Finally, Senior Steps Into the Spotlight

All season long, Dan Murphy has been The Man.

Game after game, the senior forward has been the savior of the Harvard men’s hockey team, producing timely goals integral to the Crimson’s success. Not only does Murphy lead Harvard in finding the back of the net, but his five gamewinners top the team list.

Moreover, the winger out of North Andover has been a force on the power play, notching nine man-advantage tallies to lead the Crimson in yet another category.

“Dan’s a guy who’s really taken advantage of the opportunities he’s gotten this year, especially being a regular on the power play,” captain Peter Hafner says. “We always knew that he had the potential to be a great goalscorer, and he’s been excellent for us this year—really consistent.”

But it hasn’t always been this way. Before he became The Man, Murphy had to pay his dues.

Though he had a penchant for racking up goals at Cushing Academy and was the team’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player his junior year, Murphy was asked to be more of a grinding power forward at Harvard. On a team where offensive talent was plentiful, the young freshman needed to exchange some of his touch and finesse for a higher level of physicality.

“As a younger guy, you do whatever you can to be in the lineup every night,” Murphy explains. “They wanted me to be on the fourth line and finish all my hits and checks, and I did, so I could play and help the team.”

Spending the majority of his time harassing the other team’s skaters, Murphy saw a significant drop-off in his offensive production. As a freshman, he scored three goals and added five assists. The following year, he tallied a mere three points.

But the power forward kept skating hard and finishing hits, never complaining.

“That’s what a team is,” Murphy says. “You have to have certain guys play certain roles.”

Murphy’s renaissance came his junior year, when new coach Ted Donato ’91 gave the winger more freedom and boosted his confidence. Though Murphy’s numbers weren’t exceptional, he equaled his career goal total and tallied 14 points.

“Even playing off of the fourth line, some nights he was our best player,” Donato recalls.

The forward knew that his perseverance would pay off, and his junior year—highlighted by solid performances against Boston College, Vermont, and Maine—showed glimpses of what was to come.

And then he became The Man.

Donato placed him on the top line to kick off this season, and the winger responded with goals in the first two games of the season. In November and December, Murphy notched a goal in seven straight contests, quickly arousing the notice of opposing coaches and blueliners around the league.

Who was this guy, and where had he come from?

“Obviously he’s having a great year, but I’m not really surprised, to tell you the truth,” linemate Ryan Maki says. “He’s worked for everything he’s got, and he deserves it.”

Although Murphy’s streak eventually came to an end, he continued to produce, launching gamewinners against Rensselaer on Jan. 27 and at Brown on Feb. 3.

Though those games were sandwiched by five- and six-game dry spells, The Man returned when Harvard’s season was on the line.

His two scores against St. Lawrence and two helpers the next night against Clarkson helped secure a regular season-ending sweep that clinched a first-round bye in the ECAC tournament.

Since then, Murphy has registered nine points in five postseason games, including a hat trick to close out the Saints in Game 3 of the quarterfinal series and two goals and two assists against Cornell in the championship game last Saturday.

“I’ve just been more confident of late,” Murphy says. “I’m having fun and enjoying it.”

With a team-leading 18 tallies on the season, Murphy could become the Crimson’s only 20-goal scorer when Harvard faces Maine in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. And if that milestone and the prospect of breaking the Crimson’s recent first-round curse aren’t enough, Murphy only has to recall his sophomore year, when older brother Ben’s Black Bears ousted Harvard from the NCAAs with a crushing, come-from-behind victory.

Dan says Ben—who has since graduated—thinks the Crimson has a legitimate shot, which boosts the younger Murphy’s confidence.

But Dan’s teammates just hope that he’ll continue to be The Man.

“Hopefully he’ll keep getting two goals a game,” Maki laughs. “I don’t mind it when I’m on his line—hopefully I can just create the breaks for him, and hopefully he’ll keep scoring.”

—Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.