ECHL: Jacksonville Icemen Bolster Support In Net

As it stands, the Icemen roster really only lacks one thing – goaltending. With the loss of veteran net presence Charles Williams to retirement and the other two members of the goalie mafia finding homes in the AHL, the Icemen goaltending group is going through a transformation of sorts. Since late July, the team has only signed one goalie, netminder Matt Vernon. That is, until today. The Icemen announced this morning that they have signed seasoned goaltender Joe Murdaca to a one-year contract. Murdaca now becomes the second goalie to join the Icemen roster and the second newest name in the Icemen net.

Murdaca, a 6’3” 187 pound goaltender, joins the Icemen line-up after splitting last season with three different ECHL teams. Murdaca appeared in 12 games split between the Newfoundland Growlers, Orlando Solar Bears, and Atlanta Gladiators. He posted a 7-5-0 record in those 12 games, posting an ECHL best .930 save percentage during his nine game stint with Atlanta. His goals against average was also an ECHL career best while with the Gladiators, averaging 2.46 goals against.

A bit of a journeyman goalie, Murdaca split the 2021-22 season with five teams, making an appearance in net for four of them. He posted a 12-5-1 record over the course of the season, with the majority of his playing time that year coming with the Atlanta Gladiators. Murdaca went 2-2 until joining the Atlanta roster, where he manned the crease in 14 games and posted a 10-3-1 record. Over the course of his 18 games during the 2021-22 season, Murdaca posted a 3.64 goals against average and a .913 save percentage. In addition to his journey through the ECHL, the netminder also picked up two games of AHL experience. Appearing in net for two games with the Abbotsford Canucks, the Vancouver Canucks AHL affiliate, Murdaca went 2-0 and posted a 2.50 goals against average with a .865 save percentage.

As the league requires teams to carry two goaltenders, there has been a big question mark at how the Icemen’s goaltending would shape up. The Buffalo Sabres, the Icemen’s NHL affiliate, have a solid amount of goaltending depth spread out between the roster in Buffalo and the roster of the AHL’s Rochester Americans. There is still the potential that, at some point, the Icemen see some additions to the crease as a result of this goaltending surplus. However, the speculation around whether that movement would come sooner rather than later was beginning to set in with training camp fast approaching. The addition of Murdaca to the Icemen crease ensures that while movement above them in the pipeline may occur, there is enough manpower to take care of the Icemen net.