AMHERST — Matt Murray’s name is littered in the newest edition of the UMass hockey record book.
The junior goalie had what would be considered an excellent season by any netminder’s standards and set numerous program records along the way. His 20-5-0 mark was the most wins by a goalie in program history, his 2.11 goals against average is the best among goalies who played at least 1,000 minutes in a season while his .919 save percentage was second-best among those with at least 600 saves.
Yet as the Minutemen played their most important games on their march to the national championship game, Murray wasn’t in goal. He was replaced 32:30 into the first game of the Hockey East quarterfinal series against New Hampshire after allowing three goals on 14 shots. Filip Lindberg backstopped the eventual double-overtime win and started the next six games as UMass wrote its own program history as a team.
Murray, the same goalie that won his first 11 starts of last season, was now relegated to spectator status for the championship run.
“It was more just adjusting to the role that needed to be done,” Murray said. “I had to transition from being a guy who’s a lot more of a physical part of the team being on the ice all the time to a guy who’s a lot more of a supportive role in communicating with the guys and making sure there’s a lot of positivity in the room and on the bench.”
Murray never slouched after being demoted, either, continuing to push Lindberg in practice throughout the playoff run. He just happened to be behind a goalie who hit a hot streak of his own, pitching three shutouts in helping UMass reach the Frozen Four for the first time in program history. But the coaches were ever ready to insert Murray if things got rough at any point in Buffalo.
“We actually had a conversation with Matt at the Frozen Four last year,” goalies coach Jared DeMichiel said. “‘If Fille doesn’t play well or the opportunity opens up, we’re going to put you in.’ He practiced extremely well from the middle of March through April, it was just Fille hadn’t lost a game and hadn’t done anything to open up the window of opportunity.”
Murray returned to Amherst for the fall semester with a newfound confidence brewed over the past year. He was invited to participate in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ development camp this summer, where his sharing a name with the Penguins starting goalie hid how well he performed. He said the experience was an important learning experience as he got a chance to immerse himself with the best college, junior hockey and first-year pros all participating in the camp.
It was an opportunity that might not have existed had he not shown improvement from his shaky freshman year to his solid sophomore campaign. He said he started to feel more comfortable as last season progressed and that being relegated to backup duty for the postseason did little to dent his confidence. Now he returns to Amherst ready to show just how big of a step he can take from a record-breaking year last season.
“I think I gained a lot more confidence as the year went on,” Murray said. “Even from my freshman year to last year, there was a big difference just being more comfortable in the league. I’ve been getting better in the offseason and I continue to get better in practice, so I feel real good entering this year.”
Those valuable lessons have been integrated into how Murray has started practice over the past five weeks. DeMichiel said he sees Murray making tremendous strides on the ice in addition to becoming stronger and more flexible in the weight room. He said Murray has been locked in earlier in practice last season and showing an ability to take more risk in goal.
“Matt has been playing a little bit more aggressive,” DeMichiel said. “He’s also making more big saves, he’s kind of willing to be a little more athletic in the net.”
SATURDAY SCRIMMAGE — UMass will hold an intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center that is open to the public. Admission is free and is the first chance to see the Minutemen play before the season opener on Oct. 11 against Rensselaer.
Coach Greg Carvel said he scheduled the scrimmage to simulate a gameday for his freshmen. It’s an experience the younger players would normally get from an exhibition game, but UMass did not schedule one this season.
Josh Walfish can be reached at jwalfish@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshWalfishDHG. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.