The Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate of the Blackhawks, signed goaltender Cale Morris to a one-year AHL contract Monday, the former Chicago Steel and Notre Dame standout announced on social media.
Morris was 12-7-14 with a .916 save percentage and three shutouts in 33 games as a senior for Notre Dame. The 6-foot-1, 191-pound Morris was 52-28-18 with a .931 save percentage and 11 shutouts during his four-year NCAA career.
His best season came as a sophomore when he was 27-8-1 with a .944 save percentage and four shutouts in 37 games. He helped the Fighting Irish win the Big Ten tournament title and was named the tournament most outstanding player, won the Mike Richter Award as the best goalie in the country and was a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in all of college hockey.
Prior to his time at Notre Dame, Morris was 58-32-6 with a .914 save percentage in 107 games with the Chicago Steel and Waterloo Black Hawks from 2013-16 in the USHL.
Morris is the second Notre Dame product to sign with the Blackhawks organization this offseason after his fellow teammate Cam Morrison inked a two-year NHL contract in August.
The Blackhawks will have Malcolm Subban, Collin Delia and Kevin Lankinen compete for two spots in the NHL, while the odd man out is expected to be the starter in Rockford. Matt Tomkins will likely be the backup goaltender in Rockford. All four are under NHL contracts.
Morris will look to be the third man in the IceHogs’ goaltender rotation along with Tom Aubrun, who signed a two-year AHL deal in April after being the Division III player of the year for Norwich University. The goalie who doesn’t take the third spot will likely head to the ECHL with the Indy Fuel.
Too many highlights to count. 🥅
Thank you, 3️⃣2️⃣.@calemorris · #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/1CQF5AHn4l
— Notre Dame Hockey (@NDHockey) May 15, 2020