On Thursday night in the middle of a National Hockey League game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Winnipeg Jets, an unfamiliar figure in a No. 90 Blackhawks jersey stepped onto the ice at the United Center.
‘‘Hey who’s this guy?’’ an announcer joked.
That guy was Scott Foster, the team’s emergency goalie, a 36-year-old accountant who hadn’t played in a competitive hockey game in more than 10 years. He played hockey for Western Michigan University from 2002 to 2005 and plays in recreational ‘‘beer leagues.’’ But Foster has never played in the NHL.
Less than 15 minutes after taking the ice, Foster emerged a hockey legend, delivering a performance that left everyone who watched it in awe.
‘‘Scott Foster is officially somehow the most improbable, unlikely story in Chicago sports in March, knocking off Loyola’s run to the Final Four. An accountant who plays in a beer league coming in and playing goalie and shutting down an actual NHL team for more than half a period,’’ Matt Lindner wrote on Twitter.
But how did the father-of-two and recreational player end up trending on Twitter and stealing the spotlight from fellow Blackhawk Brent Seabrook, who played his 1,000th-regular-season game that same night?
Foster is one of a small group of ‘‘emergency backup’’ goaltenders who are kept on hand, usually in the press box or the stands, in the highly unlikely event both regular goalies on the roster are hurt or otherwise unavailable.
It is ‘‘among hockey’s great quirks,’’ as Hockey News put it, ‘‘is that it’s the only pro sport with the potential for someone not on the roster to come out of the stands and actually play in the game.’’ But, ‘‘it takes a very rare set of circumstances to open that door . . .’’
Hours before the game, goaltender Anton Forsberg injured himself during a morning practice, according to the Chicago Tribune. Down to one goalie, rookie Collin Delia, the Blackhawks signed Foster as an emergency back-up.
This isn’t the first time Foster has been tapped for the role. In a post-game interview, he said he had been designated as the emergency goalie for 12 or 15 games this season, but his usual duties involved sitting in the press box and taking advantage of the free food.
‘‘This is something that no one can ever take away from me,’’ Foster said. ‘‘It’s something that I can go home and tell my kids.’’
What a night.
Emergency backup goalie Scott Foster gets the belt for his surprise performance. #FosterOfThePeople pic.twitter.com/g1dHZKPanr
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 30, 2018