I scored from between my legs once (in a nothing game)

Hockey may be the only sport where people get mad at players for showing creativity and emotion.  

In a sport that celebrates playing "the game the right way," sometimes a creative play is seen as showing off.

A couple of years ago I played hockey on Friday nights with a group that included some older guys who took the games a bit too seriously.

I remember the organizer asking someone not to come back because he played in the CHL and was too good.

While some of the older guys were not as fast as they used to be, they made up for it with excellent hooking skills.  Many nights I would end up with red lines across my stomach from pulling around one of those guys like a boat towing a waterskier. 

The games were just for fun and every time we would put our sticks at centre ice and someone would throw half the sticks on each side of the ice to pick teams.  One team would get the good goalie; the other would get the goalie who tried his best.

One night my team was down by a goal and we were playing against the good goalie. 

In the third period one of my teammates poked the puck free and I picked it up for a breakaway.  Having been shut down all night I tried something I had only practiced on outdoor ice.  I pulled the puck between my legs and shot for the top right corner and scored.

When I went back to centre ice the reception I got from my teammates was cold.

“Nice goal,” an older guy said utilizing the same amount of sincerity my Japanese wife does when she compliments my chopstick abilities.  

I tried to laugh it off with a joke, saying that shooting from between my legs was the only way I was going to score that night, but no one was having any of it.

Despite the fact that no one would talk to me in the locker room, that goal was maybe my favourite goal I ever scored.

(Note: having never played at a serious level all the goals I scored were inconsequential.)

This week Clarke MacArthur of the Ottawa Senators fed Kyle Turris with a beautiful pass from between the legs.

Here are some players making similar plays.  Each of these goals is burned into my YouTube history.