'MY SECOND HOME'

Was this the best save in franchise history?
If you scour the archives and include the spellbinding, 'scorpion' stylings of the icon, Miikka Kiprusoff, only a handful of challengers truly emerge.
For a goalie that had a penchant for immaculate acrobatics, pad stacks, paddle saves and all, Fred Brathwaite had plenty of contenders in his arsenal. But when it came to that night in MoTown, the promising Flames netminder had all the motivation to keep this particular shot out.
"I just knew that if I let that squeaker in through the five-hole, (Flames Head Coach) Brian (Sutter) would be really mad," laughed the former Flames puck-stopper, who was in town last week as part of the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights coaching staff. "So, I did what goalies do.
"I didn't quit on it."

The date was March 22, 2000. The Flames were up 2-1 with seven minutes and change left in the third period at Joe Louis Arena. Red Wings legend Kirk Maltby was a lot of things - but a sniper, he was not. So, when he broke into the zone and challenged Brathwaite with a sneaky shot from the circle, Calgary's pint-sized puck-stopper was eager to make amends after flubbing the forward's initial, routine offering.
Fortunately, his rapier-like reflexes kicked into high gear.
"I still don't really know how it all happened," Brathwaite laughed. "It was all desperation, obviously. I reached back to sweep it, but somehow launched it a few feet in the air."
Splayed out, swimming, and reaching back in a full stretch, Brathwaite plucked it right off the goal line before Flames defenceman Derek Morris and others helped steer it to safety.
"Going home to Ottawa and seeing the highlights of it on TSN ... I was getting messages about it constantly. Even though it was kind of grainy and it might have even been in black and white, that's definitely a moment that sticks with you.
"I don't even remember how the game turned out. But I certainly do remember that save.
"How did it finish, anyway? Let's say I shut them out."

Not quite, but it certainly would have been in character. (For the record, the game ended in a 2-2 tie.) You see, Brathwaite became something of a Flames legend that year, recording what was a then a club record five bagels on a team that was very much in the growth phase.
Brathwaite was 26 at the time, developing under the guidance of his idol, Grant Fuhr, in his first-ever, full-time year as a starter. He literally had to pinch himself numerous times that season, wondering how - after a brief and underwhelming cup of coffee with the Oilers, followed by three straight years in the minors - it all worked out.
After all, no one - not even the Flames, nor Brathwaite - could have predicted a season quite like this one.

"I started the season with the Canadian National Team and had just come off playing for them at the Spengler Cup," Braithwaite said of the 1998-99 campaign. "So, it was pretty early in the new year when I got a call from the Flames. The number of injuries they had that year - I think they went through, like, six different goalies? - is pretty crazy. Even the day before I made my debut, the plan was for me was to practice and then go to Saint John (with the AHL Flames).
"But they literally ran out of goalies and all of a sudden, I was thrown in the net."
Ken Wregget. Tyler Moss. J.S. Giguere. Andrew Trefilov. Tyrone Garner (an emergency recall from the Oshawa Generals). All played at least one game between the pipes for the Flames that year.
Enter Brathwaite, who signed on Jan. 6 and made his Flames debut as a relative unknown to the Saddledome faithful less than 48 hours later.
Like, literally unknown.
"The first thing I remember is that they called me the wrong name when I stepped on the ice," Brathwaite laughed. "I want to say they called me Dave or something. I've got to find the video of that somewhere - if it exists - because that still makes me laugh to this day.
"But honestly, that whole night was incredibly special. The way the fans embraced me … Literally, From Day 1, they were behind me. I was kind of the underdog at the time, but no one really knew who I was, either.
"To me, that's what makes the story so special to me."
Brathwaite made 21 saves and blanked the top-ranked Dallas Stars 1-0 that night.
From there, a new fan-favourite had taken the Stampede City by storm. Chants of 'Fre-ddie! Fre-ddie!' were now a staple at the 'Dome as the 5-foot-7, 185-lb. goalie provided a bright spot in some otherwise lean years for the franchise.

Brathwaite finished his Flames career with a 51-51-24 record, along with a .909 save percentage, 2.52 goals-against average and 11 shutouts. But it's not the on-ice portion that lingers more than 20 years later.
It's the admiration he has more the fanbase is what stands out most - and to this day, he knows the feeling is mutual.
"Looking back, the biggest thing I took away from my three years in Calgary? The fans, no question," Brathwaite said. "Even coming out this way (with Henderson), getting on the bus and seeing the hill at Canada Olympic Park, pointing out a few of my favourite steakhouses... That was a big part of my life. Seeing some old landmarks, some familiar faces and friends I haven't seen in a while, it's great. This is what hockey is and was all about for me when I was in Calgary.
"Then, to be able to go back in the Saddledome again and really soak that in?
"Awesome.
"This city will always be my second home."