Alex Murray will defend the crease for the American International College Yellow Jackets in 2014-15.
The 20-year-old netminder who graduated from the Prince George Spruce Kings when their B.C. Hockey League season ended in March, will suit up for the Jackets, a NCAA Div. 1 team based in Springfield, Mass. playing out of the Atlantic Hockey Conference.
Murray, a six-foot 190-pound goalie from Burlington, Ont. joined the Kings at the start of the 2013-14 season. He posted a 23-11-3 record and a 2.44 goals against average, finishing in the top five in the BCHL in wins, goals against average and save percentage (.917).
The Spruce Kings finished second behind Langley in the Mainland Division with a 32-20-4-2 record and 70 points before losing to Coquitlam in the first round of the playoffs.
"Alex has the ability to be a big game goaltender and he was able to win games on his own for us last season," said Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes. "He brought a sense of calm to the rest of the group because of their confidence in him. He's a tremendous young man, a terrific team player and a very talented goaltender."
Meanwhile, Hawes attended the BCHL annual meeting in Richmond on the weekend where issues regarding roster composition, player safety and playoff structure were discussed.
Hawes said nothing discussed significantly impacts the northernmost team in the BCHL.
The league will continue with the same playoff format as this past season, with best-of-seven playoff series in the first two rounds, a three-team round-robin in round three to eliminate one team and a best-of-seven Fred Page Cup final between the two teams.
Hawes is sitting on the six-member scheduling committee that will meet during the upcoming season.
"Scheduling is important for all the teams," said Hawes. "The committee will look at the best way to schedule games for the regular season. We'll have some meetings to come up with a plan and the best way to do that."
The regular season schedule for 2014-15 is complete and just needs to be approved and released by the BCHL.
The season will begin Sept. 26 and conclude Sunday, March 1.
The Kings season-opener is Oct. 3
Prince George opens its main camp Aug. 29 and the team will compete in the Bauer BCHL Showcase Sept. 19 - 21 in Chilliwack.
The Kings off-season has been a quiet one.
"We have a large majority of our players returning next season so we have to be selective in who we offer playing cards to," said Hawes. "That's nice to have."
