By Jim Mason/OJHL Communications
Welcome to the club, Hayden Sabourin.
The Mississauga Charger scored the rare ‘goalie goal’ on Sunday night against the Buffalo Jr. Sabres.
With his team up 4-2, thanks to another empty-netter by teammate Jonathan Herrington, Sabourin did his thing at LECOM Harborcenter, the training facility of the NHL Sabres in downtown Buffalo.
“I was a little disappointed after we scored our first empty-netter,” he told the OJHL. “Then I saw them keep their goalie at the hash marks, so that’s when I knew they were going to pull him again, because there were still about two minutes left.
“Then, it got rimmed around. I kind of scanned behind me and there wasn’t really anyone forechecking hard so I just put it on my backhand and shot it.”
Next to a shutout, the goalie goal is a dream of all netminders. Only 18 have been scored in NHL history.
“I definitely checked it off the list,” the 19-year-old from Guelph said Monday.
“I’m not surprised Hayden scored, if that makes any sense. He moves pucks very well. As soon as he shot it, I said on the bench, ‘that’s in.’ “
It’s an exclusive gathering across the 24-team Ontario Junior Hockey League, too. Sabourin’s end-to-ender is believed to be the fifth-ever marker by a goalie, at least in modern OJHL history:
- Michael Newlove then of the Georgetown Raiders scored in the Raiders’ 5-2 win over the North York Rangers in Georgetown Nov 16. Newlove was traded to the Burlington Cougars on Friday.
- Glen Crandall of the Milton Menace scored against Georgetown on Jan. 26, 2024 – the second of two goalie goals scored last season.
- Brett Fullerton, then of the Haliburton County Huskies, scored an empty-netter against the Wellington Dukes in Wellington on Dec. 1, 2023.
- Gabe Grunwald, also a Georgetown Raider, recorded a goalie goal and the shutout in a 3-0 win over the Mississauga Chargers on Nov. 12, 2012. The son of former Toronto Raptors General Manager Glen Grunwald was a University of Wisconsin NCAA Division I commit.
Joe Washkurak, Mississauga’s Head Coach and General Manager, was on the opposition bench for Grunwald’s goalie goal.
Sunday’s goal by his netminder was the first for a team he has coached during a career that goes back 25-plus years.
“I’m not surprised Hayden scored, if that makes any sense,” Washkurak told the OJHL. “He moves pucks well. As soon as he shot it, I said on the bench, ‘that’s in.’ “