Last night the Chicago Blackhawks had an extreme goalie situation to say the least. Most teams in the NHL have emergency reserve goaltenders just in case both their starting goalie and their backup get hurt. Usually however the idea is that these "emergency reserve goaltenders" get to hang out in the press box, catch the game, and get a free meal the idea of them playing is as unlikely as myself getting to play in the NHL.
Some of you might remember when the Arizona Coyotes were also in need of an emergency backup goalie and they made headlines by having 31 year old banker Nathan Schoenfeld suit up to serve as their backup. The one big difference between the Schoenfeld and what happened last night was that Schoenfeld was a backup on the bench.
Last night the Blackhawks emergency backup actually had to get into the game! For Chicago it was 36 year old Scott Foster who was thrust into the final 14 minutes of a game versus one of the top teams in the NHL, the Winnipeg Jets. Foster stopped all the shots that he faced, including a howitzer by towering Jets defence-men, Dustin Byfuglien. Foster was able to secure the victory for the Hawks. The press conference after the game was as light as ever with Foster joking about how he was going to have interesting conversations with his co-workers at his day job the next day. Foster's story truly is a feel-good story as any hockey fan can put themselves in his shoes as he got to experience the excitement of suiting up and playing in a real NHL game.
