Stars Goalie Matt Murray Pays Tribute to Fallen Friends

The past 48 hours have been quite the whirlwind for new Dallas Stars goalie Matt Murray. On Sunday, he was in Cedar Park playing for the Texas Stars in the AHL. Murray stopped all ten shots he faced coming into the game in relief of Anton Khudobin.

On Monday, the University of Massachusetts alum signed his first NHL contract, a one-year deal with the Dallas Stars. Murray will be on the bench tonight and on the NHL roster for the foreseeable future due to the injury to Jake Oettinger. 

In meeting with the press this morning, Murray showed off his new goalie mask which arrived late last week. Goalie masks are one of the few items in all of sports which can be personalized. The netminder gets to pick and choose the features that represent who they are. In Matt Murray’s case his family took the top position, but he also pays tribute to five friends he grew up with or played hockey against in St. Albert, Alberta. All five were members of the Humboldt Broncos and died in the tragic bus accident on April 6, 2018.

“Those were all great guys that unfortunately, we lost too soon,” said Murray. “Being able to carry them with me and keep their name in the game means a lot. It’s always a reminder to keep fighting, as I have a little something extra to keep going forward.”

The names memorialized on Murray’s mask are:

Conner Lukan

Stephen Wack

Jaxon Joseph

Logan Hunter

Parker Tobin

Four of the players listed on the mask had a memorial service at Rogers Place in Edmonton. Ironically, one of the stops for Murray’s first NHL road trip is Edmonton, this Saturday. Don’t be surprised if the Stars young goalie has more on his mind than just hockey when stepping on the ice in his home province on that day.