Oct. 3, 2022 is a day Roman Jose will never forget.
In front of a thunderous sellout crowd of 17,031 at PostFinance Arena in his hometown of Bern, Switzerland, Josi captained the Nashville Predators to a 4-3 win over SC Bern in the 2022 NHL Global Series Challenge.
“It was perfect,” Josi said. “It was really emotional for me and I was a little nervous before the game, just coming back here and skating around in warmups, seeing the big wall again. It was just so special for me and something I’ll never forget.”
The “wall” in question – a daunting 10,000-plus, standing-room-only section – was packed with fans shouting Josi’s name and erupting with applause when he and fellow Switzerland native Nino Niederreiter were introduced at the start of the game.
The raucous chanting started during warmups and didn’t stop until the game was over. Although the vast majority of the crowd was cheering on the home team, they couldn’t help but show love for the hometown hero who began his hockey career in that very building.
“It was definitely really emotional for me,” Josi said. “Just the whole couple days here have been really emotional… Seeing my family the first night and yesterday practicing here and being back in the arena. And then obviously today, there was a lot going on and a lot of nerves before the game – just being back here and skating in front of the fans again. My whole family and my friends were here along with a lot of people I know from my childhood. So, just being out there at the end and beginning before the game, it was very emotional. I’m very thankful that I got the chance to do this and it’s something I’ll never forget.”
Josi tallied two goals and an assist in the Predators win over his former team in the Swiss National League; as teammate Matt Duchene said, “You couldn’t have drawn it up any better” for the man they call “Mr. Bern.”
Duchene and Filip Forsberg also scored for Nashville, and Kevin Lankinen made 12 saves in the Predators net. Sven Baertschi, Romain Loeffel and Christopher DiDomenico scored for SC Bern, while goaltender Philip Wuthrich made 16 saves.
Baertschi scored to give Bern a 1-0 lead at 10:57 of the first period, but Josi tied the game when he skated down the right side of the Bern zone and beat Wuthrich with a backhand shot in the final minutes of the period. Loeffel responded by firing a shot past Lankinen to take a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission, but Forsberg tied it 2-2 from in front of the net in the second period.
Duchene put the Predators ahead 3-2 minutes later when he scored during a delayed penalty, and Josi made it 4-2 in the third period with a shot from the circle. DiDomenico scored SC Bern’s third goal in the final minute of the game.
“To be able to play your last preseason game like this – against a highly competitive team who’s quick and who’s fast, and where the energy in the building really ramps up – I think the players on both teams really feed off that,” Head Coach John Hynes said. “So, I thought the competitive level of the game, the speed of the game and the atmosphere of the game was great. And I think going into the regular season with this style of game and type of game should benefit us.”
Monday’s game in Bern was the Preds’ final contest of the preseason before they head to Prague, Czechia, to open the 2022-23 NHL regular season with a pair of games against the San Jose Sharks. The team will then head back stateside to kick off the rest of the season – but for Josi, the homecoming he just experienced will be hard to beat.
“The game itself was so much fun,” Josi said. “And at the end, obviously doing the wave to the fans was incredible. And my family was here with my two grandmothers who haven’t seen me play in a long time and got the chance to see me play here. I’m just really thankful. I think it’s something a lot of guys can never do. And I’m very grateful for the chance to do this and it’s something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life and definitely one of my career highs.”
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