MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin men's hockey and head coach Mike Hastings announced that Kevin Murdock is joining the program as the team's new third assistant coach.

Murdock, who spent last season as an assistant coach at Alaska Anchorage and helped revive the program when hired in late 2021, will coach UW's goaltenders, among his other duties.

"Kevin is a guy who just kept rising to the top when we looked at who we wanted to bring in. He's hungry, he's paid his dues and I like that he's worked his way up the ranks," head coach Mike Hastings said. "I got a chance to spend some time out at a rink with him and was impressed with his eye and how he goes about his business. He's a great fit for us here at Wisconsin.

"He'll work with our goaltenders so his combination of playing the position at a high level and developing goaltenders over the last seven years will serve our student-athletes well."

Since his playing days ended in 2015, Murdock has been on an upward trajectory in the coaching world, starting off with Gilmour Academy in the Midwest Prep Hockey League, then joining the North Iowa Bulls of the NA3HL for three years.

With North Iowa, he served as assistant coach for his first two seasons, helping the team to a pair of division titles. That included an appearance in the Silver Cup final in 2017. He became associate head coach for the 2018-19 season and helped the team return to the championship series.

The Bulls went 106-26-6-3 during his tenure.

He moved on to become head coach of the NAHL's Kenai River Brown Bears for 2019-20 and posted a 47-40-4-4 mark with the franchise.

The Bradenton, Florida, native, returned to the North Iowa Bulls for the 2021-22 campaign, though this time in the NAHL, to become associate head coach and associate general manager. He departed halfway through the season to take his most recent Alaska Anchorage position.

Murdock's playing career as a goaltender traveled the NCAA route, with a stop at Minnesota State for a season, before spending three seasons at Lake Superior State. While at LSSU, Murdock posted a .930 save percentage in 23 games during the 2012-13, which stands tied for second in school annals, while his .915 career save percentage shares third-best in school history.

He earned his bachelor's degree in parks and recreation from LSSU.

Murdock also played professionally in the ECHL with the Fort Wayne Komets and Tulsa Oilers, as well as in the SPHL with the Fayetteville FireAntz. His playing days also included Shattuck-St. Mary's and the USHL's Lincoln Stars, where he led the league in save percentage and goals-against average in the 2008-09 season.