Breanna Murdoch is one of the many girls who loves sports. Her love for sports has translated to the ice, where she currently plays on the men’s club hockey team at the University of Idaho.
She’s known as a local here in Moscow, but Murdoch’s roots lie in Canada.
Her love for hockey started when she was young.
Murdoch has been playing hockey since she was four years old, and skating ever since she was three.
Murdoch moved to Moscow back in 2007.
Due to Murdoch’s talents, she has been given chances to play on both men’s teams as well as an all-girls hockey team.
For the longest time, the UI hockey team wasn’t allowing girls on the team because of how much of the sport is full-contact.
“This year, one of the gentlemen on the team, Dustin Doan, he asked, ‘Hey they’re letting girls play, Gonzaga has a girl, do you wanna play this year?’ and I was like, ‘Yes I do,’” Murdoch said.
The Vandals aren’t the only team that has a female player. Gonzaga University also has a woman on the team.
Murdoch has already seen the woman from Gonzaga during a previous matchup this season.
The Vandals swept the Bulldogs last weekend. Winning Friday’s game with a score of 6-4 and Saturdays game 4-2.
Off the ice, Murdoch is currently a junior at UI and plans on receiving two degrees in what she said she hopes will only take five years.
Murdoch said she looked into other colleges because she had originally wanted to play for a Division I school, but eventually decided to prioritize her education.
Murdoch studies medical sciences and business. Once she gets both degrees, she wants to combine them and pursue pharmaceutical sales.
Her relation to UI stems from both parents teaching here at Idaho. Her father teaches courses in anatomy and physiology, while her mother teaches genetics.
She said her parents have been fully supportive with her decision to play hockey ever since she was a kid.
The love and support for the sport Murdoch loves still continues today.
“Back when I was really little, my brother already played hockey; everyone at our age played hockey,” Murdoch said. “I would go put on his gear and I would walk around the house with his padding and everything. So, they decided ‘okay, well we’ll put her on the teams and everything like that.’”
Hockey hasn’t been the only sport Murdoch has been a part of. She played soccer until she was in high school. Murdoch’s love for sports extended through, track, swimming, running in triathlons and playing baseball.
When she played baseball, it was with a boys team. When Murdoch played baseball with the boys in Moscow, the team wasn’t as welcoming as the hockey team.
“I actually got a lot of rude comments,” Murdoch said. “They weren’t very welcoming, they weren’t supportive as a team.
Murdoch appreciates the camaraderie with her team now after her previous experiences.
“I think they’re pretty considerate if they have to lay a big hit, they know they don’t have to actually lay me out,” Murdoch said. “They could probably hit me and still gain possession of the puck without putting quite as much force into it. I do know some of the teams are not and actually in those games I just don’t play. I don’t want to risk getting injured.”
Murdoch said that she has yet to run into any problems with members of the team and that they all get along well.
“It kind of means I have a little bit more pressure,” Murdoch said. “I’m the only one that has to prove that they belong out there because all of the other guys, even if they’re not the best player on the team, or anything like that, they don’t stand out significantly. But with any sport, if there’s just one girl, it’s a little bit of a ‘I have to prove that I should be playing with you guys.’”
Pressure or no pressure, head coach Kyle Watne doesn’t hesitate to put her on the rink during a game with the rest of the guys.
Murdoch isn’t alone on the rink. Her teammates support her, but there’s one that stands out above the rest of them.
Her older brother Xavier Murdoch is also on the hockey team. Murdoch and her brother are three years apart.
“So, when it comes down to it, someone has a dangerous hit on me or something like that, my brother would definitely get into a fight and so would a lot of the gentlemen on the team,” Murdoch said. “It’s like, for all of them, it’s like having a little sister on the team. They would all get in a fight for me but are also looking out for me. They’re nervous in that aspect but they trust I’ll be fine.”
Her favorite moment this season was when her brother hugged her after he scored a goal.
“Even without a sibling, I’m sure all the guys would take super good care of me, and look out for me,” Murdoch said. “But my brother has been looking out for me for years and so it’s really nice and comforting to have him there. We drive to games together, we go to practice together, and everything like that. It’s really nice to have him on the team with me.”
The Murdochs have an unbreakable bond and it’s grown stronger through the years, she said. Sometimes it really is the little things that matter. Murdoch looks forward to the little things that take place on the ice.
“There’s just something about hockey that beats out every sport in my mind,” Murdoch said. “I’ve played almost everything in my life and hockey was by far my favorite. It’s more fun to watch for me and its super fun to play in.”
Elizabeth Carbajal can be reached at [email protected]