He was Jordan White, a student at the University of British Columbia who served as the San Jose Sharks’ backup goaltender. He never left the bench in the Sharks’ 2-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks – but left the game with a lifetime of memories.

AROUND THE PACIFIC

"It was just exciting,” White said. “It was an experience I'll remember for a while."

The Sharks needed White for the night because of an undisclosed lower-body injury to Antero Niittymaki. According to the San Jose Mercury News, prospects Alex Stalock and Tyson Sexsmith were both dealing with injuries that prevented either from being recalled from the minors.

 

White, normally the No. 1 netminder at UBC, was a former junior teammate of Sharks forward Devin Setoguchi. He signed an amateur tryout contract, took the backup’s share of pucks in the pregame warmup, and even gave a little pep talk before San Jose played Vancouver.

 

According to the Globe and Mail, Sharks captain Joe Thornton asked if White had anything to say – to which the 22-year-old replied, “Make sure you clear the shooting lanes for Niemi, block a lot of shots and play hard.”

 

“He just hopped right up and started talking,” Setoguchi told the Globe and Mail. “He wasn’t afraid. He was like that in junior, too. Talk, talk, talk.”

 

White went back to class the next day, while the Sharks went back home to face the Minnesota Wild Saturday. Niittymaki still wasn’t well enough to back up Antti Niemi, so the Sharks inked another youngster to an amateur tryout contract – 18-year-old junior prospect J.P. Anderson.

 

The revolving backup-goalie door will likely close Wednesday when the Sharks visit Los Angeles; Niitymaki’s injury is not expected to keep him from another game.

 

For aspirant amateur goalies across California, that’s a shame.

Kings GM Dean Lombardi was fined $50,000 for his postgame tirade against NHL Vice President of Hockey Operations, as reported by the team’s website. "When the guy in Toronto making the decisions on the goals, in Ottawa and the one tonight, wanted the G.M.'s job in L.A. and was not happy about not getting it, you have to assume you are going to get those type of calls,'' Lombardi said. "However, we have put ourselves in a position where these calls have a monumental effect on our season, and we're going to have to find a way out of it ourselves.'' Lombardi was upset with the NHL’s approval of this goal scored by Martin Hanzal in the Coyotes’ 2-0 win over the Kings on Thursday. … Lombardi called Murphy to apologize the next day. … Kings coach Terry Murray also criticized the call. "I don't know why we have video replay in the National Hockey League,'' Murray said. "That's all I can say. If the replay is there for review of goals and non-goals… I don't know. You've got a guy who gets credit for the goal. He's 6-foot-6, and the stick is up above his head. Matt Greene is 6-3, and he's batting the puck down his his hand beside his ear, and the net is four feet high. It doesn't add up.” … A team spokesperson said that Murray was not disciplined by the league. … It was the only win all week for Phoenix, which put only 14 shots on goal. … Watch the ovation longtime Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu received at a sold-out Bell Centre prior to his first game back in Montreal on Saturday. … A day earlier, Koivu held a press conference in excess of 35 minutes with the local media. … Ducks G Curtis McElhinney missed the game to be with his wife for the birth of the couple’s daughter. … The Stars’ five-game winning streak (and eight-game point streak) came to a screeching halt in Western Canada this week. A 7-4 loss Friday in Calgary was followed by a 7-1 loss to Western Conference-leading Vancouver on Monday. … Andrew Raycroft absorbed the first loss, and played the final 6:48 scoreless minutes in the latter after Kari Lehtonen allowed the first seven goals.

 

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