You can call it a lacrosse goal, The Michigan, or the high wrap. In Sweden, they call it a "Zorromål," which literally translates as "Zorro goal."
Whatever you want to call it, it involves a hockey player getting the puck on the blade of his stick, allowing them to lift it up and control it in the air like a lacrosse player, then wrapping it around the net and into the top corner over the unsuspecting goaltender's shoulder. It's always thrilling when a hockey player can pull it off in a game, but the opportunities to do so are few and far between, making a Zorro goal a rare treat.
Vancouver Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki pulled off that rare treat on Thursday in the SHL in a game against Luleå. But it wasn't just that he scored with the move but that he executed it with sublime speed and skill.
Lekkerimäki's Örebro took an early 1-0 lead in the first period, a lead that held through to the middle of the third period. That's when Lekkerimäki stepped up to score an insurance goal with style.
The first obstacle to a lacrosse goal is getting the puck up onto the blade of the stick in the first place. This isn't too hard in practice for a typical hockey player, particularly an elite prospect like Lekkerimäki, but can be more of a challenge in a game, where there's less time and space and a defenceman is often right on top of you.
When Mike Legg scored the lacrosse goal for the University of Michigan that gave it the nickname "The Michigan," he was momentarily left alone behind the net for around three full seconds, giving him time to bend down, press the blade of his stick onto the puck, and lift it up.
Lekkerimäki didn't have that kind of time. There was a defender cutting around the net towards him as the puck rolled his way, so he had just a split second to control the puck. So, he took advantage of the rolling puck and swiped it cleanly off the ice then, in one motion, tucked it into the top corner.
That takes incredible control to execute that play that quickly. It's legitimately mind-blowing. Even Lekkerimäki seems in a state of shock immediately following the goal.
More than that, the goal stood up as the game-winner, as Luleå scored with three minutes left and made a late push to tie the game. If not for Lekkerimäki's lacrosse heroics, Örebro might not have won. It's a crucial win for Örebro as well, as they're just above the playoff bubble in the SHL.
Lekkerimäki has been sizzling hot of late and the Zorro goal gives the 19-year-old winger nine goals in his last eight games. He's now up to 19 goals on the season, which is good for fourth in the SHL this season and eighth all-time among 19-year-old players in the SHL.
