The puck stops here! Former Cook County High School student Alex Murray is the starting goal tender for Duluth Marshall. Murray is considered to be the best high school goal tender in the Northland, and a big reason while the Hilltoppers are having a strong season on the ice. Alex is the son of Tom and Denise Murray who live in Grand Marais and Duluth.
Duluth Marshall’s goaltender Alex Murray recently led his team to an upset win over Breck High school after he made 31 saves in a 2-0 shutout. For Murray, a Cook County High School transfer to Marshall three years ago, it was just another night in the crease.
“I think he had a lot more saves in that game, in fact in most games. It seems like the person keeping track of his saves misses every fourth one, which is frustrating to a parent,” said his mother, Denise Murray.
How many pucks a goaltender stops in games versus goals allowed is a statistic college coaches and pros watch closely.
Duluth blogger and Duluth mayoral candidate Howie Hanson rates Alex the number 1 goaltender for northeastern Minnesota in his HowieBlog report.
“He would like to get drafted, but we’ll wait and see,” said his mother.
Getting drafted doesn’t mean going to the professional ranks, at least right away, but it does mean a college will likely give a scholarship to a player a professional team is eyeing. This would be a great way for Alex to extend his education and to play a game he is very good at and loves, said his mother.
Alex knew he wanted to be a hockey player the first time he stepped out on the ice at a local rink as a 4-year-old, said his father, Tom Murray.
After playing for Cook County as a mini-mite and mite, Alex began traveling to Silver Bay to play. When Lutsen’s Darryl Hansen graduated, the Mariners turned to the eighth-grader to take over in goal.
During his first year as a varsity player, Alex tied the Mariner’s record for saves twice by turning away 67 shots against Virginia and Lake of the Woods, and was voted his team’s MVP. His hard work was rewarded in 2011 when he was one of two goalies named to the U.S.A. Hockey National Development Camp.
In 2012 Alex moved to Duluth with his family and is in his third year as a student at Marshall. When asked about Alex’s contribution to the team, Coach Brendan Flaherty said, “Alex came to us as a sophomore and has been a key factor in our team’s continued success. His relentless work ethic, preparation and positive attitude, both on the ice and in the classroom make him a perfect fit for our program.”
By the time Alex hangs up his skates, he will have started in nearly 100 varsity games in goal, which will place him near the alltime record for starts for Minnesota High School goalies.
Playing hockey has given Alex the chance to skate at the Excel Energy Center, Amsoil Arena, Mariucci Arena, the National Hockey Center, and the “Miracle on Ice” arena in Lake Placid, New York, but, said his father, “Alex is like many Cook County kids, his love for the sport began while skating under the lights at the community center.”
Alex used to play varsity baseball but suffered a concussion last year. This year, his mother said, his entire focus is on hockey and on school.
Marshall only suits up 16 players. If they stay healthy they are a strong team, but there is no room for injury or illness on this small squad. Still, if the other team can’t score, Marshall will be in every game it plays. Keeping the door shut and the puck out of the house is Alex Murray’s job, and it’s a job he’s very good at. One might say that it’s his goal to stop the other team, but then, unless it’s scored by a teammate, goal is a fourletter word to Alex.
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