ADVERTISEMENT
In need of an emergency goalie, the blackhawks turned to an accountant. Nothing got by him
For 14 minutes 1 second, a professional hockey team in Chicago put its trust in a 36-year-old accountant from Oak Park, Illinois.
Recommended articles
![Yemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria [TechEconomy]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'100'%20height%3D'100'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Yemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria [TechEconomy]")
After he was called on to the ice, he took his position in front of the net and moved quickly to block the first puck that came his way.
And then the second.
And then the third.
ADVERTISEMENT
There were seven in total and Foster saved every one. A crowd of more than 20,000 chanted his name.
“From my perspective, this is a dream,” he said at a news conference after the game.
Corey Crawford, Chicago’s longtime goalie, has not played since late December because of an unspecified upper-body injury. Anton Forsberg, the primary starter in Crawford’s absence, injured himself in warm-ups before Thursday’s game. And Collin Delia, who helped forge a 6-2 lead in his NHL debut, left in the third period, apparently for cramping.
That left the accountant.
Foster played hockey for Western Michigan University, but that was more than a decade ago. Today he is a goalie for an elite recreational team at Johnny’s IceHouse, which is blocks from United Center, the home arena of the Blackhawks.
ADVERTISEMENT
Foster had been tapped as an emergency goalie from time to time, which meant showing up at Blackhawks home games and usually sitting in the press box and eating free food.
But when Delia skated off with 14 minutes to go on Thursday, Foster was called in.
The commentators joked about the newcomer, and Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville looked amused as Foster brushed past him and on to the rink to face the Winnipeg Jets, who were coming off a six-game winning streak.
Foster faced shots from opponents who have been playing professional hockey for years, like Tyler Myers, a 6-foot-8 defenseman, and Dustin Byfuglien, a 6-foot-5 star player who has excelled as a forward and defenseman.
Neither could put a puck past the accountant, who had recently finished a shift at his day job.
ADVERTISEMENT
“A few hours ago I was sitting at my computer typing on a 10-key,” Foster said after the game. He could not be reached for comment on Saturday.
Those 14 minutes on the ice did not look like a cakewalk for Foster, said Evan Karambelas, 29, another elite recreational player who also serves as an emergency goalie for Blackhawks games but has never needed to play.
“He actually had to make some pretty good saves, if you watch the highlights,” Karambelas said.
Pete Johnson, who manages Johnny’s IceHouse and also plays there, has faced off against Foster. “He’s very difficult to get the puck past,” Johnson said, adding that the elite recreational leagues have several goalies of similar caliber, including some ex-NHL players.
On Thursday, a recreational championship game was just wrapping up at Johnny’s IceHouse when Foster entered his first NHL game. Word spread quickly, and the recreational players clustered in front of the nearest television to watch his performance.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It was just a surreal moment,” Johnson said. “Everyone was staring at the TV, laughing and cheering every time he made a save.”
Emergency goalies have been asked to suit up a few times in professional hockey history, and a select few have reached the ice.
It was more common decades ago when teams tended to have fewer — or no — backup goalies on the roster. (Foster’s predecessors include Lefty Wilson, a former trainer for the Detroit Red Wings, and Joe Schaefer, who was a hockey statistician.)
Jorge Alves, equipment manager for the Carolina Hurricanes, became the first emergency goalie to play in a game in the modern era last season, The Associated Press reported. He closed out the final 7.6 seconds of a 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay.
When the clock ran out on Thursday, the Blackhawks were still ahead, 6-2. Foster’s teammates rushed to surround him in a clunky group hug. The commentators named him the game’s most valuable player.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This is something that no one can ever take away from me,” Foster said after the game. “It’s something that I can go home and tell my kids.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
JACEY FORTIN © 2018 The New York Times
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng
Next story
ADVERTISEMENT
![Graça Machel was born in 1945 [CGTN]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'300'%20height%3D'172'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Graça Machel was born in 1945 [CGTN]")