Rookie notches his first goose egg
Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
rPublished: Monday, October 15, 2007
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The 17-year-old backup stopped all 19 shots he faced Saturday night as the Regina Pats hung on for a 1-0 win over the Prince Albert Raiders before 4,355 WHL spectators at the Brandt Centre.
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Bosch's only previous start this season came in Regina's most-lopsided defeat, a 7-2 shelling on Sept. 28 versus the Red Deer Rebels.
r"It has been two weeks now to think about it and forget about it completely," offered Bosch, one of the WHL's brightest young goalie prospects. "We do all sorts of mental training and that's one of the things goalies need to have, a short memory. They have to be able to forget their bad games. To me, this was my first game of the season."
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Bosch's on-the-job training also included two starts as a late-season callup in 2006-07, when he stopped 60 of 65 shots in a pair of hard-luck losses.
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His fortunes changed Saturday — and he has a memento to prove it.
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"I got to keep the puck," he said with a smile before heading upstairs to visit his parents, who made the trip from Martensville. "First win. First shutout. They'll be really excited."
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Bosch's teammates shared in the celebration.
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"He was great tonight," offered captain Logan Pyett, who scored the game's only goal on a point shot through traffic at 9:15 of the second period. "It's pretty big for him, especially after he had a pretty rough start the first game. I'm glad we got him the shutout."
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Pyett & Co. did their part as well, locking down the Raiders with a stellar defensive effort.
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"The guys played really well in front of me, kept most of the shots to the outside," noted Bosch. "If I gave up a rebound they were there to clear it and made my life a lot easier."
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Not that Bosch didn't bail out his teammates, too. He made at least three brilliant stops, none bigger than a blast from ex-Pat Ryan McDonald in the final minute that looked to be labelled for the top corner.
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"Let's give him some credit too," head coach Curtis Hunt said of his goaltender. "He made the saves when we needed them, especially late. The save on Ryan McDonald was as good as you're going to get."
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The Pats have been riding the hot hand of starter Linden Rowat this season, but he needed a rest on the weekend during a stretch of three games in three nights. Hunt said Bosch had quietly hoped to get the call in Regina's previous game — Monday's 7-3 loss in Saskatoon — but he was forced to watch from the bench as the Blades scored five unanswered goals in the third period.
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Rowat bounced back Friday with 26 saves in a 2-1 win over the Kootenay Ice. The next night, it was Bosch's turn.
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"He basically came out and earned (the start) this week," said Hunt, noting that goalie consultant Ryan Cyr put in some extra work with the rookie in practice. "(Bosch) worked his tail off. What a great way to come back with the shutout. Good for him. He earned it."
