Ed Olcyzk, former head Coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins, gives Pittsburgh Hornet Rob Madore a chance to shine between the pipes, facing the Pittsburgh Penguins during a recent practice section. Rob had the opportunity to display his top notch goaltending ability standing tall in goal against the likes of Sidney Crosby, Sergei Gonchar, John LeClair, Mark Recchi, Ryan Malone (former Hornet) and the like. This wonderful story of talent meeting opportunity was crystalized and captured by Reporter Chris Adamski in this great article which appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on 12-22-06. Our thanks to Coach Olcyzk and the Pens for providing Rob with this great opportunity.
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Pro For a Day - by Chris Adamski
Tri-State Sports & News Service
Pittsburgh Post Gazette – 12-22-06
It’s safe to say Rob Madore will not be turning off his cell phone any time soon.
When you miss calls like the ones this 17-year old Peters Township resident did earlier this month, it tends to teach you a lesson.
Madore, a goalie who plays for the Midget Major Tier I AAA Pittsburgh Hornets hockey team, was unreachable by then Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk (before his dismissal last week).
“These kids and their cell phones.” Olcyzk said.
Olczyk wanted to invite Madore to practice with the Penguins on Dec. 7. With starter Marc-Andre Fleury out with an intestinal ailment, the team was short a goaltender – a development that makes it difficult to practice.
Scrambling for someone to facilitate the workout, Olczyk recalled Madore, who had led Peters Township High School to the past two PIHL Class AA Penguin Cup championships and Olczyk had become familiar with him when his sons played with and against him.
“He’s very highly regarded around here”. Olczyk said.
At last, on Wednesday morning Madore received the call from Olczyk.
“I had to pinch myself.” Madore said. “After I answered the phone, he was like “I’m Coach Olczyk, and I was wondering if you’d like to come down and practice with the Pens.” I had to pinch myself and make sure he was not joking, first off.
“I just said, “Yes, Mr. Olczyk, You don’t have to ask me, just tell me when to be down there.” It was shocking. It was kind of good because it was so late, so I didn’t have time to get my equipment and head down to the rink.
“I’m only 17 and I was watching these guys on TV two days before. Now they are shooting (pucks) at me.”
Other than the fact he was a couple inches shorter and was absent the bright yellow pads that have become Fleury’s trademark, it was hard to tell Madore was in the net instead of Fleury.
“I was impressed”, said Jocelyn Thibault, the Penguins only healthy netminder that day.
“He was phenomenal.” Veteran defenseman Lyle Odelein said. “The first few shifts, guys were letting up a bit, but after they saw how good he was, they started firing it at them.”
“It was fun to see.”
Madore said he was most impressed by the speed at the NHL level, and the anticipation and vision of the players – “They knew what they were going to do with the puck before they even got it,” he said.
The velocity of the shots – while certainly consistently faster than what he faces at the highest midget hockey level – was manageable, but the pinpoint accuracy of the shooters was what stood out in Madore’s mind.
“He thought guys took it easy on him out there.” Olczyk said. “I said, ‘Don’t kid yourself.’ Guys are competitive. Guys try to make most goalies look fooling, no matter who they are. We appreciated it, him coming at the last minute.”
It was good experience, but it might be a glimpse of things to come for Madore, who harbors professional hockey and NHL aspirations himself. According to the Hornets, a player has been drafted off their team into the NHL each of the last seven seasons – including four current NHLers.
Coming from a hockey-crazy family – he said his youngest brother’s first word was “hockey” – he learned the sport early on and soon after was a goaltender.
A cerebral goalie with the reflexes and physical attributes to succeed, Madore is honing the mental aspect of his game playing against the to-notch competition of the MidWest Elite Hockey League, which has been a pipeline for sending players to the NHL.
But the NHL, if it happens, is well into Madore’s future. For now, he is still a 17-year-old kid.
Then again, that makes him only mere months younger than the Penguins’ best player, wunderkind Sidney Crosby.
“Maybe,” Odelein quipped, “they should go out to lunch together.”
The Wheeling Nailers announced on Thursday that they have agreed to terms with former Pittsburgh Hornet goaltender Mike Betz. Betz, a product of the Pittsburgh Hornets travel hockey development program, is the all-time career wins leader at Ohio State University. Betz willl join Andy Franck as the two goalies on the Wheeling roster. 
