Peter Morgan of the Kenai River Brown Bears earned North American Hockey League Bauer Forward of the Month honors, announced Tuesday by the league.
Morgan, 19, was acquired from the Amarillo (Texas) Bulls in mid-October. This season, he had played a total of nine games for the Bulls and the Aberdeen (South Dakota) Wings and had just one assist before going to Kenai River.
After just two games with the Bears, Morgan was put on a line with Cody Moline and Wasilla’s Porter Schachle. Morgan had a goal and two assists in his first four games with the line, then the line really jelled and Morgan really hit his stride starting Nov. 8. In the 19 games since then, Morgan has only gone two games without scoring any points.
“Since I got to Kenai River, I have been lucky enough to be paired with some great linemates in Porter Schachle and Cody Moline and that has made all the difference in the world and helped me a ton,” Morgan said in a statement released by the league. “My confidence really went up when all that happened and I was happy. I started scoring some goals in December.
“We have a great team here and the coaches have been awesome, so we want to keep that going and keep our focus on trying to win the division.”
Morgan, 5-foot-6, 155 pounds, of Sarasota, Florida, had 12 points in just seven games in December. The month included eight goals, four assists and a rating of plus-11. Morgan has 29 points in 25 games since joining Kenai River.
“Peter has been extremely consistent for us these last few months,” Kenai River head coach Kevin Murdock said in a released statement. “After starting out this season slow, he has really hit his stride throughout the month of December.
“He has really made the most of his opportunities this year and continues to get better every day. He is very competitive and holds himself to a high standard of play every night. We are very happy for Peter to win this honor and look for him to continue to pick up steam as we head into the second half of the season.”
Morgan had 21 points, coming on nine goals and 12 assists, in 39 games for Aberdeen last season.
