When Abbey Murphy got the news, she didn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe it.
The forward for the Chicago Mission, who is committed to the University of Minnesota, is one of the best players in the world in her age group. She was supposed to be getting ready, with her team, to compete for a national championship. Instead, she was in disbelief. She couldn’t believe that her season was over. Her time with the program she’s called home since she was a kid … it was all over.
“I was devastated,” she said. “We were all devastated.”
Murphy and the rest of the Mission were going to be going to USA Hockey National Championships, but USA Hockey canceled the championships this year amid the COVID-19 outbreak that is sweeping not only the United States, but a good portion of the world.
“We didn’t really see it coming,” Murphy said. “But, I think we all get it. You just never know when your last game will be. We just played an important game, we won a state championship, but none of us thought that it would be the end of our season.
“For the seniors, we’re never going to play a game with some of these kids again. It’s really sad. Not going to nationals for our senior year is devastating. I think that we had a pretty good chance to do well, too. It’s sad. I was upset. But if you think about it, there are a lot of kids in worse situations. The players in college will never get to play again. For a lot of us, we’ll at least have college to look forward to. There are a lot of college players who will never get the chance to play again, and that’s something that I couldn’t even think about.”
Murphy and her teammates found out on social media. A teammate had texted the team’s group chat about the news from USA Hockey. From there, the coaches were able to get in touch with the game later in the afternoon.
“A lot of us are getting together tonight,” Murphy said. “We want to all hang out. I think right now, we all want to be together. It’s out of our control. I totally understand why they have to do what they have to do. The No. 1 thing is everyone’s health. That’s the most important thing. I know all of us want to go to nationals, but it’s not worth taking the chance on anyone getting sick.”
“Safety of our participants has always been our top priority and with the current coronavirus situation, our executive committee unanimously decided to cancel these national events,” said Jim Smith, president of USA Hockey.
“We felt it was important to get the news of the cancellation out immediately,” said Pat Kelleher, executive director of USA Hockey. “We’re sure there will be many questions and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we together work through this unprecedented situation.
“While we’re disappointed that we had to make this decision, we celebrate the success of USA Hockey teams across the country this year, as well as the time and effort so many people invested into these signature events. We’re thankful to our national sponsors, tournament directors, volunteers and so many others for their support in making hockey an enjoyable experience for all.”