Ron Hextall, in an era when pads were smaller. (Photo: Al Bello, Allsport)

On a Tuesday night in December 1987, Ron Hextall became the first NHL goalie to shoot a puck into an opposing team’s net during a game. It was such an unprecedented feat, even Hextall was surprised, telling The Associated Press: "I still don't realize it; I'll have to see it on film." 

Plenty of goalies have scored over the intervening four decades, but the accomplishment is still rare enough to warrant celebration. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds goaltender Carter George became the first OHL goaltender to score not once, but twice in his career with an empty netter last week.  

“Ahhh, he’s lived every goalie’s dream twice now,” says Ottawa 67’s goalie Jaeden Nelson. "Part of me says that’s not fair, and part of me wants to just get out there and work on scoring goals every day."

In speaking with Don Brennan, our OHL reporter with The Ottawa Citizen, Nelson also lays out the risk behind the reward of a goalie taking a shot on net.  

“If it’s 6-on-5 and I ice it, there’s a faceoff in our zone," Nelson says. “It puts more pressure on the centre (to win a draw) that didn’t need it, or puts more pressure on everyone else to find a guy and not let him get a clear shot off. Or, if they get a shot off, it could hit off something … 

“Also, if you just go to shoot it and it slips off your stick, or you whiff on it, you turn it over and it’s a tie game now. Then it puts a little more pressure on you to bail the team out again later.” 

You can read more about the art and the science behind goalie goals right here.

Spare a moment for the Sarnia Sting, who have missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. At Christmas, it looked like the franchise was heading in the right direction, with only three points to make up in its race to the post-season.  

Sadly, for Sarnia, that gap has only widened.  

Mark Malone, our excellent OHL reporter with the Chatham Daily News, walks us through the path Sarnia will have to take the rest of the way. Spoiler: It won’t be easy.  

“Every game’s a playoff game,” Sting captain Alessandro Di Iorio tells Malone. “We’ve got to win every game we can. It comes down to these last two months. We want to make the playoffs as bad as everybody else (and) the fans, so we’re going to do everything we can.” 

Sarnia began the week with a hold on last place in the OHL’s Western Conference, eight points out of contention. 

“Every game’s a big game at this point, especially with two months left in the season and how far behind we are,” rookie Chase Gaughan tells Malone. "But it’s definitely in our grasp.” 

You can read the full story right here. 

(Photo: Maja Hitij, Getty Images)

Beginning at noon ET today, London Free Press reporter Ryan Pyette will be taking your questions about the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. 

You can follow along and ask questions right here. 

Here are some instructions, via The Free Press: "Asking a question is easy. Ensure you’re sign into your account here at lfpress.com, go to the comment section below and type in your question. Everything will be pre-moderated, so your question may not appear right away – but we’ll see it soon enough."

Kingston's Gavin Betts. (Photo: Gare Joyce, The Kingston Whig-Standard)

There is a meme that seems to circulate around the internet at the beginning of each minor hockey season. It’s shared by parents who might otherwise feel guilty about removing their kids from school for tournaments that begin on a Friday morning — a school day.  

It goes: “School is important. Hockey is importanter.” 

That does not appear to be the case for Gavin Betts, the 17-year-old currently playing in net for the Kingston Frontenacs. Gare Joyce investigates for The Kingston Whig-Standard. 

“I like schoolwork,” Betts tells Joyce. “I want to study kinesiology. I’m not sure what I want to do with it, but that’s something that’s interested me.” 

In November, the OHL named Betts its top academic performer in the Eastern Conference, with his 93 per cent average Grade 12 chemistry, economics and religion. 

“If I don’t have discipline for school, I’m not going to have the discipline for hockey,” Betts tells Joyce. “I look at school as a way to improve that discipline for the game … to improve mentally and use the challenge as an opportunity.” 

You can read the whole story right here. 

Ben Leeson, our excellent OHL reporter with The Sudbury Star, takes stock of the Wolves heading out of the trade deadline and into the future. The team made several major deals, but none with an eye to winning this year.  

From Leeson: “Despite enjoying a strong finish to the first half of their season that included five straight wins and nine in 15 games, (Wolves GM Rob) Papineau stayed true to his plan and traded away 19-year-old Nathan Villeneuve and 20-year-old Alex Pharand to the Windsor Spitfires and 19-year-old Kieron Walton to the Peterborough Petes — players who accounted for three-quarters of the Wolves’ leadership group and had 122 points between them.” 

Why?  

From Leeson: “Sudbury received 17-year-old forward JC Lemieux from Windsor and 17-year-old defenceman Genc Ula from Peterborough, as well as a total of 13 picks in upcoming OHL Priority Selections.” 

That is a lot of draft picks.  

You can read the whole story right here.

(Photo:  John Lappa, The Sudbury Star)

Brantford Bulldogs goaltender Ryerson Leenders looks exactly like us after we spent five hours shovelling out from that snowstorm earlier this week.