WATCH: Northern Michigan's Robbie Payne Scores From the Seat of His Pants
Robbie Payne has been one of the top collegiate scorers through eight games this season, and his latest goal might be his most impressive.
With his Northern Michigan Wildcats tied at one in the second period on Saturday, Payne rushed down the sidewalls with the puck before tumbling in front of the net. Teammate Zach Diamantoni’s shot sat in front of the crease—right where Payne sat up to find it:
While the goal may have looked like an easy score, the degree of difficulty is upped quite a bit when when you realize the senior forward corralled the puck with his hand, righted himself and whacked it behind his back—all while shielding the play from Mavs goalie Jason Pawloski.
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“It definitely was the weirdest goal I’ve had,” he said. “It hit my hand first and I pushed it back out. Diamantoni actually shot it first and it went off my chest. Then I laid on my butt, saw it again and luckily, I whacked it in.”
The marker was Payne’s seventh on the season, tying him for third in goals nationally, while his 10 points are tied for the NMU lead. It was the winner in the 4-1 victory, improving the Wildcats to 5-3 on the season and a 3-1 mark in WCHA play.