Chapter 50 Denver Daily Sports Report
Fifty
Denver Daily Sports Report
A Wild Night In Denver
Backup Goalie Becker James Scores Once-in-a-Lifetime Goal as Colorado Tops L.A.
By Marla Knox
The Cougars’ most promising rookie will be dining out on this for years.
In what started as a tense, series-defining battle against L.A., the Colorado Cougars clawed their way to a 4–3 win Wednesday night in Denver, preventing their exit from the playoffs.
But it wasn’t the score that will go down in history—it was how they got there. Late in the second period, with starting goalie Zack Walcott temporarily sidelined after a brutal collision in the crease, backup netminder Becker James stepped in under the spotlight and stole the show.
Fending off a slippery L.A. counterattack, James shocked the league and the 18,000+ fans in attendance by scoring a goalie goal, a full-ice shot that soared past L.A.’s scrambling defense and past the glove of goaltender Kaspar Andersson to tie up the game.
“I saw the opening and figured, why the hell not,” James said postgame, still visibly in disbelief. “Not like I practice those. Except… okay. I maybe practice those.”
The goal, scored with 0:47 left in the second period, lit up the arena—literally and figuratively—as teammates mobbed the young goaltender while the building shook with cheers. It was the first goalie goal in Colorado Cougars history, and only the twenty-first ever recorded in NHL play.
“Kid’s got ice in his veins,” said Coach Clay Powers. “And apparently, a cannon for a stick.”
James’s Cinderella moment was made possible by Walcott’s temporary exit after a crease scramble. After concussion protocol testing during the second intermission, the Cougars cleared Walcott to return, and he took the net again to start the third.
Walcott made eight saves in the third, including a critical blocker stop on a shorthanded 2-on-1 that kept the Cougars in control. Defenseman Hudson Newgate added a late goal at 14:27 of the third, sealing the game and sending the hometown crowd into another round of celebratory chaos.
The win gives Colorado another shot at sewing up the conference title tomorrow night.
Meanwhile, all eyes remain on Becker James, whose post-game locker stall was surrounded by cameras, teammates, and a reporter who handed him a Sharpie and asked, “Can you sign my stat sheet?”
Sources say that reporter might have been me.
When I asked James for his takeaway from last night’s wild ride, he hesitated.
Then he said, “Nobody expected this tonight. Didn’t know I’d be playing.
Didn’t know I was about to become the answer to a pub trivia question.
That’s so extra. I just wanted to stop some pucks and impress my favorite bartender. ”
Sources say it probably worked.
— End Copy —