Goalies Gone Goofy: Swedish Netminder Sits On Net To Celebrate Shutout

Imagine if goalies were to embark upon choreographed celebrations every time they were making a big save in a game, similar to the over-the-top cellys now popular whenever a player scores a goal?

You know, pump the fist in the air, slide long on one knee and touch the ice, then go and high-five every player on the bench.

If they did, the game might never end.

It’s a thought that often crossed the mind of Swedish netminder Jesper Myrenberg. A goalie with Linkoping HK of the SHL, Sweden’s top league, Myrenberg would discuss this exact train of thought with his brother. 

So when he was recently posting a 43-save shutout of reigning SHL champions Skelleftea AIK, Myrenberg was determined that he needed to mark the moment with a unique celebratory gesture. As time ran out on the clock, Myrenberg opted to top his net downward, symbolically closing off any chance of the puck entering the goal. Then he sat on the back of the crossbar, proudly exemplifying that none shall pass.

“I thought I should do something,” Myrenberg told Swedish broadcaster TV4. “My brother who stays at home usually says that goalkeepers make too few goal gestures, so I guess I'll have to come up with something myself.”

That the win was ending a nine-game losing skid for Linkoping would only serve to make the gesture all the more emphatic.

“It feels good,” Myrenberg said. “It's especially important to get three points in the situation we're in. It's been a long time.”

The performance was the first shutout of the season posted by Myrenberg. In 15 appearances this season, the 24-year-old puckstopper is 7-7 with a 2.24 goals against average and .924 save percentage.

Myrenberg joined Linkoping’s U18 club in 2016 and has been in the organization ever since. He has played with their SHL club since the 2018-19 season, although he spent the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons on loan to Vasteras of Hockey Allsvenskan, Sweden’s second division.