William Smith senior goalie Erin Murray was named the New England Hockey Conference's Goaltender of the Year in a vote by the conference's coaches. Murray is the first Heron to be named the conference's top goalie.
 
In addition, Murray was named first team All-NEHC. Senior forward Kayla Ketchabaw was voted to the third team and first-year forward Bella Hacker earned a spot on the All-Rookie team.
 
Murray has played the majority of the minutes in goal for William Smith this season. She is 8-11-2 this season with a 1.35 GAA,  a .948 save percentage and seven shutouts. Murray is fifth in the nation in shutouts, 13th in save percentage and 23rd in GAA. She recorded 30-plus saves seven times this season, including a career-high 46 saves against Hamilton at The Cooler. Murray made 30-plus saves seven times this season. She recorded her first shutout of the season in William Smith's NEHC opener against Albertus Magnus. Murray had three straight shutouts from Jan. 7-17 in wins over Salem State (twice) and New England College. Her seven shutouts this year are a William Smith single-season record.
 
Murray has played in 52 career games, posting a 21-23-3 overall record. She has a 1.64 GAA, a .944 save percentage and 12 shutouts. Murray has rewritten the record books in her four seasons at William Smith. Her 12 shutouts are a program record. Murray also holds the program record for save percentage and GAA. She is second all-time in saves (1278). Murray's 1.27 GAA from her junior season is a single-season record.
 
Murray is the first Heron goalie to be recognized with a year-end award since Maggie Salmon '18 was named the ECAC West Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.  Murray is the first Heron to win a major award since Julianna Gong '24 was the UCHC Rookie of the Year in 2020.
 
Ketchabaw has played in all 25 games this season. She leads the Herons with 10 assists and 15 points. She is second on the team with five goals. Ketchabaw recorded a season-high four points on a goal and three assists in a win over NEC.  The next day, she had three assists against the Pilgrims. Ketchabaw had both goals against Norwich on Nov. 23.
 
Ketchabaw is the 11th player in program history to play in 100 career games. She has 58 points on 29 goals and 29 assists. Ketchabaw was also an All-NEHC selection last year.
 
 
Hacker has played in all 25 games during her rookie season. She has 10 points on five goals and five assists. Four of her five goals have been game winners. Hacker is seventh in the nation in game-winning goals. She recorded her first collegiate point, an assist, in William Smith's home opener. The next day, Hacker scored her first collegiate goal against Albertus Magnus. She had her first multi-point game in William Smith's win over Salem State. Hacker was named the NEHC Rookie of the Week following her heroics against Castleton. In Friday's game she scored the game-tying goal with six seconds left in regulation, the next day she had the game-winning goal in overtime.
 
 
William Smith is 10-13-2 and finished fifth in the NEHC with a 10-7-1 mark in conference play. The Herons begin their quest for the Mariano Cup, the NEHC Tournament championship trophy, on Saturday, Feb. 22, when they travel to Boston to take on UMass Boston. The quarterfinal contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.