In the third period of a semifinal Swedish Elite League playoff game between Luleå and Skellefteå this week, Joonas Vihko (No. 103 pick overall by the Anaheim Ducks in 2002) attempted to dump the puck into the corner and set up Luleå offensively.
It accidentally deflected off the skate of Skellefteå defenseman Petter Granberg (No. 116 pick overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2010) above the face-off circles and … well, needless to say the goaltender was caught off guard:
Someone owes his keeper a beer. We've seen pucks fly off a teammate's skates and in back of his goalie, but it's usually closer to the crease than the blue line.
This fluke goal tied the game for Luleå with about five minutes remaining, and they won in overtime. It's no Ryan Suter kick-line audition, but it's one heck of a weird tally, in a playoff game no less.
Stick-tap to reader Fredrik Gustafsson for the clip.