Wild goalie contest ends in tie, to be continued

Believe it or not, the shootout needs overtime.

The contest to determine the Minnesota Wild's new emergency goaltender ended in a tie Sunday, requiring finalists Treye Kettwick and Joshua Swartout to try it again another time.

Each goalie was expected to face eight shooters during the second intermission of an American Hockey League game between the Houston Aeros and Rockford IceHogs at Xcel Energy Center.

But after the first two rounds of four ended even (each goalie was scored on twice), three sudden-death shots were saved by each goalie before the intermission time ran out and the AHL game had to resume.

With no other tiebreaker in place, the Wild will continue the contest at a later date.

Paul Deutsch, Treye Kettwick, Josh Swartout, Mike Greenlay and Bob Mason pose for a photo at the Wild's contest to find their next emergency goalie. (Photo: Minnesota Wild)

"I'll come back here any time they ask," said Kettwick, a 29-year-old from Minneapolis. "This has been great."

Facing Wild alumni Brian Bonin, Tom Chorske, Shjon Podein and Wes Walz, Kettwick surrendered the first two shots before stopping the next two.

"I was nervous getting out there, and the first couple went in, but after I made a save it made it a little easier," Kettwick said.

Swartout, a 24-year-old from St. Louis Park, Minn., also allowed goals on his first two shots before stopping the next two.

In the second round, he made the save of the competition. Facing elimination on any goal, he slid to his left to deny Chorske.

"I wanted to do something kind of flashy, I guess, so I stacked the pads, not knowing if I would make the save," Swartout said. "But after it's done, I'm really glad that I stopped the puck."

Swartout said he had about 50 friends and family members on hand among the crowd of 11,175.

"When Josh stacked the pads and made the huge save, just to hear the roar of the crowd, it was awesome," Kettwick said.

The Wild titled the contest Bud Light’s Search for the Next Paul Deutsch, named for the 51-year-old who had to suit up as their emergency goaltender last season prior to a November game against the Nashville Predators.

Kettwick and Swartout were selected from an original field of 11 competitors.

"The only logical thing would be to postpone naming the winner and have another competition, one that will not run out of time," the Wild said on their website.