BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Bowling Green State University hockey head coach Dennis Williams has announced that rising senior defenseman Dalton Norris will serve as the captain of the Falcons for the 2025-26 season.

A native of Oxford, Mich., Norris has appeared in 95 career games for the Orange and Brown, posting nine goals, 29 assists, and 38 points on the blue line. He is coming off a career-best junior campaign, where he notched 17 points (2G, 15A) in 36 games.

"Dalton has proven this past year that he is the right person to lead our team in the 2025-2026 season," said Williams. "His approach to the game and his commitment to our team and his teammates' success is displayed on a daily basis. A player that leaves everything on the ice day in and day out. Dalton truly embodies what it means to be a BG Falcon hockey player—on the ice, in the classroom, as well as in the community. We look forward to Dalton leading our group next season."

Norris has been a consistent presence on both ends of the ice since arriving at BGSU, earning All-CCHA Rookie Team honors in 2022-23 and being named a CCHA Scholar-Athlete and All-Academic selection in 2023-24 and 2024-25. He led all BGSU freshmen in scoring his first season and continued to develop into a leader on the blue line, posting five goals and five assists in 23 games in 2023-24, including three power-play goals and one short-handed tally.

He has also excelled defensively, recording 31 blocks in 2023-24, which ranked tied for third on the team. He had a season-high three blocks at Michigan Tech on March 8 and recorded a multi-point game in the season opener at Robert Morris on October 7.

Before his collegiate career, Norris was a standout with the USHL's Lincoln Stars, where he played in 136 games over three seasons. He was named to the All-USHL second team in 2021-22 after leading all Lincoln defensemen—and ranking third on the team—with 54 points (26G, 28A). He served as team captain that season and helped lead the Stars to the playoffs, setting a franchise record with 19 power-play goals.

Hockey runs in the Norris family. Dalton is the son of Dwayne Norris, a former Michigan State standout and NHL player with the Quebec Nordiques and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. His brother, Josh Norris, is currently a member of the Buffalo Sabres, after earning NHL All-Rookie Team honors for the Ottawa Senators, and his older brother, Coale, spent the 2021-22 season with BGSU while earning his MBA.