Jamie Murray experienced a spring break unlike any of his other classmates at Babson College. Shortly after he made a season-high 42 saves in a season-ending 3-2 loss to UMass-Boston in the conference final on March 5, the 6-foot-3, 170-pound senior goalie from Scituate flew to California to sign a professional contract with the San Jose Sharks. Murray spent the rest of his ‘break’ in Texas, suiting up in four games for the Allen Americans, the Sharks’ affiliate in the ECHL. In 208 minutes, he was 1-0 with a 1.44 goals against average. Now back on campus, he is preparing for graduation after a stellar career in which he compiled a 62-20-9 mark with a 1.69 GAA and 16 shutouts. As a senior, he was the New England Division 2/3 Player of the Year for the second time in three seasons after a 14-5-3 mark for the Beavers (19-6-3). He departs as a three-time All-American and a two-time nominee for the Hockey Humanitarian Award with a double concentration in finance and real estate.
Q. Can you reflect on your Babson career?
A. Babson was actually a school I had ruled out during my senior year of high school. After two years of junior hockey [South Shore Kings] I didn’t have many options and coach Jamie Rice was willing to give me a chance to come here and prove myself. It is crazy that my career here has come to an end. Obviously things didn’t end as we hoped, but making it to four New England Hockey Conference championship games and winning two is a legacy my class is proud to leave on the program.
Q. You set a ton of records. How do you feel about that?
A. It’s cool to leave a personal mark on the program, but it’s not what any of us were here to do. Down the road, those records will be broken, but no one can take those two championships, and how we felt winning them, away from us.
Q. Your reaction to signing your pro contract?
A. Playing pro hockey is something I grew up dreaming about, so it was pretty surreal. They actually announced that it was my first pro start during the starting lineups and I think that’s when it really hit me that I had made it. Obviously there is a lot more that I want to accomplish, but to get to this milestone is something I will have forever, regardless of how my career turns out.
Q. How was the rest of your spring break?
A. I didn’t get much of a chance to enjoy the weather, but I managed to get a little burn by the pool on our off day.
Q. What’s next with San Jose?
A. My goal is to be in the [American Hockey League] next year. [St. Jose is] giving me every chance to compete for the starting job, so I want to take advantage of every resource until then. I know I can play at that level, and being in Allen really helped with my confidence.
Q. How will you prepare this summer?
A. My summer will consist of a lot of training and a lot of resting. My job is to be a pro hockey player, and everything I do this summer adds up to how I compete in training camp in September. I’ll be working with a personal trainer and doing a lot of yoga and stretching to get my body ready, especially leading up to development camp in July.
Q. Your reaction to being named a finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian award?
A. It was pretty special. It’s amazing to see how other people have made an impact in their community, and how many great people there are out there in the hockey world. (Air Force senior Chris Dylewski was the winner).
Q. Will you get any downtime this summer?
A. We don’t have much spare time in the winter, but in the summer I love going to the beach in Scituate. Living by the water was something I took for granted growing up, so now I’m trying to make the most of it.
Q. What are your thoughts about graduation?
A. It’s about a month away, so it’s really starting to sink in that this chapter in my life is pretty much over. The next few weeks should be a blast, and there will be plenty of fun to be had with my friends here. It will be tough to leave this place, but it’s been an incredible ride.
JOHN JOHNSON
For full interview, go to bostonglobe.com/south.
