The CCHA has announced that Minnesota State graduate student Sam Morton has been voted CCHA Player of the Year.

The CCHA Forward of the Year and All-CCHA First Team selection was one of three finalists for the honor, along with Bemidji State’s Kyle Looft and Mattias Sholl.

Morton, a Lafayette native, paced all CCHA skaters in goals (15), goals per game (0.63), power-play goals (8), shots (102), face-off wins (292) and face-off wins per game (12.2). Adding six assists, he was fourth in points (21) and face-off percentage (56.3%). The CCHA Forward of the Month in January after totaling six goals and three assists for nine points, he had four multi-point games, including three points on three different occasions. He opened the Mavericks’ CCHA schedule with a five-game point streak (six goals, 4 assists) and added a six-game streak in January (4 goals, 2 assists).

Through 36 games, Morton has 24 goals and 10 assists for 34 points. His nine power-play tallies rank eighth nationally, and he also has one game-winner. Totaling 149 shots on goal, he has blocked 27 shots defensively and won 55% of his face-offs (415 of 754). He has nine multi-point games to his credit, with a five and seven-game point streak. The CCHA Player of the Month in January, he paced all conference skaters in goals (6), goals per game (0.75), shots (38), shots per game (4.75), power-play goals (2) and plus-minus (+6).

Morton has appeared in 101 career games for Minnesota State, registering 44 goals and 32 assists for 76 points. He has 17 tallies while on the man advantage and six game-winners.

Back home, Morton played for the Colorado Thunderbirds and Rocky Mountain RoughRiders.

Photo/Perry Laskaris

(March 15, 2024)