Posted on 03/30/2018 8:05:48 AM PDT by mac_truck
In a bizarre turn of events, the Blackhawks had to play emergency goaltender Scott Foster Thursday night against the Jets, and Foster saved all seven shots he faced in a 6-2 win.
Not bad for a 36-year-old guy who had not played competitive hockey since his four-year career at Western Michigan University ended in 2006.
Of course, no one expected Foster would even sniff the ice, let alone turn away all the shots he faced. But starting goalie Anton Forsberg suffered an injury in pre-game warmups. Backup Collin Delia, who had just been recalled from the minor leagues, made his NHL debut Thursday and played well in relief of Forsberg, stopping 25 of 27 shots. But he left early in the third period with an apparent lower-body injury.
Enter Foster, whose only hockey stats (.875 save percentage, 3.44 GAA) came at Western Michigan those many years ago. He's at every Blackhawks game as the emergency backup, bringing his equipment along. He eats dinner in the press box as the team's guest, waiting for the call that will never come.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportingnews.com ...
I miss the Far Side.
Wow! Dude lived the dream.
Try club league or pickup on the weekends wherever they can get ice time..........
Shucks. I misread. All else good?
Interestingly, I think he’s assigned to the rink, not the team. If the opposing team needed the emergency goalie, he would have been suiting up for them!
When the emergency backup sits in the press box he's probably paid some nominal per diem rate.
If the starting goalie gets injured and he has to dress as the emergency backup (the third goalie), he signs a non-standard NHL contract. Basically, he just gets dressed and sits on the bench in case the backup goalie gets hurt, too. I don't think he gets paid anything extra to do this.
If he actually goes in and PLAYS, he might have to be compensated under the terms of the agreement between the NHL and its players union.
A perfect NHL career. Never was scored on!
Foster is an expat Canadian, so he might not have minded playing for Winnipeg.
No matter...he still drinks for free in Chicago for the next few months
Be hard to go back to accounting after that.
Isn’t there a defenseman that can be the emergency goalie?
That’s what I would have thought. No idea why not, union thing?
Normally they bring up a minor league goalie but when they lots not easy enough to do they go with guys off the street who played for a local college. I had no idea.
Bravo for this guy - what an experience!
Unfortunately, theres no possibility this year of a BOS-CHI Stanley Cup rematch. :(
(let me know if you want on or off the ping list)
This is one of the best hockey stories ever. And he definitely has the best side gig.
He does play in a beer league. Ask every other goalie in any beer league how many nhl pucks they get to stop.
I dont think he gets the W. Not sure but I assume the goalie who played more than 2 periods gets it. Not that he cares. He stopped all the pucks.
Isnt there a defenseman that can be the emergency goalie?
You don’t know much about hockey. That’s like asking if one of the tires can serve as an axel if the axel goes.
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