Blooper On Ice

Newsy once confessed he deliberately scored a goal against his own team. In retirement, he recalled the embarrassing moment this way. "Lots of players have deflected or kicked a puck into their own team's net and it's always accidental. But I deliberately shot the tying goal past Georges Vezina, my own goaltender, one night in Montreal."

Could it be true? How could a player do such a thing? A search through the NHL records brought me back to January 29, 1920, and a game between Montreal and Quebec. Canadiens were leading 3-2 with a couple of minutes left to play in the third period. Joe Malone, the Quebec scoring ace, sifted through and blazed a shot at Vezina, who made a miraculous save. The puck rebounded off the goalie's stick and landed at the feet of Lalonde, who stood directly in front of the Montreal net.

"I thought I heard the whistle blow when I snapped up the loose puck," Lalonde said later. "So I relaxed. Then I playfully moved in on Vezina, deked him aside and slipped the puck past him into the net. What a gaffe! There'd been no whistle. I turned around and all the players were staring at me as if I was demented. The astonished goal judge waved his hand in the air, signalling the tying goal and Harvey Pulford, the equally surprised referee, confirmed the decision. Imagine my anguish and the flow of language I used as I chased the referee all the way to center ice, trying to explain myself. But Pulford would not be swayed. He was adamant. The goal would count. It was my most embarrassing moment in hockey."

Reading on, I discovered that Lalonde hadn't completed the story he'd begun. It turned out the goat's horns were a temporary part of his hockey attire. In the overtime, he discarded them to become the hero of the night. He made an end-to-end rush, squirmed his way through the Quebec defence, enticed goalie Brophy out of his net, and whacked the puck past him for the winning goal.

"The friendly pounding I received from my teammates after the winning goal was nice," recalled Lalonde. "Much nicer than the pounding I might have received if I hadn't scored it."