Maven's Memories: The Amazing Nights of Wade Dubielewicz

Wade Dubielewicz was not your average goalie.
Not by a long shot, a slap shot nor even a one-timer.
Dubie -- or Dubie-Dubie-Do as some preferred calling him - didn't necessarily look like a goalie, but for a relatively short -- but definitely arresting -- run as the Islanders' keeper of the twine -- he sure was adored by the Coliseum Faithful. He returned the favor with a melodramatic March homestretch run in 2007.

Wade's Hollywood-type performance -- which I'll get to momentarily -- was not necessarily connected to his good looks.
"He was adorable from his undersized build to his oversized equipment," said writer Zachary Weinstock, co-author of the upcoming Islander' 50th anniversary commemorative book.
"Dubie was pugnacious with an adolescent-like energy. He had his nickname, painted on the front of his mask and Yoda from 'Star Wars painted on the back. He was the underdog of all underdogs."
After playing four years at the University of Denver, the balding, scrawny native of Kerrobert, Saskatchewan went undrafted until the Islanders signed him as a free agent on May 26, 2003.
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Dispatched to Bridgeport, Dubie set a score of American Hockey League records and won the league's Red Garrett Award as the AHL's top freshman. But with Rick DiPietro, the Isles goalie-in-residence and usually-able Mike Dunham as back-up, Dubielewicz seemed destined for a bus-riding career with Bridgeport.
That all changed in March 2007, and who knows how or why. Maybe the spirit of Yoda had something to do with it but this much is certain, Dubie's time had come.
It began with a DiPietro injury, followed by Dunham's ineffective performances. Clearly, it was time to elevate Dubie although his arrival in Uniondale did not merit a parade of any kind. Even Wade would agree to that.
"I don't really look like a goalie," he explained, "and the Yoda on my mask doesn't really look like a Jedi Warrior; still I like him just the same."
But when it came to the hockey wars, career minor leaguer Dubie's motto could have been the U.S. Coast Guard motto, Semper Peratus, "Always Ready."
Of course nobody in either Nassau nor Suffolk counties had heard much about him on March 8, 2007 when the Rangers beat the Isles, 2-1 putting coach Ted Nolan's sextet in Abyss-ville.
Any chance for a playoff berth seemed as likely as a bunch of igloo condos at Montauk Point. With DiPietro wounded and Dunham nowhere near solving the S.O.S., coach Ted Nolan rolled the dice and summoned Dubielewicz who had been sweating through his eighth year in the minors.
"We might as well take a chance on the little guy," said Nolan. "Heck, our choices are down to one -- Dubie. Maybe he can help pull us out of 11th place."
It now was April 3, 2007 and guess who eagerly trooped into Nassau Veterans'
Memorial Coliseum? None other than the streaking New York Rangers.
"We win tonight," said Blueshirts coach Tom Renney, "and we clinch a playoff berth. We win tonight and we eliminate the Islanders."
A week remained in the regular schedule and Nolan knew the score. When a reporter asked Coach Ted about his team's chances to make the postseason, he candidly shot back, "a million to one."
Or as one press box wag post scripted. "Ted's math was off, but not by much."
A more realistic Las Vegas sportsbook listed the Isles chances at almost 70-1.
As Weinstock chronicled in "Rangers Vs. Islanders," co-authored with The Maven, Nolan had some dangerous potholes to avert if any good would come of his team's efforts.
Weinstock. "The Islanders needed six different results to go their way over the next six days -- wins in their own four games, plus two Montreal Canadiens losses."

Pothole One was one of the biggest of all and named, Rangers. Led by the formidable Henrik Lundqvist in goal, the Blueshirts expected to make mincemeat out of the then anonymous Dubielwicz who looked tiny, by comparison, at the other end of the pond.
The voracious Visitors hurled 38 shots at the 28-year-old rookie and he stopped all but two of them. "Wade Dubielewicz is writing quite a story for himself," said MSG Networks' Islanders play-by-play man Howie Rose.
But King Henrik matched The Little Guy and the Rangers went on a power play in overtime. Dubie survived that scare and eventually the fate of the Islanders would be decided in a shootout of all things.
Or as part-time screenwriter Weinstock wrote: "It was the third-stringer vs. Vezina Trophy Finalist."
When the Shootout curtain had lifted, it was Michael Nylander going for the Rangers. He was their one-on-one specialist to be followed by future Hall of Famers Brendan Shanahan and Jaromir Jagr.
Miroslav Satan was Nolan's choice for first serve and he beat Lundqvist as the crowd roared its approval. Now it was the slick Nylander's turn and he made it look simple at first, skating to waltz time.
That suited Dubie just fine. While the Ranger was thinking five-hole, Wade had his own brainstorm and poke-checked the puck far from the goal line. The nondescript goalie was scripting history.
The second time around, Dubie stopped Shanny with his blocker after the Ranger had aimed top shelf only to skate away, shaking his head in dismay. Which left it up to Jagr to push the red-light button.
Jags outwitted Dubie's poke check, pulled the puck back and tried to shovel a forehand through the five-hole. For a split-second it appeared that the Ranger had it, but Dubie pulled a ballerina bit and went full split.

The top of his pad connected with the rubber with just enough force to complete Dubie's --at least until then -- save of his lifetime. Wade certainly thought so as he leaped roof-high and sprinted into the arms of his teammates or, as one reporter put it, "Like a little boy!"
On tv, the Islanders' MSG Networks color man, Billy Jaffe, exclaimed -- like another little boy -- "DUBIE DUBIE DOO!"
Out went the Rangers chance to dump their rivals out of the playoffs.
Two nights later Islanders Nation suddenly did a quick reverse and rooted for the same Manhattan sextet they had booed in Uniondale. The Canadiens were at The Garden and a Blueshirt win was what Nolan's skaters needed most of all.
Not that the Rangers were interested in doing their cross-county rivals any favors but they did anyway. They beat the Habs, 3-1 which -- from the Isles count -- meant two down, four to go.
"It's getting interesting," said Joe Dionisio, a Newsday editor at the time, who now writes screenplays in California.
What made it even more "interesting" was the Islanders regulation win over Toronto. YIKES! Three down, three to go. Next stop for Nolan's stickhandlers was Broad Street in Philadelphia on a Saturday night. "It wasn't a rout," smiled Nolan, "but we got a pair of points and that's all that matters."
Ah, but what also mattered was learning that Montreal blew a two goal lead to Toronto and lost, 6-5.
Five down, one to go!
Confident but not cocky, the Islanders bussed to East Rutherford, New Jersey where the Devils awaited them. So did the mathematicians and, frankly, no fancy analytics were necessary since the arithmetic already was clear.
If the Visitors could acquire two points, their "million-to-one" shot would have been realized. Anything less would thrust the Maple Leafs over them -- and in.
One could say that it was Dubie's game to win or lose and -- no kidding around -- he nearly lost it. A pair of late third period John Madden goals tied the game. The last red lighter skimmed over the goal line with less than a second remaining in the third period.
Upon further painstaking review, Madden's backhander did in fact cross the line and now it was time for overtime. As if the heavily-populated Islanders fans in New Jersey had not suffered enough anxiety; the high anxiety arrived with the ultimate finale, a Shootout.
It looked ominous when Zach Parise turned Wade into a pretzel and scored with consummate ease. Ah, but the Isles were scoring as well and now it was 2-1 for the Visitors thanks to Dubie's ever-reliable poke check.

Last man up for New Jersey was one of its Stanley Cup heroes; wearer of three rings, the very clever Sergei Brylin. Up in the MSG Networks booth, Howie Rose bluntly explained: "And now the pressure will fall on Wade Dubielewicz."
Brylin knew what he wanted to do and did it. He started with a leg kick to fake a shot, and then deked to his backhand. Here's how one reporter chronicled the coup de grace:
"As soon as Brylin faked the shot, Wade pulled his grip to the butt-end of his stick shaft and slung the paddle straight ahead like a shuffleboard cue."
Brylin was stuck in his tracks as Duby bayoneted the six-inch ounce of vulcanized rubber harmlessly out of danger.
Howie Rose -- not to mention all of Islanders Nation -- went nuts.
"THE NEW YORK ISLANDERS ARE HEADED TO THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS IN AS DRAMATIC A FASHION AS YOU CAN ENVISION," wailed the MSG Networks guy.
And out of the unlikely melodrama rose the unlikeliest goalkeeping star of all, Wade Dubielewicz. For his heroics, Dubie deserved a new, more appropriate nickname; and he got it:
"The Prince Of Poke." And, as if to underline the point, some linguist added: "In-Dubie-tably."
Oh, yeah, one more ecstatic line emerged from the heroics.
The victors now were true "Never-Say-Die-Landers!"