Former Elmira Sugar Kings goaltender Dan Morrison continues to excel south of the border for the Canisius College Golden Griffins of the NCAA.
On Tuesday, Morrison was named the Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Month after leading the team to one of its best starts in its history.
In seven October games, the London-native posted a 4-2-1 record with a 1.97 goals against average and .947 save percentage. The junior currently ranks first in the country with 250 total saves, is fifth in save percentage and 12th in goals against average. He was also named the goaltender of the week on Oct. 25 after posting a 2-0-1 record, the fourth time in his career he has won that award.
The superb goaltending should come as no surprise to Elmira residents, who watched Morrison help lead the Kings to a first-place finish back in the 2007-08 season, where the Kings would eventually lose in the league finals. That season, Morrison finished with a 24-4-6 record while leading the league in goals-against-average (2.21) and save percentage (.938).
Geoff Haddaway was Morrison’s coach during the goalkeeper’s time in Elmira, and is very happy with the success the young goalie has had at the U.S. collegiate level.
“I’ve been following along too, and had some contact with him. He’s off to a great start and it’s nice to see,” said Haddaway. “He is a phenomenal goaltender, but he relied on his instincts and athleticism. That is great and will get you far, but this summer I think he spent a little more time concentrating on some of the technical side of the game.”
Haddaway also coached Morrison in Kitchener prior to them both coming to the Sugar Kings, and he can remember telling scouts that they were looking at a very special player.
“Whenever you bring a player into an NCAA program, there is a bit of guesswork,” he explained. “And I told Canisius, ‘Trust me you’re getting a good one here, he’s going to go and prove a bunch of people wrong,’ and that’s what Dan Morrison is doing.”
During the month of October, Morrison also recorded his fifth-career shutout, moving him to within one of the program’s Division I record, shared by Andrew Loewen and Bryan Worosz. In his NCAA career, Morrison has posted a 22-22-6 record with a 2.92 goals against average and .913 save percentage.
