Sometimes in sports, and in life, it's better to be lucky than good. It can happen when you least expect it, too. Patrick Proteau definitely learned that lesson at an National Hockey League game in Canada on Saturday night.
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Proteau isn't a hockey player. He gladly admits that. In fact, he even won tickets to go see the Montreal Canadiens host the Detroit Red Wings at the Bell Centre. What happened there is something nobody saw coming.
During the game's second intermission, Proteau was picked out of the crowd to participate in a fan contest on the ice. The goal of the game was to shoot the puck into a tiny space between the NHL net.
It sounds simple, but it's ridiculously hard. However, the Canadian made it look so easy.
Canadiens Fan Wins $50,000
Patrick Proteau had three shots at the goal. All three had different targets and prizes.
The first shot was for a mini fridge. Proteau made it.
The second shot, from center ice, was for Canadiens season tickets. Proteau missed it.
The third and final shot, from the opposite blue line and a hole not much bigger than the puck itself, was for $50,000, and he made it.
This is an improbable shot. Heck, it might have been hard for Wayne Gretzky to hit it on the first attempt in his prime. Yet, Patrick Proteau nailed it.
Not too bad for a guy who didn't know which stick to use.
"It was beginner's luck. I didn't think it was going in. It was going in slow motion, and then I was wondering where [the puck] went until everyone started cheering, and then my jaw dropped."
— Patrick Proteau, via NHL.com
Proteau plans to use the money to "spoil" his family with a trip south.
Lucky or not, he deserves it.
