In an era where content is easily accessible, the biggest moments in sports are instantly downloaded, tweeted, liked, shared and YouTube’d. No matter the sport, if it’s amazing, it’ll get noticed in a hurry; over the weekend one hockey goal garnered plenty of attention.
We’ve all seen the famous Michigan goal from 1996, Alexander Ovechkin’s incredible fall down goal and even rookie Tomas Hertl’s ridiculous goal earlier this season, but we believe they all pale in comparison to what happened over the weekend in upstate Michigan.
In a typical night of Ontario Hockey League (OHL) action, the Soo Greyhounds were hosting the Sarnia Sting, which quickly became a rout.
But with about 10 minutes left in the second period, Greyhounds forward Sergey Tolchinsky pulled off a goal that we believe might now be the greatest ever scored – in terms of style points. Tolchinsky, who signed as free agent deal with the Carolina Hurricanes (organization back in June), hopped off the bench towards a sliding puck and immediately found himself on a breakaway. As the forward skated towards the net, he turned backward, so that his back was facing the goaltender, slid the puck and his stick in-between his legs and roofed it top shelf on a netminder who was dumbfounded by that point.
Here’s the replay of Tolchinsky’s goal:
We had to watch that clip several times just to describe exactly what the 19-year-old did. We’ve seen that move numerous times on a breakaway while facing the goaltender – but never turned away from him. What makes it even more impressive is that this wasn’t during a shootout. No, Tolchinsky had a defense breathing right down his neck.
Countless goals have been scored over the years in the junior leagues, in international leagues and in the National Hockey League – but this one was the best we’ve ever witnessed. Tolchinsky has exploded for 84 points in 64 games this season, but no matter what happens for the rest of his career – whether he fades away or becomes a superstar – he’ll be remembered for this goal.
Ed Miller is a contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @PhillyEdMiller or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
