Corey Crawford

Blackhawks Sign Eric Semborski as Back-Up Goaltender

It's the stuff of any sports fan's dreams. A player goes down on the field, the coach surveys the crowd and points at you, yes you, to come down and finish the game for the desperate team.

While that far-fetched scenario can't and won't happen in most sports, it does happen occasionally in hockey, and that's exactly what the Chicago Blackhawks have done on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.

With the team set to take on the Flyers, the Blackhawks suddenly found themselves without a back-up goalie as Corey Crawford was scratched following news of his acute appendicitis. Scott Darling will get the start in net, but the team had to sign an emergency back-up goalie, and that man is 23-year old Eric Semborski.

If you haven't heard of Semborski, you're not alone. He's never played a single minute of NHL action, and he's never played at any level of hockey above club hockey at Temple University.

Despite that lack of NHL experience, he was on the ice wearing a red Blackhawks jersey during warm-ups, and if Darling struggles or gets injured against the Flyers, Semborski will suddenly be an NHL goaltender. [[404481156, C]]

Because teams only carry two goaltenders on their roster, they are allowed to sign goaltenders to contracts on an emergency basis should the need arise, and that's exactly what happened for the Hawks Saturday.

Semborski, who currently works for a Flyers clinic that teaches hockey to young children in the Philadelphia area, was the lucky guy, and surely plenty of fans will want to see him actually get some action.

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