Friday, November 7, 2014

Video: AHL changes rules to prevent goalies from intentionally dislodging own net


In the midst of his fifth consecutive season in the American Hockey League, 30-year-old Bridgeport Sound Tigers goalie David Leggio found an interesting way to turn the odds in his favor.

This Sunday, Leggio avoided facing a 2-on-0 breakaway by simply turning around and flipping his own net off its moorings before having to face a shot.

As a result, Springfield was awarded a penalty shot, which Leggio stopped.

Knocking his net over, effectively turned a 2-on-0 into a 1-on-0 and video of his quick thinking didn’t take long to go viral. It has over 1,145,000 views as of the posting of this story.

Don’t expect many goalies to follow Leggio’s example, thought. According to Darren Dreger, the AHL has reviewed the play and has made a goalie intentionally dislodging his net a game misconduct.



"I really didn't think it was a big deal, to be honest. I just thought I made a play based on the rules," Leggio told the Connecticut Post on Tuesday. "I was laughing a lot. I got some funny messages from people."

Later in the article, Leggio went on to joke:

"Maybe they'll change the rule. Name it after me, no big deal. I was just trying to make a play to help my team win."

Well Played Mr. Leggio.


UPDATE: The voice of the Charlotte Checkers, Jason Shaya offered a couple thoughts on Leggio's actions earlier this week.

"(Leggio) tweeted the following day that this is a tactic they actually teach in his goaltending school (amongst other delay strategies)," Shaya wrote during his weekly '10 Thoughts' post on gocheckers.com. "Also, because he stopped the penalty shot that was awarded against him, his gamble clearly paid off. But now I would assume that this will be reviewed by the AHL rules committee.


"One more thing about Leggio throwing the net off its pegs," Shaya continued. "I find it strange that his first reaction was to find a way out of the circumstance rather than to immediately engage in making a save. A goaltender, at the most crucial moments, you would think, should instinctively go into fight mode, not flight. How many times have you ever seen a goalie turn his back to the play that is coming in his direction? I doubt many goalies would even conceive of the idea." 

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