And just a week ago, Murphy led the Oilers to a season-opening victory over the Wichita Thunder with two goals and one assist.

“It was a good first game for me,” Murphy said of his three-point night. “I was definitely surprised. You always want to have a good start to the year.

“I have been lucky and fortunate to get the bounces in the first game. Hopefully we can keep it going all year. First impressions are lasting ones.”

Murphy scored the Oilers’ first two goals, then assisted Shawn Bates on the Oilers’ third goal. Rookie Kale Kessy added the fourth to give the Oilers a 4-3 victory.

“We had a really good chip off the draw on the first one and was able to get a shot on net and it went in,” Murphy said of his first goal. “The second one was a garbage rebound goal, but I will take it.”

The 24-year-old Murphy tries to read how a goalie might react in situations, but that did not come into play at Wichita.

“You always try to, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t,” Murphy said. “I just tried to read it as I went along.

“Everything is kind of new to me this year, so I am not familiar with any of the goalies.”

With four years of college hockey at Colgate University behind him, Murphy is adapting quickly to the pro game. He will get another learning experience in the Oilers’ home opener Friday against the Indy Fuel at the BOK Center.

It will be the first of four games in five days. Atlanta comes to town on Saturday and Sunday.

“That is something I am not used to,” Murphy said of the Oilers’ schedule. “In college, you play Friday and Saturday, and that is it to next weekend.

“It will be new to me to play a 72-game season. I have not done that in my career. In college, you only play 35 games.”

The work ethic is also different and Murphy said he is thankful to the veterans for showing the rookies the ropes.

“It is all new to me, but the older guys have been really good helping the new guys,” Murphy said. “There is a lot to learn. Hopefully we can get a couple of wins this week and keep rolling.

“Here, guys work smart and make plays a lot more (in a) possession style of game.”

Murphy developed his game at Colgate, where he scored 48 goals and added 42 assists in 146 games.

“We had a really good team at Colgate,” Murphy said. “We lost in the finals in back-to-back years. We went to the national tournament in my sophomore year and did not do too great, but it was a good experience.”

Now Murphy is looking for nothing but good experiences with the Oilers.