Murphy sets the standard at ASU

by Matthew Ondesko: Managing Editor

The sun is shining, the weather is warm as always. It’s a typical day on the campus of Arizona State University. While the weather is warm outside, the rink is cold as ever.

ASU is home to a Division I men’s hockey team, and a very successful women’s ACHA club team. The women are perennial national title contenders year in and year out, and have one of the best players in school history leading the way.

When you think of hockey, you think of cold, snow, below freezing temperatures. After all, ASU forward Sam Murphy is used to that. The all-time leading scorer in ASU history is from Ottawa, where it snows just a little bit.

But, when it came to looking at school’s there was something that drew Murphy to ASU. Of course it was the weather, why not play hockey when it’s 100 degrees outside, but it was also the hockey culture.

“One of the main things that drew me to Arizona State was the community that our head coach Lindsey Ellis had built on this team. The second I stepped on campus for a tour, I felt such a deep connection with the girls on this team and immediately felt like I was at home,” stated Murphy. “I know every team says that about their teammates, but this program is truly different. Every single player that comes in or out of this program is not only a great hockey player, but to their core, a great person who loves their teammates so deeply and would drop anything to help one another and I think that’s really really hard to find in college hockey.”

Ever since Murphy stepped on the campus she has been a star. She has taken the ACHA, and ASU, by storm. The senior is the career leader in points, goals, assists and third in program history in penalty minutes.

While Murphy can light the lamp, she also plays with an edge. An edge that sometimes gets her a visit to the penally box. But, Murphy would never change the way she plays her game. She plays her game fast and strong, and a few penalties come along the way with the way she plays.

“I think I actually am third in program history for penalty minutes, which is pretty funny to be in the history books for points and PIMS. Anyway, I play my game very strong, fast and physical, and obviously with that comes a few penalties,” stated Murphy. “I do my best not to take unnecessary stick penalties or poor sportsmanship penalties. So the majority of those minutes comes from me playing the body and using my strength to my advantage.”

When Murphy hits the ice she can’t be stopped, that is evident by scoring 51 goals (to date), and hitting the 100 point mark in a career. Both are great milestones, and something to be proud of as her career comes to and end.

The 100 point mark was extra special, since she is the first Sun Devil to ever hit that mark. She was brought to tears when her coach presented her with the puck after the game.

“It was incredibly exciting for me to hit that 100 point mark, especially as the first player in program history to have 100 points as a Sun Devil. I was actually brought to tears after the game when my coach presented me with my 100 point puck, and my linemate, as well as roommate. Breanne Powell gave me a huge hug and told me how happy she is for me,” stated Murphy. “A memory I’ll never forget is on the bench after hitting my 100th point, when my teammates surrounded me and hugged me and were also so happy for me. When I go out and play, I try my best not to focus on getting stats or points, and just focus on winning the game for my team.”

You would think with all the success Murphy’s had that she would have gone to play a different level of college hockey. A standout for the Ottawa Jr. 67’s, Murphy has always been a standout hockey player.

Her hockey IQ is off the charts, and one would have thought she could have played at a DI or DII school. While the thought had crossed her mind, at times, Murphy is happy with her decision to play for the Sun Devils.

“The thoughts of playing DI or DIII hockey certainly have crossed my mind, but at the end of the day I picked this league because it’s one that I feel is the right fit for me,” stated Murphy. “I think the only downside that this league has is some teams, like ASU, can’t offer scholarship,s so the most appealing part of DI or DII is the money.”

Club hockey is truly playing hockey for the love of the game. There are no scholarships at the club hockey level. The girls need to raise money to help pay for travel and nationals, if they are lucky enough to get there.

It can get stressful at times for the girls as they try and balance, school, hockey, internships and so on.

“I totally agree with the statement that club hockey is the true definition of student athlete. We aren’t getting paid to be here, we are just here because we love the sport so much. I think it does get a little stressful at times trying to balance the workload of school, internships, social life, self-care, and hockey,” stated Murphy. “But luckily, we have some really great resources that ease the load a little bit. Our team has mandatory study hall every week to make sure that we’re staying on top of our academics and our president, Quinn Eatinger, organizes our schedules really well for us so we stay organized. It certainly does get overwhelming at times, but at the end of the day we only get to do this for four years, so I am even grateful for the overwhelming parts of it all.”

As the seconds semester gets ready to begin, the work has just begun for the ASU hockey team. The Sun Devils left the WWCHL for an independent schedule. They wanted to challenge themselves with a harder schedule, but now the real work begins if they want to have a chance to get back to Nationals.

While they went home for the holidays, once they returned it was time to get back to the ice. The want to be as sharp as possible when the seasons resumes Friday when they host Michigan State.

“The second semester is going to be so important for our team in regard to qualifying for Nationals, so this break does not mean we can stop working,” stated Murphy. “We still need to practice our butts off, keep getting better in the gym, and polish our systems In anticipation for second semester. Thus being our first season as an independent team, makes it all the more important that we make it to Nationals. We left the WWCHL in pursuit of playing better opponents, so now we’ve really gotta prove ourselves.”

Maybe if you are lucky you will see Murphy continue to make some sick plays on the ice. At times the Ottawa native is a human highlight real. But it’s not like she goes out there saying she is going to try and make this type of play.

It just happens.

“There certainly are a few sick plays where I go back on the bench after and say to my teammates “yeah you’ll never see that out of me again,” stated Murphy. Because lot of the “cool“ things that I do honestly feel like a fluke to me. Like I’ll have a vision in my head and I just go yeah OK I guess I’ll try that and then go out there and attempt to reenact it. It’s always fun when it works out though.”