Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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92 MARCH 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI A t the Forest Hill Cemetery in Ann A r b o r, M i c h . , some rumbling beneath the earth might h a v e o c c u r re d t h i s Feb. 9. O n t h a t e v e n i n g , Notre Dame hockey won a Big Ten champi- onship in its debut year in the conference. The Fighting Irish hoisting a Big Ten championship banner might leave leg- endary Michigan Wol- verines football coach/ athletics director Field- ing H. Yost agitated at his eternal resting place. I ro n i c a l l y, i t w a s Yost's antipathy and eventual blackballing of Notre Dame from ever joining the Big Ten early in the 20th century that in a roundabout way helped elevate its foot- ball program into na- tional prominence. The 2-1 victory by the No. 1-ranked Fight- ing Irish versus then-No. 6 Ohio State Feb. 9 clinched the conference crown, with weekend series remain- ing against Michigan and Michigan State to close out February prior to the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments in March. Ranked No. 1 nationally several weeks since the turn of the new year, Notre Dame's dominance in its new league has been startling. Entering the series versus Michigan Feb. 16- 17, head coach Jeff Jackson's Irish were 22-6-2 overall and 16-3-1-1 in the Big Ten. It also was No. 3 in the PairWise rankings, behind St. Cloud State and reigning national champ Denver, which defeated Notre Dame in the Frozen Four last season. With 50 conference points (teams are awarded three points for a vic- tory, two points for a shootout vic- tory and one point for a shootout loss), the Irish were 13 points ahead of second-place Ohio State's 37. Under Jackson, who has directed the school to three Frozen Fours since taking over the moribund operation in 2005, this was Notre Dame's sixth conference title, with the previous five occurring in the Central Colle- giate Hockey Association, which also included several of the current Big Ten members. Unfortunately, the Feb. 9 playoff atmosphere and celebration on home ice was tempered the next evening with an inevitable letdown when the Buckeyes handed Notre Dame a 5-1 defeat following a three-goal final period. "We're not through improving," said Jackson, a reminder he rein- forces daily. "We need to be better as we approach the playoffs because we want to be peaking at that time. … There's more out there and I don't want to go into the playoffs sloppy." The headline performer for the Irish has been sophomore goalten- der Cale Morris, a frontrunner for the Hobey Baker Award as the top col- lege player. Only one goalie (Michi- gan State's Ryan Miller in 2001) has won the award since its inception in 1981, but Jackson believes Morris is worthy as anyone, and noted he even has better numbers than Miller did. Morris' .950 save percentage ranks first in the country, his 870 saves are No. 2 and he has been "the rock," per Jackson, who has propelled Notre Dame to a No. 3 national ranking in team defense. The Irish also are 18-1-2 when scor- ing first. Projected to alternate with freshman Dylan St. Cyr at the start of this sea- son, Morris' emergence to seize the position has been stunning because the top question mark entering the season was at goalten- der, where Cal Petersen — who started 90 consecu- tive games for the Irish and was the first player at his position to serve as team captain — turned pro last spring after his ju- nior year. "He's caught everyone in the country by surprise because at the beginning of year nobody even knew who he was," said Jack- son, a former goaltender himself who has worked wonders at the position. "He's earned everything." F o r M o r r i s a n d h i s teammates, the objective remains avoiding complacency. "We always come every day with the intention of getting better and challenging ourselves on and off the ice," Morris said. "That's been our mindset the whole season. It's cer- tainly been a fun ride, and we're just looking to get better each day." Where Jackson especially is seek- ing improvement is puck possession. The Irish scoring is deep and bal- anced with nine players accounting for anywhere from 11 to 32 points, but a relatively modest 2.97 goals per game average (25th nationally) can be upgraded. Senior Jake Evans was the top scorer with 32 points on nine goals and 23 assists, while junior Andrew Oglevie (12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points) is next. The duo rank among the nation's leaders in game-winning goals with four apiece. Sophomore Cal Burke has tallied the most goals (13), while the de- fense has been spearheaded by senior ironman Jordan Gross (149 straight games, 22 points this season) and ju- nior Bobby Nardella (four goals and 15 assists for 19 points). ✦ The Fighting Irish won the Big Ten regular-season championship in their first year in the league. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS CROWNED Notre Dame Wins Big Ten Title; Staying Hungry Is Next