Murray Honored

May 1, 2019

Minot, ND – The Minot Minotauros are proud to announce that Head Coach and General Manager Marty Murray has been named the 2019 NAHL General Manager of the Year.   Murray has a career record 227-178-34 since he took the helm of the Minotauros in late January of their inaugural season 2011-2012.  The very next season, Murray’s first full year as Head Coach/GM, the Tauros made the Robertson Cup Playoffs and have not missed the post-season tournament since.  The Tauros seven year run of making the playoffs is the second longest active streak in the league behind only the Fairbanks Ice Dogs.

Click here for the full 2018-19 NAHL Awards

This season Murray took a team with just 11 returning members from last seasons run to the Robertson Cup Final and rebuilt a roster that finished second in the Central Division and sixth overall in the league.  Over the summer he added veterans free agents Justin Kelley and Brennan Couet.  Kelley finished eight on the team with 33 points on 15 goals and 18 assists.  Defenseman Couet had two goals and six assists and a +10 rating.  Once the season began Murray bolstered the roster by adding Vince Marino, whom had been Brookings second leading scorer last year and Quinn Warmuth who was serving as the Maryland Black Bears captain.

Most importantly during Murray’s time as Head Coach/GM of the Minotauros 79 players have moved on to play college or professional hockey including 43 players to NCAA DI programs.  Brad Porter, the Governor of the Minotauros representing Play Forward said “Marty exemplifies everything the Tauros organization strives to uphold with the utmost professionalism.  Our program’s continued success is owed to him and the support staff he has assembled.”

Tauros’ captain Fritz Belisle has been a Tauro for two season continued the praise of Murray, “It’s been a privilege playing for Marty the past two years! He does a great job of bringing in high quality players and people to this organization and helping them get to the next level.”

Murray for his part was deferential to the staff and players he has surrounded himself with:

“I look at this as a group award.  I’m very thankful to surround myself with great people that have a passion for our organization.  I can’t thank my Assistant GM Chris Lonke enough for his work on the recruiting trail.  Same goes with Wags and Waz [Assistant Coaches Shane Wagner and Wyatt Waselenchuk].  Not only have we been able to recruit high end players, they are also high end character kids that do an amazing job on and off the ice.  Our entire scouting staff; Brad Clayton, Todd Collins, Reed Larson, Sean LaDouce, Billy Wagner, and Mike Perkins do an amazing job of identifying players that fit well into our culture.  I’d like to thank the players for their commitment everyday and understanding the impact they can have on our community during their time in Minot.  Lastly I’d like to thank Brad Porter for bringing junior hockey back to Minot, believing in me from day one, and setting the example by being the hardest working member of our organization. ”      

This is the fourth time that Murray has been honored in the NAHL annual awards.  He was named the NAHL Central GM of the Year for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons as well as the NAHL Central Coach of the Year for the 2014-15 season.  Murray has also been chosen to coach the NAHL Selects at the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament twice.

Murray and the Tauros continue their chase for the Robertson Cup this weekend with Games Three and Four of the Central Division Finals at home against the Aberdeen Wings.  Tickets for both Games Three and Four are still available through the “Tickets” tab atop this page or by coming to the Maysa Arena box office between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. today or tomorrow.  Even if the Tauros advance to the next round, these will be the Tauros final home games of the season as the Robertson Cup Final Four will once again be hosted by Fogerty Ice Arena in Blaine, MN.