Empty net goal
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2011) |
An empty net goal, or colloquially an empty netter (abbreviated as EN or ENG), occurs in ice hockey when a team scores a goal into a net with no goaltender (goalie) present. The Dallas Stars currently hold the NHL record for most empty net goals in a season.
Empty net goals usually occur in one of two different occasions:
- Usually in about the last two minutes of a game, if a team is within two goals, they will often pull the goalie, leaving the net defenseless, for an extra attacker, in order to have a better chance of scoring to either tie or get within one goal. If the team with the lead gets control of the puck they will often shoot at the net after clearing center ice. It is less common for a team to shoot from their own zone at an empty net because icing could occur if the shooter misses the net. Sometimes a team will pull their goalie when they are on a two-man advantage, even if not nearing the end of the game. With the team then gaining an advantage of six skaters to three, this will increase even further the chances of the team scoring.
- In the case of a delayed penalty, the non-offending team will often pull their goaltender for an extra attacker in this situation as well. Empty net goals that are scored in this case are accidental own goals because the whistle would be blown if the offending team touches the puck. An own goal is usually scored when a forward from the non-offending team passes backwards to a defenseman that is not in position, and the puck slides all the way down the ice into the team's own net, or when players of the non-offending team are being pressured in their own zone and they accidentally knock it into the net. This goal is credited to the last player on the scoring team who touched the puck.
Goaltender's statistics
Empty net goals are charged to the goaltender that was previously in net as empty net goals against (abbreviated as EN, ENG or ENA). Empty net goals do not count against a goaltender's goals against average or their save percentage, but rather are tracked separately. A goaltender can, however, be credited with a loss as the result of an empty net goal (for example, if a team is trailing by one point, pulls its goalie, concedes an empty net goal, but then scores another but does not score a tying goal before time expires; since no goaltender was on the ice for the game winning goal, the loss is pegged to the last goaltender on the ice). In an unusual case, goaltender Adam Wilcox, in his lone NHL appearance to date, did not concede a goal but was credited with the loss because of the aforementioned scenario.[1]
Soccer
An empty net goal can occur in soccer in a situation where a team is losing by a goal late in a game in which goal difference is not a relevant factor, such as in a knockout cup competition. Often in these situations the goalkeeper of the team that is losing will go into the attacking area if his team has a set play, such as a corner kick. In this case it is then possible for the defending team to score into the empty net if they are able to win possession of the ball.
Examples of this include Xabi Alonso scoring for Liverpool against Luton Town in the FA Cup[2] and Ryan McCann scoring for Queen of the South against Dundee in the Scottish Cup.[3]
Handball
With rule changes in the 2010s, the goalie can also be pulled in handball. Unlike the soccer and ice hockey examples, this is not only done in desperate situations near the end of a game, as scoring even on a goal with a goalkeeper in it is easier in handball than ice hockey or soccer. A loss of ball possession and the inability to quickly get a goalie back in time almost always results in empty net goal.