Lansdale Catholic senior skater exits ice to applause, best wishes

Sports Columnist
By John knebels

For anyone who has watched Bridget Murphy play ice hockey, it’s difficult to believe that she was able only to skate forward less than four years ago.

Not that Murphy is Simon Gagne or Sidney Crosby. But for someone who has performed as well as she has for Lansdale Catholic’s all-female ice hockey team, it’s remarkable how far she has come in such a short amount of time.

“When I was a freshman, I couldn’t skate backward or stop when I wanted,” said the immensely affable Murphy. “The thing is, I always felt welcomed by the other girls. That’s why I wanted to play, because the pressure part of playing didn’t get in the way of having fun.”

Now Murphy is a senior. In fact, she is the only senior on the Crusaders’ roster.

On Feb. 8, Lansdale Catholic honored her before a game. Her teammates’ tokens of appreciation included balloons and personalized posters with messages of love and support that could be seen in various sections of the Hatfield Ice rink in Colmar, where the Crusaders practice and play their home games.

One sign read, “It’s not Senior Night. It’s ‘Appreciate B-Murph Night.’” Another read, “We’ll miss you, B-Murph.”

Consider “B-Murph” extremely touched.

“It’s hard to put into words how much that meant to me,” she said. “It’s an amazing team. Stuff like that touches your heart …. It’s why I joined in the first place.”

Lansdale Catholic coach Bill Becker wasn’t surprised by his players’ outpouring of love and support.

The team’s coach since the program’s inception six years ago, Becker characterized Murphy as the hardest working player on the team and a positive role model for the younger athletes.

“The way she goes about doing things, she’s a great example to the other girls,” Becker said. “They have watched her skate her heart out, and the kids are always pulling for her. You could tell how they felt on senior night. They were really behind her.”

When a team has a 12-0-1 record in the ICSHL and is heavily favored to capture its third-ever league title, there have obviously been significant highlights. None stand out more than Murphy’s first career goal, which she scored in a 7-0 victory over Downingtown West on Dec. 7.

Incredibly, she scored a second goal later in the contest, although Murphy wonders about the accurate scoring decision of the latter tally.

“Another player and I were whacking at the puck and it went in,” said Murphy. “They credited me with the goal, but I’m still not sure.”

Murphy’s first goal was clearly her own, a rebound shot in front of the net.

“That was a very nice moment,” said Becker. “Everybody loved seeing that.”

The oldest of eight siblings and a graduate of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School in Doylestown, Murphy is also involved in Lansdale Catholic’s National Honor Society and Spring Musical.

Although she recently learned that she has been accepted by Boston College, Murphy hasn’t made up her mind what college she will attend.

“I don’t want to rush things,” she said. “I love being around my teammates.”

They feel the same way about her.

John Knebels may be reached at jknebs@aol.com.