Matt Murray voted AHL Goaltender of the Year

Thursday April 16, 2015

Springfield, MA – The American Hockey League announced today that Matt Murray of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins has been voted the winner of the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding goaltender for the 2014-15 season.

The award is voted on by coaches, players and members of the media in each of the league’s 30 cities. 

A 20-year-old rookie, Murray has helped the Penguins clinch their 13th consecutive trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs, and is a big reason why Wilkes-Barre/Scranton leads the league in team defense (2.11 goals per game). Entering the final weekend of the regular season, Murray owns a record of 25-9-3 in 39 appearances, and his 1.51 goals-against average, .943 save percentage and 12 shutouts not only lead the league in 2014-15, they also all represent the second-best marks in the 79-year history of the AHL. 

Murray set an AHL record for longest shutout streak by a goaltender when he held Wilkes-Barre/Scranton opponents off the scoreboard for 304 minutes and 11 seconds between Feb. 8 and Mar. 8, a stretch that included four consecutive shutout victories. Murray is an impressive 13-3-3 on the road this season, and since the All-Star break overall, he is 15-2-1 with 17 goals allowed and nine shutouts in 18 starts. 

Murray, a native of Thunder Bay, Ont., was a third-round pick by Pittsburgh in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He was named a First Team AHL All-Star and the winner of the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie, and becomes just the second rookie in the last 20 years to win the Baz Bastien Award. 

The Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award, which was first presented in 1984, honors former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Baz Bastien, who played four seasons in goal with the AHL’s Pittsburgh Hornets (1945-49) before suffering a career-ending eye injury. Bastien would go on to serve as head coach and general manager of the Hornets, leading them to the 1967 Calder Cup championship. 

Murray is the sixth OHL graduate to receive the award, joining Mark Laforest (1987, 1991), Wendell Young (1988), Manny Legace (1996), Marc Lamothe (2003) and Michael Leighton (2008).

Murray played four OHL seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 2010-2014, appearing in 166 games with a record of 79-60-4-10 with a 3.42 goals against-average and an .898 save percentage. His six shutouts in 2013-14 are tied for a Greyhounds single season franchise record with Brandon Halverson who accomplished the feat this past season.

For more information, visit TheAHL.com.