As a teenager, Cal Petersen would go to United Center and catch Chicago Blackhawks games with his friends. From the stands, he saw then-rising stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane skate the other teams out of the building.
Both skated in on him under those arena lights, with the game on the line in a shootout. As far as first NHL starts go, the intensity ranked as high as the Blackhawks’ banners. But Petersen took the moment and shined with stops on Toews and Kane to set up Anze Kopitar’s game-winning strike for a 2-1 win.
“Very cool,” Petersen said.