Second chance was all Murphy needed

He whiffed. Absolutely whiffed. Here it was, a tie game in overtime with bragging rights of the city on the line, and Boston College forward Ryan Murphy was in front of the net, lining up a point-blank backhand to vault himself into Beanpot lore.

"Every kid dreams of scoring a goal in overtime to win it," said Murphy.

But his backhand bid was not a game-winner. It wasn't a shot at all, because as he went to fire the puck, he missed it. Murphy can admit this now: He was overthinking. Who can blame him? Boston University goalie Sean Fields had been spectacular in last night's Beanpot final, threatening to steal a victory from the heavily favored Eagles with his exceptional glove work.

"It does start to get inside your head after a guy stops 40-something shots," Murphy explained. "You start feeling like you've got to get good position every time."

In a different game, with a different ending, Murphy may have been forced to relive his miscue. It had the trappings of one of those ESPN highlights (lowlights?) that can sentence you to permanent blooperland.

But that will not be necessary. Before Murphy had a chance to engage in even a moment of self-flagellation, teammate Ryan Shannon was sticking the shaft of his stick out to disrupt the advancing BU defense, and the puck squirted free. There, suddenly, an instant after Murphy had whiffed, was an immediate chance for redemption. This time, he didn't overthink. Murphy simply wheeled and blasted the puck at the net -- over that same glove that Fields had used all night to torment his team.

"It was so quick," Murphy said. "It was really just instinct."

You must understand that Ryan Murphy is not a goal-scorer. Oh, he gets his share here and there because he is a tireless worker and never gives up on the puck. He never bows his head after a mistake; he simply keeps it down and searches out the next play.

"You'll never see me get too many pretty ones," Murphy said. "We have other guys for that, guys who are goal-scorers. Everyone knows their role on this team. I try to fulfill my role as a guy on the checking line, a guy who contributes offense once in a while."

For a guy who is only supposed to be an occasional offensive threat, Murphy had his fingerprints all over this game. He was in on a number of near-goals. He was in the thick of it when his linemate, Ty Hennes, banged home a rebound of Murphy's shot to tie the game, 1-1, with 3:30 left in regulation.

"I knew once we tied the game that we'd win it," Murphy said.

As the final seconds of regulation ticked away and BC retreated to its locker room, the Eagles talked about keeping the pressure on Fields. They discussed the need to continue their style of play, to preserve their No. 1 ranking, which had just become official yesterday. They were heavily favored in this game, and they wanted to leave with that reputation intact.

"What we said was it wasn't going to be a pretty goal, it was going to be a grinding goal," Murphy said.

He likes that description of his winner, which gave BC a 2-1 overtime triumph. He likes the fact that he got it against the Terriers, who have a roster loaded with friends he used to play with and against.

Don't ask him to concoct some elaborate explanation about how the biggest goal of his life was constructed. Those adjectives are reserved for the goal-scorers.

"Dave Spina made a beautiful pass across, and I fanned on the first one," Murphy calmly explained. "I'm not really sure of the events that took place afterward. It happened so fast. All I remember is all my teammates running at me."

Pressed to describe how he got his stick on the puck and whirled around so quickly and efficiently, he answered, "I wish I could say I tried to pick the corner on that. I just shot it as quickly as I could. I just tried to get it off."

He was asked if it was the biggest goal of his life. He answered in the affirmative without even stopping to consider it.

"By far, it's the biggest goal," he said. "I couldn't come up with a more perfect one."

The media thirsted for more from this newly minted hero, this hard-working, blue-collar hockey kid. They wanted to know what the biggest goal of his life was before he beat Fields on his glove side to win the Beanpot.

"I really don't know," he said. "There haven't been too many of them."

There do not need to be many more. Murphy scored the goal to win the Beanpot last night. That is what he will remember for the rest of his life. That is what ESPN will show on its highlights.

"We fought so hard, I thought we deserved it," said Ryan Murphy.

You did, kid. You absolutely did.

Jackie MacMullan is a Globe columnist. Her e-mail address is macmullan@globe.com.