The reason was quite different for the amateur goalie from Voorhees, New Jersey, who was flown into Chicago along with his wife, Kaitlyn, as honored guests for the Blackhawks' 3-1 win against the Dallas Stars at United Center on Sunday.
Scott Darling, who has started for Crawford since the emergency surgery, made the call to Semborski.
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"It was pretty cool of him to reach out to me like that and ask me if I'd like to come up to Chicago, and of course I said yes," said Semborski, who was shown on the scoreboard's video screen during a stoppage in the first period. "I can't thank this organization enough for having me out here and just giving me the opportunity to bring my wife and see them at home. It was pretty cool."
It sounds like the week that followed his big day on the Blackhawks bench was pretty cool as well. Semborski, 23, did interviews with numerous media outlets, posed for photos with some of the kids he coaches at the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, and even received some fan mail.
Blackhawks fans mailed items to him to sign, complete with return envelopes.
"It's been fun," Semborski said during the first intermission. "Getting some fan mail is weird. That's never happened before in my life. It's just a different experience and I'm enjoying it."
As it turned out, he needed more good fortune for his second meeting with the Blackhawks to happen. Semborski's plane landed in Chicago just before a big winter storm canceled many flights.
"We were lucky," said Semborski, who was given one of Crawford's sticks and the jersey he wore as keepsakes. "It wasn't snowing at all in Philly and it was barely snowing when we landed [in Chicago], so we must've just snuck in. More luck. It's been a good week."
