NCAA.

Dello’s collegiate highlights include being on Notre Dame’s national runner-up team in 2018, another Frozen Four appearance in 2017, three Big Ten championships and back-to-back Big Ten tournament titles in 2018 and 2019. He recorded 40 points, 33 of them assists, in 154 career games. He blocked 270 shots and had two shootout goals to beat Michigan State over the past two seasons.

Buckeyes on the Bubble: Men’s Hockey Big Ten title up for grabs

The Ohio State Men’s Hockey team looks good to make the NCAA tournament after a road sweep of Michigan State this past weekend.

The Ohio State Men’s Hockey team looks good to make the NCAA tournament after a road sweep of Michigan State this past weekend.

Just two weeks after sitting in the final at-large spot for the NCAA Tournament, the Buckeyes are up to No. 9 in the PairWise Rankings. That spot has Ohio State solidly in the field, with no need to be concerned about bid thieves.

Michigan State is a solid team, and a road sweep over the Spartans is good for any resume. That, combined with some weakening of the bubble, put Ohio State in strong position moving forward.

Of course, nothing is guaranteed for the Buckeyes yet. This weekend, they close the regular season against Wisconsin. While the Badgers might have a great Men’s Hockey pedigree–including six National Championships and the first-ever Big Ten title in 2014–they are not the best of teams this year. Wisconsin sits at No. 33 in the PairWise Rankings, and a home series against the Badgers is dangerous.

The Buckeyes have enough bubble wiggle room now that they might be able to survive one loss (or tie) against Wisconsin, but it’s far from guaranteed. A sweep, however, would go a long way towards locking up a tournament bid for Ohio State, but it will definitely help. And, of course, the Big Ten Tournament comes up the following week. The first round is a best-of-three series, but Ohio State will lock up the No. 1 seed if it sweeps Wisconsin this weekend. That would likely mean avoiding a potential bad loss in the single-elimination semifinals, assuming higher seeds win the opening round.

Nothing is guaranteed yet. We can’t say anything until we see the first round and how the bubble picture is shaping up. But Ohio State Men’s Ice Hockey looks to be two wins away from an NCAA Tournament bid. Once it gets closer and more guaranteed, we’ll map out where the Buckeyes are likely headed and who the opponents will be.

The Buckeyes have reached the NCAA Tournament each of the last three seasons. They exited in the first round in 2017 and 2019, but reached the Frozen Four in 2018. Ohio State looks good to extend that streak to four years this season, and the season-ending home series against Wisconsin will go a long way towards that.

Notre Dame Hockey: Burke Nominated for Hockey Humanitarian Award

The Hockey Humanitarian Foundation announced Monday that Notre Dame senior captain Cal Burke has been named one of 13 nominees for the Hockey Humanitarian Award for the second straight year. The award is given to the hockey student-athlete who …

The Hockey Humanitarian Foundation announced Monday that Notre Dame senior captain Cal Burke has been named one of 13 nominees for the Hockey Humanitarian Award for the second straight year. The award is given to the hockey student-athlete who significantly contributes to his/her team as well as the community through volunteer work.

Burke is part of the Fighting Irish Fight for Life program and Notre Dame’s Student Athlete Advisory Council. He also launched and developed the Irish Strong Initiative, and he serves on a mental health sub-group within the SAAC. The purpose of the sub-group is to offer help and reduce the stigma around mental health.

Last year, Burke was Notre Dame’s Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree, and he won the Compton Family Leadership in Service Award.

Finalists for this year’s Hockey Humanitarian Award will be announced in February, and the winner will be honored during this year’s Frozen Four in April.