Al Murdoch still seeking 'his' trophy

By CARLA MOTKO
Collegian Staff Writer

Iowa State men's ice hockey coach Al Murdoch has been around hockey for a long time. But he has never held the shiny ACHA Championship Cup and seen his reflection.

Ironically, except for the day it was dedicated, Murdoch has never held the Murdoch Cup, which was named after him. The championship cup of the ACHA has eluded him for the 30 arduous years he has spent as coach of the Cyclones. But this year he is hoping to take his cup from defending champion Penn State and bring it to what he believes is its rightful place -- his office in Iowa State.

When the ACHA decided in 1993 that the league needed a traveling trophy, Penn State coach Joe Battista put forward the motion to name it after Murdoch, who was essentially the founder of the association.

"When they named the cup after me, I guess they were hoping I would retire," Murdoch joked. "But I'm not that old yet."

Murdoch began coaching in 1965 at Bemidji High School in Canada where he commandeered basically every sport the school had to offer. Two years later, he was offered the head coaching position of the Bemidji State football team, which he accepted and stayed with until 1969.

At age 23, Murdoch went to Iowa State to pursue a graduate degree in physical education. Between theses, he coached what became a very successful Cyclones squad and provided the basis of what is now the ACHA.

In his 30 years with the Cyclones, Murdoch has acquired a record of 634-324-22, good for the third-highest total of any active college hockey coach -- ACHA or NCAA. In addition to coaching, Murdoch was the first president of the ACHA and made the association what it is today.

"When the association decided we needed a traveling trophy for the ACHA, I felt it was only appropriate to name it after the man who has made such a huge impact on the ACHA," Battista said.

Before the Murdoch Cup came about in 1994, the ACHA only had a trophy to present to the champion. Although his team has won the ACHA title once, it was in 1992, two years before the cup came about. Ironically, Murdoch has never won the cup named after him.

In 1982, Alabama-Huntsville was the first team to win the ACHA championship. Since then, only four other teams aside from Iowa State have earned the title -- North Dakota, Ohio, Arizona and Penn State.

Not only is the ACHA Championship Cup named after a former president of the association, the two presidents to hold office after Murdoch have been honored with an ACHA award being presented in their name.

The MVP award of the ACHA Tournament was named after Battista, who took office after Murdoch, and the ACHA Coach of the Year award was named after Arizona coach Leo Golembiewski.

But none is quite as prestigious as the Murdoch Cup itself. With only four other team names on the cup, Murdoch is hoping to bring the cup named after him back to Iowa State this year.

"It's a pretty good honor anytime you receive a gesture like that from your peers," Murdoch said. "Now all I have to do is get it to where it belongs, and that's with me."

• Icers gunning for ACHA title again
• ACHA Tournament to feature Olympic-sized surface
• Mad scientist