Former Portland Winterhawks goaltender Joel Hofer scored a goal Thursday night in a Calder Cup Playoff game. Hofer and the Spingfield Thunderbirds, American Hockey League affiliate of the St. Louis Blues, defeated Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 6-2 in Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead.
Hofer became the second goaltender to ever score a goal in a Calder Cup Playoff game and the 18th overall in the AHL. He also made 34 saves in his Calder Cup debut.
The Winnipeg, Man. netminder played a season and a half in Portland and helped guide the Winterhawks to a Scotty Munro Championship during the 2019-20 regular season. Hofer boasted a 34-8-3-2 record with a .915 save percentage and sparkling 2.49 goals against average that year. He also represented Hockey Canada at the 2020 World Juniors and captured a gold medal before graduating to the professional ranks.
