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NHL Rookie goaltender Troy Grosenick of the San Jose Sharks made history on Sunday, November 16 when he shutout the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0. It was the 25-year-old’s first-ever game in the NHL and he made 45 saves to earn the shutout in his debut, which is a new league record. The last goalie to make 40 saves in their first NHL game was Mike Fountain of the Vancouver Canucks back in 1996 and the previous record of 41 saves in an NHL debut shutout was set by Andre Gill of the Boston Bruins in 1967.

Grosenick was called up by the Sharks just a few days before his debut from the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League (AHL) when backup goalie Alex Stalock was sidelined with a knee injury. Grosenick was never drafted by an NHL team and was given the start against Carolina when regular starter Antti Niemi was given the night off to rest. He joined San Jose as an unrestricted after playing at New York’s Union College in the 2012/13 campaign. He played in 35 games with Worcester last season and had a save percentage of 90.3 alone with a record of 18-14 and a goals-against average of 2.62. He had appeared in 10 games with Worcester so far this year.

His San Jose teammates didn’t really play well in front of him though in his first NHL game as the Panthers outshot the Sharks 45 -19. While several other goalies have earned shutouts in their NHL debuts, nobody has made 45 saves while doing so. For instance, John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks accomplished the achievement last season, but faced just 18 shots to earn a win. Grosenick certainly worked hard to earn both the win and the shutout. Grosenick said he was calm when the game started because he prepared for it the way he usually does and didn’t treat it as anything special. He made 16 saves in the first period while the Sharks managed just five against Carolina. The goalie then faced 15 more shots in the second and 14 in the third period.

Grosenick said he didn’t have much time to think about things during the game since he was so busy stopping pucks, but he didn’t feel it was really a tough game to play. Todd McLellan, the coach of San Jose, said Grosenick obviously played well be because he was calm and he didn’t give up many rebounds. Grosenick, who is from Brookfield, Wisconsin, was cheered on at the game by his parents, uncle, brother and fiancée, but realizes he may be with San Jose for just a few more days before being sent back to Worcester. However, he said his NHL debut is one he’ll never forget.