Tag: Rockford IceHogs

Former Notre Dame forward signs contract extension with Blackhawks

Good job, Landon!

Earlier in this calendar year, [autotag]Landon Slaggert[/autotag] was finishing up his collegiate career with Notre Dame. Now, he has security for his professional career for the immediate future.

Slaggert has signed a two-year, one-way contract extension with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he made his NHL debut late last season. His initial NHL action consisted of four points in 16 games, including one goal.

Slaggert is beginning this season with the Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate. As he went straight to the Blackhawks after finishing with the Irish last season, this is his first time with that club. There’s no telling right now when and if he gets called up.

Slaggert has wasted no time in contributing to the IceHogs. He tallied one assist in a 4-1 season-opening win over the Grand Rapids Griffins, the only game they’ve played so far. He’ll get two chances to add to that assists this weekend when the IceHogs play a home-and-home against the Milwaukee Admirals:

Best of luck to Slaggert in his first full professional season.

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Former Notre Dame goaltender Cale Morris earns first professional win

Notre Dame always will be grateful to Cale Morris for being the goaltender that nearly brought it a national championship.

Notre Dame always will be grateful to Cale Morris for being the goaltender that nearly brought it a national championship. Even after that memorable run, he continued to provide solid play in net for a couple more seasons. It is against this backdrop that Morris picked up his first professional win in his first professional start Tuesday for the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL.

Morris was named the first star for the IceHogs’ 3-2 win over the Cleveland Monsters. He made 35 saves and recorded a .946 save percentage while leading the IceHogs to their first win of the season. Yes, it’s been a trying early part of the season for Rockford, which needed seven games to finally get in the win column.

Morris appeared in his first professional game Monday when he relieved Matt Tomkins for the third period of a 7-3 loss to the Monsters. He stopped 13 of 14 shots during that time, and there’s no question that all of that influenced coach Derek King to make the switch. The question remains how long King will stick with Morris after back-to-back nights of solid play.

 

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.