Making 24 saves for his first professional shutout would have been memorable enough for Jaxson Stauber. But how about providing an exclamation point with a goalie goal?
Stauber became the first goalie in American Hockey League history to accomplish each feat in the same game during Rockford's 4-0 win against Chicago on Friday.
The 24-year-old, in his second season with Rockford, the Chicago Blackhawks' AHL affiliate, was putting the finishing touches on his shutout when opposing defenseman Alex Green dumped the puck into the Rockford zone after Chicago goalie Adam Scheel was pulled for an extra attacker. Stauber reached the puck behind his own goal cage and didn't hesitate, lofting the puck down the ice. It bounced twice and slid into the empty net with one minute remaining.
And here's more: Stauber's father, Robb Stauber, also scored a goalie goal in the AHL, for Rochester in 1995.
In five games with the Blackhawks last season, Jaxson Stauber was 5-1-0 with a 2.81 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.
The younger Stauber became the 23rd goalie in AHL history to score a goalie goal, joining the likes of Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Lukas Dostal of the Anaheim Ducks, Joel Hofer of the St. Louis Blues and Pyotr Kochetkov of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Nedeljkovic is the only goalie with two AHL goals -- for Charlotte in 2017-18 and for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earlier this season.
