Sports
Local goalie stops with Caps
Alex Ovechkin gathered in the puck along the boards and had a clear path to the net.
The Washington Capitals superstar had a teammate on the opposite wing, creating a textbook 2-on-1 breakaway.
Bishop McCort graduate Anthony Feyock braced himself for the inevitable crafty shot by the player known as “Ovie,” a 92-point scorer last season and the NHL’s No. 1 draft pick overall in 2004.
Feyock turned away Ovechkin’s shot with a pad save.
No, this was not a fantasy for a local goaltender who grew up playing on Cambria County War Memorial Arena ice. Instead, Feyock, who won a national championship with the University of Rhode Island, was living out a dream during a five-day stay at the Capitals’ NHL training camp in Arlington, Va.
“My first scrimmage was against Ovechkin. My first shot from him was on a breakaway down the sideboard,” Feyock said during a Tuesday telephone interview. “I’m happy to say I stopped it. You know who he is. You’re skating with these guys and you have to act like you’re not amazed. It was a 2-on-1. He deked a pass. I held my ground. He tried to slide it in shortside and I just threw a pad on it. ”
By his own admission, Feyock was an extra body in camp.
“You don’t like to see it, but a guy got injured and it opened up a little door for me,” said Feyock, who said he also has been invited to the Johnstown Chiefs’ ECHL camp on a tryout. “I more or less have just been a target. They have four goalies they were going to break up into two teams. They were looking at two more goalies to take some of the load off the other guys.”
Feyock won a club national championship and he was named ACHA Division I player of the year with Rhode Island. He played on the United States University Select Team in the 2007 Winter World University Games. Feyock also skated briefly with Lubbock, Texas, in the Central Hockey League.
But those major feats didn’t compare to being on the same ice as Capitals stars Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and veteran goaltender Olaf Kolzig.
Feyock said he stopped all five attempts Ovechkin shot at him. He also managed to outduel Kolzig during one session.
“At the end of practice we split up and had a breakaway competition. I actually beat Kolzig,” Feyock said. “He’s a Vezina Trophy winner. He makes $6 million a year. He holds every record in Washington Capitals competition. He’s a great guy. You’re kind of nervous to talk to him. He introduced himself after the breakaway competition. He hit me on the pads and said, ‘Nice job.’ ”
Feyock and Pittsburgh native Kris Mayotte were the extra goalies through Tuesday. Mayotte is headed to the Reading Royals after a stop in Binghamton’s AHL camp.
“We didn’t really have a shot,” said Feyock. “Nonetheless it was a great experience and I was fortunate to have it. Maybe I turned a few heads and it will open up some doors for me.
“I’m going to be in camp with Johnstown. I live in Johnstown. I grew up watching the Chiefs. You always say, ‘Maybe someday I’ll be there.’ If the opportunity is there you’ve got to make something of it.”
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