Emergency goalie gets special invitation from Blackhawks

Late last week, Eric Semborski was told to keep an eye on his phone for an important call from somebody in Chicago.

When it rang, the 23-year-old goalie was surprised to hear the voice of the Blackhawks' Scott Darling on the other end. Darling was calling to invite Semborski, who filled in as the emergency backup in Philadelphia on Dec. 4 when Corey Crawford had to undergo an appendectomy, to the Hawks' game against Dallas at the United Center on Sunday.

"It was pretty cool for him to reach out to me like that," Semborski said. "He asked me if I wanted to come up to Chicago, and of course I said yes.

"I couldn't thank this organization enough for having me out here and giving me the opportunity to bring my wife and see them at home. It's pretty cool."

After receiving the invite, Semborski said he was bombarded with about 20 media interviews. He's also received fan mail and had plenty of conversations with people interested in hearing about his experience.

"It's been different," Semborski said. "It's cool. Taking pictures with people that ask. Kids asking me about it - a lot of them not believing me. … Getting some fan mail, which is weird. That's never happened before in my life.

"It's just a different experience and I'm enjoying it."

Because he's an amateur, Semborski couldn't be paid as a member of the Hawks, but the organization did give him a Corey Crawford goalie stick that was signed by the entire team. The lifelong Flyers fan, who received a nice round of applause when he was shown on the United Center scoreboard, said he now has another team to cheer on.

"Definitely I have a team in the West now," Semborski said. "I'm going to be a Chicago fan for the rest of my life now too."