For Wexford's Michael Houser, preparation pays off in opportunity with Sabres

Michael Houser has witnessed big moments in Civic Arena and PPG Paints Arena before.

He was in attendance for Game 6 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final, when the Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins for the championship.

And thanks to his former junior teammate, ex-Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta, Houser was lucky enough to get a ticket for Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Final between the Penguins and Ottawa Senators, a contest that was determined in the second overtime thanks to a one-timer from former Penguins forward Chris Kunitz.

Arguably, he experienced a bigger moment Thursday.

At least on a personal level.

The native of Youngstown, Ohio, who grew up in Wexford playing for the former Pittsburgh Hornets youth program got to start in net for the Buffalo Sabres against his hometown team.

Then again, this week has been full of big moments for Houser.

On Monday, the 28-year old, who has spent the bulk of his professional experience primarily at the ECHL level, made his NHL debut for a woeful Sabres squad running short on able-bodied goaltenders and came away with a 4-2 win at home against the playoff-bound New York Islanders by making 34 saves.

He followed that up Tuesday by stopping 45 shots in a 4-3 home triumph against the Islanders.

Starting again, this time against the team he grew up rooting for?

Houser didn’t seem ready to process the novelty of that Thursday morning prior to the game. He just wanted to focus on the task at hand.

“I’m glad I got those first two out of the way before I came here,” Houser said via video conference. “I think it’d be a little more difficult if this was my first one. But when you play three games in four nights, you just kind of keep the momentum rolling a little bit, you start getting into a little bit of a rhythm, and I’m just going to try to carry that into tonight. I might have a little jitters in warm-up, but again, just like the first game that I played, I’m just going to try to get into it as quickly as possible, hopefully feel it a little bit early and then go from there.”

Sabres interim coach Don Granato offered a more profound perspective on Houser’s presence.

“It is an amazing story,” Granato said. “He’s a person that’s taken all of his life experiences in preparation for what may next lie ahead for him, in that case, being in the NHL and thrown in the net. When you factor all of that in, it’s not too much of a surprise that he was really, really good in the first two games because you see that he did put that work in. But it is clearly an amazing story. For him to jump right in and look, so quickly the way he does, comfortable, you can tell he put the time in.”

A star at the junior level in the Ontario Hockey League with the London Knights, Houser went undrafted by NHL teams but signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers in 2012. From there, he embarked on a nomadic journey as a professional beginning in 2012 that has taken him to far-flung hockey outposts such as San Antonio, Cincinnati, Tucson, Manchester, N.H. and Ontario (California).

His first eight seasons as a professional saw him play in 210 ECHL games and 73 AHL games.

His ninth season has been limited to NHL games. Three, to be precise, including Thursday’s meeting with the Penguins.

“I just wanted to work every day,” Houser said of his perseverance. “I was just playing hockey. It wasn’t like I wasn’t going to the rink every day and not practicing. I was on (AHL) contracts for the last little while. My goal was always, when I was in the (ECHL), to perform as best I could so if I did get called up, I could have a chance at grabbing an (AHL) net. Obviously, I didn’t think that my first chance at the NHL would happen like this. But you always have to be ready. Luckily, I felt like I was. It did take a little while but I don’t think any huge doubt ever crept in. I just kept plugging away and working every day.”

Given the unique nature of the NHL’s 2020-21 season, which instituted taxi squads as well as the Sabres’ various maladies, Houser was signed to a one-year, two-way contract March 19 and dressed as the backup goaltender for a handful of games before getting his first start.

“Everybody needs opportunity,” Granato said. “You look at the NHL, we throw hundreds and hundreds of players in the NHL that can’t seize the opportunity, and that’s it for them. This guy, Michael has prepared for his opportunity. … So, heck of a job of him to persevere and be ready for opportunity.”

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