BRANDON – The story goes,
if you walk around St.
Andrews United Church
three times after midnight on
Halloween, you will disappear...
never to be seen again!
Ryan Kubic has heard the
tale. “I have not (tempted
fate),” said the 19-year-old
Saskatoon Blades goaltender,
whose family lives “two minutes
away” from the venerable, old
chapel near the Red River, a few
kilometres north of Winnipeg.
“A couple of my buddies…
they’ve attempted to. But, after
the second time around, they
decided not to test (the legend).
“They were a little nervous,”
Kubic says with a chuckle.
According to the 5-foot-
11, 186-pound puck stopper,
he’s different from the way
goalies were viewed many
years ago, back in the days
when goaltenders were bare-
faced between the pipes and
tended to vomit as part of their
pre-game preparation. For one
thing, he’s not superstitious.
For another, he feels “safer”
on the ice being a netminder.
“When you look at it, the
forwards, they’re blocking shots
and they’re wearing half the
protection we are,” says the
admitted Montreal Canadiens
and Carey Price fan. “And,
they’re getting hit, they’re
fighting and the reality there
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