By Jim Mason/OJHL Communications
Welcome to the club, Hayden Sabourin.
The Mississauga Charger scored the rare ‘goalie goal’ on Sunday night against the Buffalo Jr. Sabres.
With his team up 4-2, thanks to another empty-netter by teammate Jonathan Herrington, Sabourin did his thing at LECOM Harborcenter, the training facility of the NHL Sabres in downtown Buffalo.
“I was a little disappointed after we scored our first empty-netter,” he told the OJHL. “Then I saw them keep their goalie at the hash marks, so that’s when I knew they were going to pull him again, because there were still about two minutes left.
“Then, it got rimmed around. I kind of scanned behind me and there wasn’t really anyone forechecking hard so I just put it on my backhand and shot it.”
Next to a shutout, the goalie goal is a dream of all netminders. Only 18 have been scored in NHL history.
“I definitely checked it off the list,” the 19-year-old from Guelph said Monday.
“I’m not surprised Hayden scored, if that makes any sense. He moves pucks very well. As soon as he shot it, I said on the bench, ‘that’s in.’ “
It’s an exclusive gathering across the 24-team Ontario Junior Hockey League, too. Sabourin’s end-to-ender is believed to be the fifth-ever marker by a goalie, at least in modern OJHL history:
- Michael Newlove then of the Georgetown Raiders scored in the Raiders’ 5-2 win over the North York Rangers in Georgetown Nov 16. Newlove was traded to the Burlington Cougars on Friday.
- Glen Crandall of the Milton Menace scored against Georgetown on Jan. 26, 2024 – the second of two goalie goals scored last season.
- Brett Fullerton, then of the Haliburton County Huskies, scored an empty-netter against the Wellington Dukes in Wellington on Dec. 1, 2023.
- Gabe Grunwald, also a Georgetown Raider, recorded a goalie goal and the shutout in a 3-0 win over the Mississauga Chargers on Nov. 12, 2012. The son of former Toronto Raptors General Manager Glen Grunwald was a University of Wisconsin NCAA Division I commit.
Joe Washkurak, Mississauga’s Head Coach and General Manager, was on the opposition bench for Grunwald’s goalie goal.
Sunday’s goal by his netminder was the first for a team he has coached during a career that goes back 25-plus years.
“I’m not surprised Hayden scored, if that makes any sense,” Washkurak told the OJHL. “He moves pucks well. As soon as he shot it, I said on the bench, ‘that’s in.’ “

“It was incredible; a special moment for us. Pretty cool.”
Practice pays off.
“It’s something I’m always doing in practice,” Sabourin said, “just fiddling around with pucks, passing it around. Especially since I’ve been in Mississauga, they’re always rimming in pucks during drills as we work on breakouts. So, I’m always getting touches, which is good.”
Sabourin attempted the goalie goal two other times while playing with the London Nationals Jr. B team last season. Each time, the puck hit the player en route to the opposition net.
The Chargers’ are off until Jan. 23 when they visit Stouffville