Windsor hockey player's TikTok video goes viral after goalie gets hurt
A Windsor hockey player is getting noticed on social media after stepping up to play net when his team’s goaltender got injured.
Finn Russett posted the video of the U18 game on TikTok on Tuesday. By Wednesday morning, it already had 1.3 million views and was getting shared by sports blogs like Bardown.
“It’s pretty crazy to think about. I just posted it expecting a few people to see it, just for fun and then I wake up in the morning to 1.3 million views and it’s posted on BarDown," Russett said. "That was crazy. I was in disbelief when I saw that.”
Russett explained both goalies were gone for exams and his team only had one call-up, who got hurt.
"There were about seven minutes left in the third period, our goalie got hurt and they had to help him off. We had to play with six skaters so I just decided, you know what, I’m going to go in the net and try to stop as many pucks as I possibly can," he said.
He took over in net with seven minutes left in the third period, posting that he let in two goals, but made seven or eight nice saves.
"They were trying to decide a bunch of different things… whether we just forfeit, but I didn’t want to forfeit. I wanted to play. So I said, let them go out and play, I’ll just sit in the net and try to stop whatever I can," he said.
“I asked the ref if I could use a blocker and trapper and he said no,” he explained in the comments. “Because I’m still considered a player, we just played with an empty net. A player can’t play with a goalie stick.”
Russett, who is also the captain, said it wasn’t his first time between the pipes - he played goalie until he was 11 years old.
He said the game went better than he expected.
“Better than I thought! I only let in two goals," he said. "One was a two-on-one, nothing I could’ve done about that. The other one was a scrum in front of the net.”
He said he was the only other one on the team with any goalie experience.
- With files from CTV News Windsor's Travis Fortnum
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Singh 'not satisfied' with confidence-and-supply agreement, says he'd do a better job as PM
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he's 'not satisfied' with his party's confidence-and-supply agreement with the Liberals — signed a year ago this week — because it's shown him he could do a better job running the country than the current government.

Ukraine demands emergency UN meeting over Putin nuclear plan
Ukraine's government on Sunday called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to 'counter the Kremlin's nuclear blackmail' after Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed plans to station tactical atomic weapons in Belarus.
Risk of a hard landing for Canadian economy is up, former Bank of Canada governor says
Former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz says Canada’s economy is at a greater risk of a 'hard landing' — a rapid economic slowdown following a period of growth and approaching a recession.
'There's nothing left': Deep South tornadoes kill 26
Rescuers raced Saturday to search for survivors and help hundreds of people left homeless after a powerful tornado cut a devastating path through Mississippi, killing at least 25 people, injuring dozens, and flattening entire blocks as it carved a path of destruction for more than an hour. One person was killed in Alabama.
Officials: 2 dead, 5 missing in chocolate factory explosion
An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania on Friday killed two people and left five people missing, authorities said. One person was pulled from the rubble overnight.
Canadians view own country favourably but many unsure about Canada's system of government: survey
A recent study by the Angus Reid Institute found Canadians view their country more positively than Americans do, but only a slight majority of people in Canada believe their system of government is good.
'Horrible, horrible deals': Trump criticizes Biden's visit to Canada
Former U.S. president Donald Trump shared his disdain for Joe Biden's visit to Canada, saying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau treats the U.S. ‘horribly’ on trade issues.
Declining suicide rates in Europe may be linked to increased preventative initiatives: report
Within the last decade the total suicide rate among European nations have decreased, according to a new report that says increased suicide prevention initiatives may have helped bring down this death rate.
Millennials dominate insolvencies as credit card, student loan, CERB tax debts add up
Insolvency trustee Doug Hoyes says millennial Canadians have been dealt a generational losing hand as they face student loans layered with bad debts from credit cards, high-interest loans, and post-pandemic tax debt from collecting CERB.