Thursday, April 02, 2009

The best shootout move ever

It may have only been a friendly, but Swedish forward Linus Omark left fans gasping after his amazing shootout goal playing won the game against Switzerland on March 31. Omark- currently on Eliteserien side Lulea HF but also an Edmonton Oilers draft pick- made a long arc from the faceoff circle and skated full speed on Swiss goaltender Marco Bührer. Bührer saw Omark skating across the slot and went down to the ice to attempt a poke check, but Omark proceeded to deftly and softly chip the puck over the helpless goaltender. You can see the move here:

Omark's shootout winner

It was the perfect cap to a thrilling game. The Swiss led 3-2 with 14 seconds to go before Sweden tied the game on a power play, and Omark's shootout winner was the only goal in a six-round shootout.

If Omark's move looks familiar, that may be because it appears inspired by Italian soccer star Francesco Totti, whose "cucchiaio" penalty kick style became legendary after using it successfully during Italy's Euro 2000 semifinal penalty shootout win over Holland:

Totti's cucchiaio penalty kick against Holland

The stakes may not have been as high for Omark, but it was still just as impressive nonetheless.

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