By Aaron Bell

It’s all starting to sink in for Mike Murphy.

In his first season as the Belleville Bulls’ starting goaltender, Murphy backed his team to a record setting regular season, an OHL Eastern Conference championship, a thrilling seven-game championship series against the Kitchener Rangers and he is quickly becoming one of the stars of the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Kitchener.

Murphy, who was the OHL’s goalie of the year and is a nominee for the CHL award that will be presented on Saturday, made 49 saves in last night’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Spokane Chiefs including several spectacular jobs that left the Chiefs’ forward shaking their heads. Two of them made it into the “Plays of the Day” on Rogers Sportsnet.

“It’s all starting to hit me,” said Murphy, a 19-year-old from Inverary, ON. “It’s just been such a dream year for me. Last year no one would have known my name at all. I was a back-up goalie and sometimes I wasn’t even in the lineup. Last year at this time I didn’t think that I’d be seeing clips of myself on Sportsnet.”

Murphy wasn’t even sure that he would be the starting goalie for the Bulls this season.

After playing 18 games in a back-up role to all-star Kevin Lalande last year, Murphy was in a battle with sophomore Edward Pasquale for the starting job. He was determined to come into the season ready to back the team to a successful season.

“I just worked really hard this summer because I wanted to stay in Belleville,” Murphy said. “Playing with Kevin Lalande last season, he set the bar pretty high. We knew that at the end of the year, the Belleville Bulls wanted to be here at the Memorial Cup. I had to prove that I couldn’t just be a starting goalie, I had to be a top starting goalie that could take his team this far.”

Murphy had always been an acrobatic goalie that made spectacular saves, but he worked with OHL goalie coach Sebastien Farrese early in the year to improve his technical approach.

“He is an unbelievable goalie coach,” Murphy said. “He took my style from last year and mixed it with Kevin Lalande‘s style. I’m a lot more technical now but I still do athletic saves too. I really enjoy the style that I’m playing right now and it’s working out really well.”

The hard work paid off quickly. Murphy won his first six starts of the season and convinced himself and everyone else around him that he could be the guy that could bring them this far.

“I think I convinced myself early on in the season,” said Murphy, who was passed over in the NHL Entry Draft last year but has made a case to be picked this time around. “You have to prove it to yourself to become confident and prove it to yourself that you can win and be a number one goalie in this league. I proved it to myself then. After those even games, I thought ‘alright I can do this’.”

Farrese said that Murphy’s approach to becoming his best was the deciding factor in his success this season.

“During practice, he wants to work so hard and his preparation shows in the games,” Farrese said. “When he allows a goal in practice he gets upset so you can imagine how he is during a game. I give all the credit to Murph.”

Pasquale was moved to the Saginaw Spirit in December for forward Jan Mursak, defenceman Nigel Williams and veteran netminder Parker Van Buskirk.

Van Buskirk had already proven that he could be a starter in the OHL but he had a team-first approach to his backup role with the Bulls. Van Buskirk was solid in relief of Murphy when called upon during the playoffs and Murphy said that his partner has been a great supporter.

“It’s been great having him on my side,” Murphy said. “He’s seen a lot of other teams. He knows shooters and shares that with me. Parker’s been a great guy helping me out. He’s played good hockey this year too. I hope he gets a starting job somewhere next year because he deserves it. He’s a good goalie and he’s there to push me for sure.”

Murphy said that even though his success this season is finally starting to sink in, he is focused on winning his next two games at the Memorial Cup and getting an opportunity to win the national championship.

“I’m always excited to play,” Murphy said. “It’s nice to be a starting goalie in the Ontario Hockey League and especially here in the Memorial Cup when lots of people are watching. It’s a great feeling and something that you always dream of.”

Photo: Aaron Bell/CHL