08:11 AM
04/26/24
04/26/24
November 18, 2011
WTFinland: Last year Minnesota Wild prospect Mikael Granlund turned heads with his Floorball-style (or "lacross-style" for the uninitiated) goal during Finland's semifinal game against Russia in the World Championships. Mikael's younger brother Markus notched a similar goal today (via MetaFilter).
I had to watch Mikael's goal to understand what I was seeing in the video with Markus. Very impressive.
posted by Joey Michaels at 09:09 PM on November 18, 2011
Interesting comment about the difference between this goal and the famous University of Michigan one a few years ago - whereas the UM guy did it pretty much from a standstill behind the goal, this one is done on the move with the puck handler being pursued by the defense, thus adding another level of difficulty.
Having played lacrosse in high school, I wasn't totally sure what to expect when I clicked on the video - a lot of goals are scored in hockey via one-timers, which is roughly equivalent to a "quick-stick" in lacrosse, where the shooter basically catches and shoots the ball in one motion. This type of goal is more like what the Gait brothers at Syracuse started doing, just wrapping around the goalpost to get a score. Of course, in lacrosse, the crease extends far enough to the side and behind the goal that you have to pretty much get airborne to accomplish the feat if you're a typical offensive player with a short stick.