Dartmouth goaltender Cooper Black has signed a two-year NHL contract with the Florida Panthers, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility.
“Getting to this point in my hockey career has been a long and difficult road but my time at Dartmouth has been some of the best,” Black said in a news release. “The relationships from my teammates and coaches and the support they’ve given me has helped me grow not just as a hockey player but as a person and I cannot thank each and every one of them enough.”
The 6-foot-8 sophomore goaltender from Alpena, Mich., started and played in 29 of the Big Green’s 32 games this season, including the three postseason games. In 29 games, Black led the Big Green to a 13-10-9 overall record and accounted for all their wins with a personal 13-8-8 record between the pipes, collecting eight more wins than in his first-year campaign.
“On behalf of Dartmouth hockey, I want to congratulate Cooper Black on fulfilling every player’s dream and signing his first NHL contract with the Florida Panthers,” Dartmouth coach Reid Cashman said. “Cooper, under the tutelage of Jason Tapp, has become one of the top free agent goalies in North America. He has spent the last two years improving every day and has earned this great opportunity. We are proud of Cooper and look forward to watching his future successes.”
This season, Black had a 2.59 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. Black also posted two shutouts for the Big Green, including a 3-0 victory over Clarkson. He was recognized for his success on the ice, being named to the all-ECAC Hockey second team.
In addition to individual success, Black also helped lead the Big Green to team success, including their first opening round bye of the ECAC Hockey playoffs since 2010-11 and their first trip to Lake Placid since the 2015-16 season.
During his two seasons with Dartmouth, Black posted an 18-31-9 mark with a .904 save percentage, a 2.82 goals-against average and five shutouts.
