Former Viper Murphy Wins Prestigious Aaward:

This is posted on the Vipers website:

Kyle Murphy Wins Prestigious Aaward
 
Sunday, April 14, 2013 - Submitted by Don Klepp

Kyle Murphy, a prominent member of the  2010-11 Viper  championship team, has been named the Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award Winner, by the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) at the NCAA Frozen Four in Pittsburgh.

Hines, a former co-captain of the Army hockey team, was acknowledged as a"consummate team player and team builder." He was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan in September 2005.

In accepting the award, Kyle said, I am extremely honored and deeply humbled to accept the Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award," Murphy said. "Derek was a great hockey player but, more importantly, he was an extraordinary person. Derek's infectious personality, natural leadership ability and genuine spirit truly embody the perfect teammate and I will strive each day to live my own life as Derek so selflessly lived his."

All NCAA Division 1 hockey players are eligible for award, which is coordinated by the Hockey Commissioners Association. Each of the six hockey conferences nominates a player to a national ballot. From there, sports information directors from each conference vote on a winner, "who displays exemplary sportsmanship, is supremely competitive, intelligent and extraordinarily conditioned with an unmatched work ethic. The contributions of this individual, on and off the ice, cannot be measured by statistics alone."

In the year that he played with the Vipers, Kyle earned an "A" in each of the 10 online  university classes he took in order to satisfy the NCAA transfer rules. After graduating from the Vipers, Kyle accepted a spot at Providence College. Before the 2011-12 season, word came from the NCAA that even though he excelled while taking a heavy course load while with the Vipers, Kyle was ruled a partial qualifier and allowed to participate only in Friar practices for the season.

The adversity did not deter him. He was often cited by Coach Nate Leaman as the hardest day-in and day-out worker in practice. Murphy's work ethic and leadership was so persistent throughout the 2011-12 season that before the 2012-13 season - without having played a game for the Friars - Murphy was named the team captain.

"Kyle has been extremely influential over the last two years in turning this program into a top-four program in Hockey East this season, bringing all the attributes of a winner to the team," Head Coach Nate Leaman said.

Kyle's leadership and contagious work ethic was part of the reason the 2012-13 Friars – with the second-most freshmen in the country (13) – entered the last weekend of the regular season in contention for the Hockey East title for the first time ever. Kyle and the Friars went on to earn home ice for the Hockey East Quarterfinals (for the first time in 10 seasons) and advanced to the Hockey East Championship Semi-finals for the second consecutive season.

While with the Vipers, Kyle received two honors at the 2011 Viper Awards night - Unsung Hero and Academic Excellence. He will graduate this spring from Providence College with a BS in finance. In 2012 he was a Hockey East All-Academic selection.