LAS VEGAS — I mean, are we really surprised?
Minnesota State men’s hockey junior Evan Murr has earned Second-Team All-American by CCM and American Hockey Coaches Association. Murr, from Stillwater, is the program’s 51st All-American. He’s also the second Maverick to earn All-American honors under head coach Luke Strand. Senior goaltender Alex Tracy was a CCM/ACHA Second-Team All-American in 2025.
While paired with senior Ralfs Bermanis as part of MSU’s tenacious blue line, Murr finished with a team-best 20 assists and plus/minus of +24. He had five multi-point games, including a stretch in November where he was a playmaking machine.
Back on Nov. 15, 2025 Murr tallied three assists in a 4-2 road win over Lake Superior State. It took 13 days and a second trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for Murr to accomplish the feat again. He notched three assists in the Mavericks’ 4-0 road win over Northern Michigan.
In CCHA action he was nothing short of dominating. His 20 points in conference play led all defenseman in the CCHA, scoring six goals with 14 assists. Murr’s +17 rating was also the best of all CCHA defensemen, playing an average of 22:57 minutes per conference game.
He was the CCHA Defenseman of the Week and Defenseman of the Month twice. He repeated as CCHA Defenseman of the year this season.His 23 goals, 60 assists and 83 points are the 10th most by a defenseman in program history.
And when the games mattered most this season, Murr arrived. He totaled four goals and six assists in the Mavericks’ final 15 games.
He notched two assists in a 7-2 Mason Cup semifinal win over Michigan Tech. He scored the game-winning goal in the Mason Cup title game for the second-straight season. He finished with a goal and two assists in the Mavericks 4-1 title win over St. Thomas, a game where he was voted second start of the night, bested only by Tracy s MVP performance, stopping 29 of 30 shots.
Murr is part of a talented second team All-American unit.
Augustana goaltender Josh Kotai also earned second team honors. Kotai, the CCHA Goaltender of the Year, was 20-11-4 with a 1.99 goals against average and a save percentage of .938. He signed his professional contract with the New York Islanders in March.
Penn State freshman Gavin McKenna joins Murr on the second team. McKenna, heavily favored to be the first overall selection in the 2026 NHL entry draft, scored 15 goals and tallied 36 assists across 35 games.
Michigan State senior Charlie Stramel also earned second team honors. He finished his season with 19 goals and 25 assists with a +32 rating. He is the older brother of Minnesota State women’s hockey’s Sophie Stramel.