Abbey Murphy’s hat-trick in the first game of the 2025 Canada-USA Rivalry Series was a sight to behold. Murphy has been a mainstay on the Team USA roster for a few seasons now, but there’s no doubt that 3 goal performance should cement her spot on the Olympic roster. It’s hard to believe that she’s still playing her last season of college hockey and not even in the PWHL yet!

Watch this week’s 8 minute video breakdown and learn how:

• the poise and patience of Murphy’s teammate, Taylor Heise, is the engine that drives all 3 of these goals
• to get and stay lost on the backdoor – where all 3 of Murphy’s goals came from
• to release the puck more quickly from the backdoor – by being more shot ready

3 Key Takeaways:

1. Be Patient: While Murphy scores all the goals here, Taylor Heise is the star of the show in the poise category. Her incredible use of deception, changing the point of attack, and precise passing is what makes all of Murphy’s goals possible. Be like Heise and remember to think a play ahead, know your options and be willing to do the unexpected to keep your opponent guessing.
2. Get Lost: Murphy’s ability to get lost and stay lost is what puts her in the perfect position to score all 3 of these goals. Sometimes players run around when they don’t have the puck and create more chaos than calm for their teammates. Murphy’s teammates know she’s lost over on the backdoor and use her as a weapon to punish Canada for getting too puck focused.
3. Shot Ready: Murphy’s quick release is one of the best in the world. But it doesn’t matter what kind of shot you have – if you’re not shot ready, you’re probably not going to score. Murphy scans the ice so well and anticipates the play to get herself in the perfect position to release a lightning quick shot on all 3 of these plays. Keep working on the quality of your shot, but focus just as much time on learning how to adjust your foot and body position to keep yourself shot ready.

Work Hard. Dream BIG.

Be a Backdoor Threat. Be Orange.

~ Coach Kim