ORLANDO, Fla. – Generally, the naming of new coaches is old hat in the news business. That is unless the new coach is coming directly from a job that he had held. Monday morning, the Huntsville Havoc announced that Randy Murphy will take over the position of Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations for the SPHL team effective immediately. What makes the announcement stand out is that Murphy had been the Head Coach of the New Mexico Scorpions in the CHL – a team that has been rumored to be on the brink of either suspending or ceasing operations. “We had several good conversations with Randy before flying him in for a visit,” Havoc owner Keith Jeffries said in a team release. “After spending several hours with him, it was clear to all of us in the Havoc office that Randy was the right man for the job.” In Murphy’s two seasons as the head man in New Mexico, he compiled a 61-57-10 record and took the Scorpions to the second round of the playoffs following the 2007-08 campaign. Prior to taking over in Rio Rancho, he had served as an assistant for the Scorpions in 2006-07 and also had three years as a player/assistant coach in the UHL on his resume. Murphy, a graduate of Elmira College, spent 12 years as a player with teams in the AHL, ECHL, UHL, CHL, WPHL and Europe. In 751 career games, he tallied 328 goals and 567 assists. Two of his better years came with the then-CHL member Columbus Cottonmouths when he posted back-to-back 100 point seasons. Murphy’s departure from the Scorpions adds to the dark clouds hanging over the franchise. As of yet, the team has not made an official announcement as to whether they will be playing or not this coming season. Stay with ProHockeyNews.com for more details about this breaking news as they become available. Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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