EDMONTON, Alberta -- If Cam Ward was nervous in front of the
home folks, he didn't show it.
The 22-year-old rookie from Sherwood Park, Alberta, was strong
Saturday night during his first game on the rink he grew up
watching.
For the family and friends in section 102, the view must've
looked pretty good. Their only complaint would likely be the
result.
Ward and the Carolina Hurricanes came out on the short end of a
2-1 decision Saturday night in the Stanley Cup finals, but anyone
would be hard-pressed to blame the calm guy in the white pads.
He was beaten once early when Shawn Horcoff deftly deflected a
long drive from just inside the blue line 2:31 after the opening
faceoff. Ward then stopped 28 straight shots until Ryan Smyth
jammed him in the crease and pushed across the winning goal with
2:15 left.
Ward's eyes gazed blankly in front and hoped a video replay
would give him another chance to lift his club to a 3-0 series
lead. Instead, the score held up and guaranteed he would play again
in his adopted home of North Carolina.
Ward was unflappable right from the start when he smoothly
grabbed Smyth's wrist shot from 65 feet 13 seconds after the
opening faceoff. No need to dump the puck or be pressured into a
mistake; Ward simply kept it nestled in his glove until the
official stopped play.
Moments later, it was Radek Dvorak who tried to rattle Ward.
Even alone, Dvorak couldn't solve the goalie who was coming off a
shutout in Game 2. In that one, 25 saves were enough to make him
the first rookie to blank a team in the finals since Patrick Roy
did it in 1986.
Ward followed up that gem with a 28-save effort on Saturday. For
that he gets a notch in the 'L' column instead of another place in
the record book.
The Oilers could've had plenty of goals way before Smyth found
the small spot Ward couldn't cover.
There was a little luck in that, too. Since Ward was stopping
everything, it was not hard to believe that the split he threw in
the crease with 2:50 left in the second period was good enough to
keep the puck out of the net in front of Ethan Moreau.
Ward went onto his side and threw his left leg up, shielding
referee Mick McGeough and making him think the puck was frozen. By
the time Moreau dug it out and put it in, the whistle had sounded
to bail out Ward.
The rest he did on his own.
Ward was stellar in keeping Edmonton's power play short of
juice. The Oilers went 0-for-7 with the man-advantage after coming
in just 1-for-13 in the first two games of the series.