Murph on Ice talks to the Inferno

8th Oct 2012 | Posted by Geraint Walters

The Inferno catch up with ESPN'S Aaron Murphy who attended the game v Sheffield on the weekend and to take a look at the chance of more locked out NHL players coming to the Elite League.

Inferno- Hope you enjoyed the game Saturday Murph. Can you give us your views on Saturday's game and where it could have been won and lost? Maybe some stand out players including Brits on both teams. Views on the officials?


Aaron Murphy - The Devils power-play was obviously ticking over nicely with 2 goals Saturday – from Phil Hill and Mac Faulkner. I was impressed with Faulkner and Stu MacRae who were both brilliant against the Steelers in my opinion.

MacRae is one of the best penalty-killers in the Elite League – and I think one of the best all-around players here in the UK. He does his job quietly and professionally, and the Devils should be happy to have him back. I also thought Devin DiDiomete was in the heads of several Steelers, and did a good job keeping some of their skilled players on the back foot. Deeds can play, and he also knows how to intimidate, and I thought he played a solid game against Sheffield.

As far as Brit players are concerned – I thought Ben Davies was great Saturday night. He took a couple of important face-offs in the Devils zone, and he was consistent every shift. He was also physical and engaged throughout the Steelers game, and he really caught my eye. Hill was good too – and his PP goal was hard work going to the net and using his size as an advantage.

The officiating was fine – some weird penalty calls on both sides of the puck – and I thought there were some ‘make-up’ calls – but all in all the officiating is what it is in this league. Some nights you don’t notice the refs – and that’s what you want – and other nights you’re going to be frustrated. Saturday was a little of both!

Inferno- Also can we get your views on players being gassed so soon in the season for example Cory Pecker with Sheffield and also your views on NHL players coming over to the UK to play while they're locked out.

Aaron Murphy - Well I think Pecker was gassed to make room for a possible bigger name import. We know that some NHL players are heading this way, and Pecker was probably an easy target with his salary and the expectations the club had for him. I’ve also heard that his work ethic and conditioning were called into question, and if you’re not in shape or motivated, you will be ‘found out’ and exposed in this league.

As far as NHL players coming this way, we’ve obviously seen Anthony Stewart sign in Nottingham, and Drew Miller in Braehead, and I have heard that a few more will be here in the coming weeks. It’s important to remember that some of these guys are looking to get into ‘game shape’ and might not dominate from the get go. Without a training camp or exhibition games, these guys are jumping into EIHL action with new team mates, new systems and unfamiliar opposition as well. It could take Stewart and Miller a few games or more to start to look in top form. So fans should be patient, once anyone of that pedigree gets comfortable with his new team mates and surroundings, we should be in for a treat!

We appreciate Murph taking time out of his busy work schedule to talk to us and we will be catching up with him again in a few weeks regards the NHL Lockout situation and taking a look at the KHL which he will be commentating on for ESPN.