Jeremy Swayman
Alaska hockey history added another magical moment Thursday night in Los Angeles, where Anchorage’s Jeremy Swayman and North Pole’s Pheonix Copley delivered the first All-Alaskan goaltending duel in NHL history.
Swayman stopped 27 shots to pilot the Boston Bruins to a 5-2 road victory over Copley and the Los Angeles Kings. Copley made 17 saves on 21 shots before the Bruins sealed victory with an empty-net strike.
The first All-Alaska NHL goalie matchup was a long time coming. Only three Alaskans have tended goal in the world’s best league. Barrier-breaker Ty Conklin of Anchorage was the first Alaskan to play goalie in the NHL, but he retired – the 2011-12 season was his last in the NHL – long before Copley and Swayman entered the league.
“Is that the first ever (all-Alaska goalie duel)?’’ a smiling Swayman asked reporters after the game. “It’s so special. It’s something you never forget, coming from Alaska. I know Pheonix and what it took to get here. And to represent such an incredible state on the biggest stage, it’s pretty incredible.’’
Pheonix Copley
Copley, 30, and Swayman, 24, took similar journeys to get to that stage
Copley played the last of his minor hockey career Outside in California, then played in the North American Hockey League and U.S. Hockey League before playing two seasons of college hockey at Michigan Tech and signing as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Capitals. Swayman played the last of his minor hockey career in Colorado, then played in the USHL before playing three seasons of college hockey at Maine and signing with the Bruins, who drafted him.
Hope every kid that plays hockey in Alaska is watching this. This kid is 🙋🏻♂️ https://t.co/R6mU0XDzZG
— Nate Thompson (@NateThompson44) January 6, 2023
Their stats this season are remarkably similar too.
Swayman: 8-3-3, 2.63 goals-against average, .900 save percentage, 800 minutes played.
Copley: 9-2-0, 2.66, .901, 678 minutes played.
Swayman’s performance Thursday was a step in the right direction in what to this point has been an up-and-down season playing behind Linus Ullmark, who pretty much leads the universe in goaltending this season, and missing time with a knee injury. This is a big season for Swayman in part because he is in the final season of his three-season, entry-level contract.
Copley, who made his ninth start in the last 11 games and had his career-best, seven-game winning streak snapped, has buoyed the Kings since his late-November call-up from Ontario of the American Hockey League. Copley was promoted when the Kings sent Cal Petersen to Ontario to repair his game. Copley has earned the majority of minutes in Los Angeles’ crease as two-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Quick continues to struggle.
Tonight's game marks the first time in NHL history to feature two Alaska-born goaltenders between the pipes. Kings’ Pheonix Copley is from North Pole, AK, while Boston’s Jeremy Swayman hails from Anchorage, AK. pic.twitter.com/V6OvonDtci
— LA Kings PR (@LAKingsPR) January 6, 2023
The Swayman-Copley milestone moment came more than 22 years after the first matchup of Alaskans the NHL.
The first clash of Alaskans in the league came on Dec. 5, 2000, when the New Jersey Devils and center Scott Gomez of Anchorage entertained the Colorado Avalanche and right winger Scott Parker of Eagle River. The Devils won 6-1, with Gomez earning an assist and firing two shots in 17 minutes, 6 seconds of ice time. Parker fired two shots in 9:37 of ice and fought New Jersey’s Jim McKenzie. That game also featured a noteworthy goalie matchup — New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur and Colorado’s Patrick Roy both went on to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.