The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Mike Murphy of the Belleville Bulls has been named the OHL Goaltender of the Year for the 2007-08 season.
Murphy, a 19-year-old native of Inverary, ON, was 36-7-3-1 with a league best 2.24 goals against average and .929 save percentage to go along with three shutouts in 49 games this season.
Murphy held the opposition to two or fewer goals on 29 occasions this season, including a streak of four straight games in January where he allowed just one goal per game. Murphy started the season with a six game winning streak and also enjoyed a nine-game winning streak in January. He helped the Bulls win the Eastern Conference regular season title and set new team records for wins (48) and points (102) in a season.
Murphy, the Bulls fourth round pick in the 2005 OHL Priority Selection, represented Belleville in the 2008 OHL All-Star Classic in Sault Ste. Marie in January, helping the Eastern Conference to an 8-7 win over the Western Conference. He was twice named OHL goaltender of the month.
The OHL Goaltender of the Year is awarded to the league's most outstanding goaltender as selected by OHL coaches and general managers. Teams were not permitted to vote for a goaltender from their own hockey club. Goaltenders received five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place vote and one point for a third place vote.
Murphy received 54 points in the voting process, followed by Steve Mason of the Kitchener Rangers, who received 47 points. Thomas McCollum of the Guelph Storm finished third with 39 points.
Murphy follows past winners like Adam Dennis, Ray Emery, Andrew Raycroft and Manny Legace as well as Jeff Fife (1989-90) as the only other Bull to win the award. Mason was the OHL's goaltender of the year last season.
Murphy will be formally presented with the award during the 2007-08 OHL Awards Ceremony, which will be held on Wednesday June 4 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
