Great Scott! Emergency backup goalie Foster saves day for Blackhawks
By Simon Vacca
In a feel good story for the ages, the Chicago Blackhawks turn to 36-year-old Scott Foster as their emergency backup goalie, and he goes on to win them the game.
As of late, it’s been rather difficult to cheer for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Their blueline is regressing. The future of beloved head coach Joel Quenneville is in jeopardy. There is widespread confusion surrounding star goaltender Corey Crawford’s most recent injury. Their contract situation is questionable at best. And worst of all, a 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on March 20 resulted in the Hawks’ playoff dreams being quashed for the first time in a decade.
Surely that’s been enough bad news for one year. Hasn’t it?
Thursday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets presented another dilemma for the Hawks — the implications of which had the potential to be disastrous. This time, however, a hero stepped forth.
His name is Scott Foster. By day, he’s supposedly a financial accountant in Chicago. By night, he’s a hockey legend.
It all started when rookie goaltender Collin Delia left the game with an injury. He had been covering for Anton Forsberg, who was also injured a few hours prior to the start of the game. As such, Chicago desperately needed someone — anyone — to fill the role of an emergency backup.
So the Hawks were left to turn to one Scott Foster. The 36-year-old, ex-college goalie had probably heard of these situations before, but was aware that his chances of seeing any ice time were slim to none . . . weren’t they?
Yet with Delia’s injury, a massive opportunity emerged, albeit under some horrifying circumstances. It was nothing short of unprecedented, but boy did Foster ever make his chance of a lifetime count.
In 14 minutes of play, he stopped seven of seven shots from arguably the most depth-ridden offense in the entire NHL. One of his saves was on Rocket Richard contender Patrik Laine. Enveloped by shouts of his last name, Foster did what many NHLers cannot do, as he aided his new team in closing out the game by a score of 6-2, which ultimately spelled the end of the Jets’ six-game winning streak.
The best part of all? As TSN reports, it was his first bout of action “since 20 minutes in relief with Western Michigan University in the 2005-06 season”.
It was a “Rudy” moment for the ages. Foster was swarmed by his teammates and crowned the game’s first star. One is left to wonder if and when his jersey number will be retired.
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So, NHL: How many Hart votes will Mr. Foster receive?