Bruins
“My coronary heart reaches out to all these affected. I take into account myself a Mainer.”
Jeremy Swayman may hail from Alaska, however the Bruins goaltender cast ties to Maine and the New England space lengthy earlier than he first donned a black-and-gold jersey.
The 24-year-old netminder spent three years taking part in for the Maine Black Bears — taking dwelling Hockey East Participant of the Yr honors following his junior yr in Orono earlier than making the soar as much as the professional sport.
And within the aftermath of Wednesday’s mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, Swayman paid tribute to a state and neighborhood that he’s constructed a robust bond with over time following Saturday’s win over the Pink Wings.
“That was a particular win for the Lewiston local people,” Swayman informed NESN’s Andrew Raycroft following Boston’s 4-1 win. “My coronary heart reaches out to all these affected. I take into account myself a Mainer. And the individuals up there didn’t deserve something like that. And I simply hope that they perceive that they’re not alone and we’re all considering of them — and we love them.”
The Bruins held a number of tributes and introduced a number of fundraising efforts within the wake of Wednesday’s tragic occasions.
Forward of Thursday’s dwelling sport towards the Geese, Swayman positioned a custom-made Bruins sweater behind Boston’s bench that featured the Maine space code of 207 and browse: “Lewiston Sturdy.”
The Boston Bruins Basis additionally created a fund to help the households of these affected by the shootings. The inspiration already pledged a minimal of $100,000 to assist these in want, whereas Thursday’s 50/50 raffle additionally benefited households in Lewiston. Members of the Bruins and the Geese are additionally auctioning off player-signed sticks wrapped with blue tape, representing the state of Maine.
Swayman performed a key function in Boston’s bounce-back win over Detroit on Saturday, stopping 22 of the 23 photographs that got here his method at TD Backyard. Swayman is now 4-0-0 on the season with a sterling .957 save proportion.
“It’s one thing that you simply wish to set statements with,” Swayman informed Raycroft of Boston’s win over an Atlantic Division opponent. “Clearly, they’re the primary division workforce we performed this yr, and we had lots of hype going into it. Clearly, the gang [was] wonderful.
“And that’s vital for us to ship a message to the league early. I believe we bought two extra [division games] developing this week. In order that’s what we bought our eyes set on. And tonight was a superb stepping stone for us to maneuver in an excellent path.”
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