Scott Foster had that one moment on the ice he never will forget, one that certainly ranks among his most memorable hockey memories ever, and it added even more joy to New Trier White’s 6-3 win over Deerfield on Nov. 1 in a North Central Division game played in Buffalo Grove.
Foster, 15, a sophomore who lives in Glencoe, is in his first varsity season after playing for the Trevians’ JV team last season.
Foster’s White Trevians kicked off November with a road win. They led 2-0 after the first and 4-1 after two. At 11:51 of the third period, Foster made it 5-1.
Yes, Foster the goalie made it 5-1… he scored his first career goal as a netminder.
Technically, he was just credited with the goal.
But still, he was all smiles.
Deerfield had taken a few shots on Foster, and he stopped each. With a scrum in front of the net, Foster kicked away another shot, and it was grabbed by a Deerfield player who shot it toward his defenseman from near the goal line. The puck zoomed passed the defenseman and then the Warriors’ goalie misplayed it and the puck went into the net.
Foster was the last New Trier player to touch the puck, so he was awarded the goal.
“It was pretty cool; it felt weird,” Foster said. “I now want to score another by actually shooting it down (the length of the ice).”
Tom Bozek was one of the veteran officials on the ice for the game and the refs discussed the play before awarding the goal, ultimately stating that New Trier’s No. 1 – Foster – would be credited with the goal, unassisted.
“I didn’t really know what to do (when credited with the goal). Next time, I will have a cele prepared,” he said, in reference to a goal celebration plan. “This was something I’ll always remember.”
New Trier White coach, Rob Malstrom echoed Foster. “It’s pretty cool,” he said.
New Trier White junior captain Jack Cadden said it was, “pretty exciting, a really cool moment.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that happen, where a goalie is credited with a goal,” Malstrom said. Going forward, we’re going to rely on Scott for goaltending, not goal-scoring.”
Foster played in eight of the Trevians’ first 11 league games. Hayden Wieczorek saw action in goal in four North Central games. Foster stopped 141 of the 154 shots he faced in those games and had a 1.63 goals-against average.
“We’re fortunate to have two very strong goalies and both have been playing outstanding,” Malstrom said.
White went 7-2-2 in its first 11 North Central games, with its only losses coming against CFHS and Lake Forest.
Cadden, 16, who lives in Glencoe, said the Trevians went crazy after Foster’s shining moment.
“I don’t think we’ve gotten as excited for any goal this season as we did,” he said.
The refs gave Foster the puck.
“Scott has been having a real good season; he’s been playing really well,” Cadden said.
Foster said another career highlight came as a peewee gold player for Winnetka, when his team won the state championship and every other tournament it played in. And, “there were a couple of glove saves that stuck out above the rest,” from that season, he said.
Foster said his goaltending approach is, well, a bit unorthodox. “I flop around a lot and just sort of go for the puck, somewhat based on Tim Thomas’ (style). It’s not very civilized or organized, but I’m often able to make the stops,” he said.
Foster has been playing goalie for seven years and his glove hand is his strength. “I tend to make a lot of cool (glove) saves,” he said.
Foster said White has been playing “pretty good” so far this season, adapting well to its underdog label as the school’s third varsity.
“I think we’ll do pretty well this season. I think we can prove that we can be just as good as (New Trier) Blue, maybe even beat them,” he said.
AROUND THE RINK:
Bill Busby had 2 goals and an assist, while Michael DeSalvo chipped in 3 assists as BG/H/W stopped Highland Park 4-2 for a home victory. DeSalvo has 12 goals, 11 assists in his first 10 games played, while teammate Patrick Myers has 10 goals, 8 assists. DeSalvo also has 3 power play goals … Michael Cutro, a junior forward for Carmel Catholic, has 3 power play goals among his first 6 in league play … Junior defenseman Tim Larue has 10 assists in his first 9 league games played. CLS teammate Matt Kinker, a senior forward, has 10 goals in 9 games … Goalie Nick Bartuce stopped everything Stevenson sent his way Nov. 9 as Loyola Gold blanked Stevenson, 3-0, in Lincolnwood. Tim Harte had 2 assists in the win, in which the Ramblers scored all their goals in the second period …Co-op BG/H/W plays PREP on Nov. 15 at Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion in Buffalo Grove in its annual Sticks Up: Salute Our Troops Game. The evening will feature varsity and JV games (5:30 and 7:10 p.m., respectively), along with a silent auction, t-shirt toss, shoot-the-puck competition and more. All proceeds will benefit the Wounded Warriors Project … Evanston skated to a 4-4 tie against Maine Township on Nov. 8, and has now outscored its opponents in the Wildkits first 12 games, 47-23. Evanston’s November also has included a 5-0 win over Loyola Maroon and a 8-1 crushing of CHFS … Hinsdale Central has hit the wall, and after its 10-2 loss to Sandburg on Nov. 2, the team has now lost 6 in a row, including a 13-2 setback to Naperville Central … The Leyden Eagles went 2-1 in a four-day stretch of early-November, grabbing wins over the Kankakee Irish (5-1) and Mid Valley Rampage (6-5) … Notre Dame is riding a 5-game winning streak, including 4 shutouts, and the Dons are undefeated in their last 10 games. During that stretch, the Dons crushed St. Viator (8-0) and silenced Mt. Carmel (6-0) … Warren’s offense is anchored by Blake Wallace, who has 8 goals, 3 assists in the team’s first 10 games … Brittany Thompson is the go-to forward on the Warren girls’ team with 6 goals, 3 assists. Lauren Morris has Warren’s lone game-winning goal this season … Neuqua Valley allowed in only 10 goals in its first 9 West Division games – and they have scored 68. Senior forward Evan Pardo leads the West with 14 goals, 15 assists in 9 games played … Marcos Kapsalis has 8 goals, 12 assists in 8 league games for York … Sandburg goalie Ryan Apter has a 1.50 goals-against average in 500 minutes of league play so far, second-most minutes in the West … Dan Ricker has 2 game-winning goals for Providence Catholic in the team’s first 7 Catholic League games … Adam Caarnecki (St. Viator) leads the Catholic League in assists (9 in his first 7 games) … St. Rita’s Anthony Faron has 4 powerplay goals.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT:
Kara Sedivy, a junior who attends Westmont, plays for the co-op Naper Valley Warriors. In the team’s first four Metro Girls games, she went 1-3 in goal, and was forced to make 157 saves. In a game against the Latin School of Chicago on Nov. 8, Sedivy and the Warriors were out-shot 53-2 in the loss.
Ross Forman has written about Illinois high school hockey for more than 15 years, and is the only sportswriter to have covered Illinois High School hockey every year during that stretch. He played locally and then at Indiana University before becoming a referee. Ross was a referee for the State Championship game several years ago at the United Center. Contact Ross by email at Rossco814@aol.com.
Categories: High School, Players in the News, Ross Forman's High School Hockey