Meet the Newcomers: Abbey Murphy

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Golden Gopher women's hockey team welcomes eight newcomers to the team for the 2020-21 season, including Abbey Murphy, a right-handed freshman forward from Evergreen Park, Ill., where she played for the Chicago Mission. Murphy reflects on her hockey career so far, how she chose the University of Minnesota, and more.

Gopher Sports: How did you first get into hockey? Did you play any other sports when you were growing up?

Abbey Murphy: I first started when I was seven years old. I saw my neighbor playing hockey in his backyard, and I asked my parents to buy me roller blades. Then I went over there to get his attention, and so he taught me how to skate and everything, so definitely my neighbor got me into it. Then, I also played baseball and softball, lacrosse, volleyball, and basketball. I played a lot of sports.

GS: What was it about hockey that made that be the sport that you wanted to focus on?

AM: I really liked the competitiveness a lot, and I always looked up to a lot of people like Kendall Coyne-Schofield and Cammi Granato. I was pretty young, but I still really looked up to her when I was young.

GS: What is it about Kendall Coyne Schofield's playing style that has made you look up to her?

AM: I just think she's an all-around good player. She has everything, her speed, and she's tiny but she's mean, for her size, I just think she has everything she needs for the game and she plays with a passion.

GS: What was your high school hockey experience like playing with the Chicago Mission?

AM: I know it's definitely different from high school hockey in Minnesota. I have a wide variety of friends all around, so it was very nice. I definitely went far to play, but I loved it. It's a good club to come from. I made a lot of good friends, and there's a good coaching staff too. I loved playing with my friends, and the places we went were so much fun.

GS: How do you think playing against teams all over the country helped shape your game?

AM: You go to Canada, you stay in the country, and it's all different. Canadians are probably the biggest people I've ever seen play hockey, so you definitely have to change the way you play going from the U.S. to Canada. We had to learn all the different styles, which helped prepare me for everything else that's coming.

GS: What has your USA hockey experience been like?

AM: It's an honor. I've never had so much fun as I did these past three years. I know the second one was a bummer, but it was still fun. My first year, being able to play with Taylor Heise and Gracie Ostertag and all of the older girls, I was scared. We were all nervous being the youngest ones, but they helped us. Now being the older ones on the team last year, it was quite the experience. We knew what they felt like being in their first year. It was so much fun, and you learn so much being a leader. It's probably the best experience I've ever had.

GS: What would you say is the biggest lesson or biggest takeaway that you had from that experience?

AM: It takes a team to win. That's the biggest lesson.

GS: How did you pick the University of Minnesota?
AM: At the Mission, I knew Cara Piazza and Sophie Skarzynski very well. Cara was the one I looked up to most because I was closer with her. When she committed to the University of Minnesota, I kind of followed her. Then when I visited, I loved it. I really fell in love with it the second I got on campus. Everyone was so nice, the coaches, the support staff, I just felt so comfortable. I did. That was it.

GS: What's your family like?

AM: I have two older brothers. We're very athletic. My oldest brother is a senior at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and he plays football there, and then my other brother wrestles and he is going to be a sophomore at St. Cloud state. It's pretty nice that I'll be close to him. We're all pretty close, and we're very competitive. That's probably the worst thing, but also the best thing that kind of pushes us. We're definitely competitive at the house, like who is going to wake up the earliest. Mom and Dad definitely motivate us a lot, too. My mom is a nurse, and my dad is probably the biggest motivator in the house.

GS: What's one part of your game that you are really confident in and one part that you're looking forward to working on more this year?

AM: My aggressiveness definitely is a top one that I'm confident in, and I want to work on my defense, and just moving the puck fast and learning the pace of the game. I know the pace of the game is going to be so much different from high school hockey.

GS: What was it like for you being a senior this year?

AM: Our season got cut short. We had state, but we missed regionals and nationals. It was a bummer. And then online learning was definitely not fun. The whole hockey part, I understood it. It stunk, but it's just for the health of everyone. You don't want everyone to get sick and take risks, so I get it, but it was hard for it being my last year. For the school part, I'm definitely an in-school learner. I was able to do it, but it took me a while to get into it. I ended up getting good grades, but it was hard.

GS: Is there anything that you were able to do over the past few months with your extra time that you wouldn't have normally been able to do?

AM: I went on a family vacation two weeks ago. We rented a house on a lake in Michigan with my mom's side of the family. That was fun. We did that for a week and got paddleboards and jet skis. We don't have a lot of trips like that, so it was some good family time.

GS: What are you most looking forward to about playing for the Gophers and starting college?

AM: Probably just getting to know the girls. I've been skating with some of them now, and I've never laughed harder. They are hilarious. Catie Skaja makes me laugh so hard. I just want to get to know the campus and the girls.

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Players Mentioned

Taylor Heise

Abbey Murphy

Gracie Ostertag

Cara Piazza

Catie Skaja

Sophie Skarzynski