Not even two months into the hockey season and we've alreaady been witness to a pair of goalie goals in high-level hockey.
The first came from Filip Gustavsson of the Minnesota Wild in an NHL game against the St. Louis Blues. Thursday, it was Carter George of the OHL's Owen Sound Attack who was denting the twine to complete a 4-1 victory over the Peterborough Petes.
George made a glove save. Then the 2024 Los Angeles Kings draft pick quickly dropped the puck and snapped a shot down the ice. It slid the length of the rink and nestled into the heart of the Peterborough net.
GOALIE GOAL BY CARTER GEORGE!!!!!!!🤯🤯@LAKings 2024 #NHLDraft pick Carter George just SCORED for the @AttackOHL in the third period!😍 Oh and did we mention.. he's a GOALIE.🥅#OHL | @CHLHockey | #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/yqbrY7Jaz5
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) November 15, 2024
He's just the fifth OHL goalie to score a goal and the first since Mark Visentin of the Niagara IceDogs in 2011-12. Justin Peters (2003-04), Fred Brathwaite (1992-93) and Chris Clifford (1986-87) also scored goals as OHL goaltenders.
By contrast, Gustavsson was scoring the 18th goalie goal in NHL history, which have been tallied by 15 different goaltenders.
Martin Brodeur scored three times and Ron Hextall netted a pair of goals. Billy Smith was the first NHL goalie credited with a goal (Nov. 28, 1979). The Colorado Rockies scored an own goal and Smith was the last to touch the puck.
Eight years later, Hextall became the first goalie to shoot the puck into the net for a goal. His tally came on Dec. 8, 1987, against the Boston Bruins.
Gustavsson is the second Swedish goalie to record an NHL goal. Linus Ullmark scored for the Boston on Feb. 25, 2023.
The 26-year-old goalie is the first NHL goalie to score since Pittsburgh's Tristan Jarry netted one on Nov. 30, 2023 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Other NHL goalies who have scored a goal: Chris Osgood, Damian Rhodes, Jose Theodore, Evgeni Nabokov, Mika Noronen, Chris Mason, Cam Ward, Mike Smith and Pekka Rinne.