1. SportsD4 Minot (N.D.) Daily News, Thursday, April 23, 2015
CARD TEXT
English
Murray, a 1993 fourth-round draft pick of the Calgary
Flames, had 29 goals and 65 assists for Brandon in ʻ92-93
and was among the WHLʼs leading scorers this season be-
fore departing for the WJC.
French
Choix de quatrieme ronde des Flames en 1993, Marty a
compilé bon fiche de 29 buts et 65 aides avex Brandon
(WHL) en 1992-93. Il élait un des meneurs de son circuit
avant son depart pour lex Mondiaux.
MMMMaaaarrrrttttyyyy MMMMuuuurrrrrrrraaaayyyy
Born: Feb. 16, 1975
Hometown: Deloraine, Manitoba
Center (shoots left)
Height: 5-foot-9, Weight: 180 pounds
TTBest forward — World Junior Championships (‘95)
TT392 points during fourseasons at Brandon (WHL)
TT 96th overall pick by Calgary Flames in 1993 draft
TT Five seasons in National Hockey League (74 points)
TT Three-time gold medalist for Canada (7 int’l goals)
TT 15-year professional player
TT Third-year head coach of the Minot Minotauros
cess in Minot, as do his assis-
tant coaches.
Witheveryoneworkingto-
gether, Murray is confident
that can happen.
“I look at it as a team ef-
fort,” said Murray, who’s led
the Tauros to three consecu-
tive postseason appearances.
“Anything that goes through
to our players, it’s pretty
much decided by committee,
and I’m just fine with that.”
Murray’s hockey
career continues
Murray is developing a bit
of a name for himself as a
head coach in the North
American Hockey League.
Hedidjustfineasaplayer,
too.
BorninLyleton,Manitoba
— a town just 63 miles di-
rectly north of Minot — Mur-
ray made his initial
breakthrough as a player for
Brandon, a junior club in the
Western Hockey League.
In four years with the
Wheat Kings, Murray racked
up a whopping 392 points in
264 games, production that
merited a fourth-round NHL
draft selection from the Cal-
gary Flames in 1993. Before
making his professional
debut, Murray finished his
junior-hockey career with
consecutive 100-point sea-
sons at Brandon, including a
128-point effort in 1995-96
which handed him WHL
player of the year honors.
Murray also encountered
success at the international
level, winning two gold
medals for Team Canada in
consecutive years at the
World Junior Champi-
onships. In the 1995 tourna-
ment — hosted in Canada —
Murray racked up six goals
and nine assists over seven
games en route to being
named the competition’s best
forward.
A5-foot-9,180poundcen-
ter, Murray went on to play
professional hockey for the
next 15 seasons, including
four in various European
leaguesandsixmorewiththe
American Hockey League.
“I took it year by year, and
was fortunate enough to play
the game I love for a living,”
Murray said.
Murray’s success as a
player has certainly earned
the respect of his team.
In short, when he speaks,
the Tauros listen.
“When you talk to him
about hockey, you immedi-
ately get a sense that he
knows exactly what he’s
doingwitheverysingleplayer
on our team,” said Blake Li-
zotte, Minot’s leading point
scorer as a rookie. “With the
coaching that he got through-
out his career, you have a lot
of trust in what he’s saying,
andhedefinitelyknowswhat
he’s doing.”
Said Walker: “When he
tellsyouwhattodo,youcan’t
really argue with it. ... He’s
been through everything I’ve
accomplished, and obviously
10 times more. So with him,
it’sprettyeasybeingtoldwhat
to do and being wrong when
you’re in our spot.”
After retiring in 2010,
Murray moved to Minot with
his wife, Andrea — a Mohall
native. Shortly after, Murray
wasapproachedaboutjoining
theTauros—anorganization
preparing for their inaugural
campaign — as an assistant
coach.
Murray was admittedly
unfamiliar with the NAHL at
first.
He was also intrigued by
the idea of coaching so soon
after hanging up his skates.
“It’s been a real nice tran-
sitionoutofplaying,tostillbe
involved in the game and
helping these young guys
along,” Murray said. “At the
same time, it’s nice having
threekidsgoingtoschooland
sleeping in their own beds
every night, which wasn’t al-
ways the case when I was
playing pro. We bounced
around, a lot of apartments, a
lot of suitcases. So I have the
best of both worlds here.”
TheTaurosaren’ttheonly
ones benefitting from Mur-
ray’sextensivehockeyknowl-
edge.
“He’s taught me a lot,
there’s no doubt about that,”
said Dube, who hopes to pur-
sueaheadcoachingjobofhis
own some day. “Just with his
honesty within the game, our
organization has a lot of re-
spect for that, and so do our
players. He’s true to his work,
he sticks with it and he really
caresaboutthekids,thecom-
munity and the organization.
Some coaches don’t do that,
but I think Marty really ex-
emplifies that it’s about the
team and what’s in the best
interest of our kids, too.”
Dube already a
welcomed addition
Minot assistant Nigel
Dube didn’t have to travel far
to find his first coaching op-
portunity.
A four-year player for
Minot State’s men’s hockey
Coaches
Continued from Page D1
team, Dube joined the Tauros
in January 2014 following the
departure of Minot assistant
Jarrod Olson.
Murray first encountered
Dubeatayouthhockeycamp
in Minot, and adding him to
the staff was a no-brainer.
“That’swhenIfirstsawhis
workethicandpassionforthe
game.He’sayoung,dedicated
person, and I thought it’d be a
great fit,” he said. “So far, it’s
turned out great.”
A Lampman, Saskatchewan
native,Dubeplayedthreesea-
sons of junior hockey in
Canada before joining the
Beavers for the 2009-10 sea-
son. In four years at Minot
State, Dube tallied 20 goals
and73assistsasadefenseman
in 113 games played, leading
the Beavers to their lone na-
tionaltitleasacaptainhissen-
ior year.
Dubeisaworker,someone
willingtogotheextramilefor
the sake of his program.
At least according to a guy
who watched him play for
four years: Minot State coach
Wade Regier.
“His senior year, with the
respect our other players had
for him, it was almost like
having a third coach,” Regier
said. “Whenever we would
have an issue with the team,
I’dturntohimandsay,‘Nigel,
take care of it,’ and he’d take
care of it. As a hockey pro-
gram, those are the kinds of
players you want.”
Not far removed from his
ownplayingdays,Dubetakes
an active role during practice
withtheTauros,oftenskating
with the team during drills
and challenging them to per-
form at their best.
“That certainly helps,”
Murray said. “I think that
Nigel being a younger guy,
he’s only six or seven years
older than some of our play-
ers.Hehasarelationshipwith
them that a lot of assistant
coaches have, where he can
talk to the guys behind the
scenesandhelptheminprac-
tice.
“It’s been a great fit, and
we’re definitely lucky to have
him.”
Lonke producing top-
notch goalies
TheTauroshaven’talways
found consistent success in
the win column.
Butinthenet?That’sadif-
ferent story.
WithAtteTolvanen’scom-
mitment to Northern Michi-
gan in mid-March, Minot has
now produced five Division I
goaltending recruits in four
years.
Take a bow, Cory Lonke.
Involved with the Tauros
since their inaugural season,
Lonke is one of few goal-
tender coaches in the league,
a reality that he feels has di-
rectly contributed to Minot’s
sustained consistency in net.
“Most of the kids that
we’vehadthathaveendedup
getting a scholarship have
also been talented to begin
with,” Lonke said. “It’s a daily
thing with goaltenders. It’s a
very specific position with
muscle memory and things
like that, and I think most
teams don’t spend that
weekly — almost daily —
timetoworkonsomeofthose
finer points.”
Lonke played two years at
the collegiate level, tending
goal for Division III St.
Scholastica in Duluth, Minn.
Also employed in the oil
fieldsbyExtremeEngineering
— a directional drilling com-
pany — Lonke joined the
Tauros’ staff on a volunteer
basisforhisfirsttwoyearsbe-
fore joining Minot’s formal
staff on the bench during
games this season.
Murray has been im-
pressed by Lonke’s contribu-
tions.
“Cory has done a great job
with our goaltending,” Mur-
raysaid.“We’reoneofthefew
teams that has a full-time
goalie guy to work with our
guyseveryday,andIthinkit’s
paying off. I think Cory’s pas-
sion and commitment to our
team and our goaltendinghas
paid huge dividends for us.”
Joe Mellenbruch covers
Minot State athletics, the
Minot Minotauros and high
school sports. Follow him on
Twitter@Mellenbruch_MDN.
17. Already committed to
St. Cloud State, he finished
the regular season with 14
goals and a team-high 38 as-
sists.
Murray was admittedly
surprised by how quickly
Lizotte became acclimated
to the NAHL. Now, consis-
tency is expected of Minot’s
youngest player.
“He has high expecta-
tions of himself. I think that
type of mentality as a
hockey player seperates you
a bit from the pack,” Murray
said. “He’s a guy that ex-
pects himself to do well,
and he has that fire in his
belly to continue pushing
himself and continue to get
better.”
As for Johnson, he ranks
on the Tauros in scoring for
a defenseman, trailing only
captain Jon Lizotte. Johnson
has buried seven goals in 47
games played this year,
along with 15 assists.
Murray’s been pleased
with the way Johnson has
progressed this season.
After a slow start, Johnson’s
form continues to improve
as the season wares on.
“Coming out of high
school hockey, it’s a big
transition to junior, and I
think when he was trying to
find his way early in the
year, he may have been try-
ing to do a bit too much,”
Murray said. “I think he
grew as a player throughout
the season, and he’s flour-
ishing for us now at the per-
fect time.”
Joe Mellenbruch covers
Minot State athletics, the
Minot Minotauros and high
school sports. Follow him
on Twitter @Mellen -
bruch_MDN.
Rookies
Continued from Page D1
Freshman first baseman
Ashley Hill was the main
source of offense for Minot
State as she knocked in
over half of the MSU’s runs
on the day (seven) includ-
ing a game-clinching grand
slam in the finale.
“Hill stepped up and
had a couple of sac flies
there and hit a nice one out
there to end it,” Triplett
said.
In a doubleheader loss
against Minnesota State-
Mankato on Sunday, MSU
left seven runners in scor-
ing position, compared to
just four on Wednesday.
Senior catcher Melissa
Bell recorded three hits —
including a triple and a
double — and three RBIs
over the course of both
games.
MSU (31-18 overall, 12-
14 NSIC) is jockeying six
other conference foes for
four spots as the top 10
teams in the final NSIC
standings qualify for the
conference’s postseason
tournament.
After Wednesday’s re-
sults, Minot State sits in
11th place — one game
back of Minnesota Duluth,
which it plays in a regular
season doubleheader finale
on Sunday. Before that se-
ries, though, MSU plays a
doubleheader at St. Cloud
State on Saturday, with
which it is currently tied
with for 11th.
“They are very good,”
Triplett said of the
Huskies. “They can beat
anyone on any given day.
“We are still in must-
win mode.”
John Denega covers
high school sports and
general assignments. Fol-
low him on Twitter @John-
Beavers
Continued from Page D1