So yesterday I was sitting around thinking about hockey highlights, right? And Mark Cole popped into my head – that dude’s got some insane goals over the years. Figured why not compile the absolute best ones? Here’s how it went down.
Digging Through Old Footage
First things first, I grabbed my laptop and spent hours searching every hockey highlight reel I could find. YouTube, old game archives, fan forums – you name it. Realized I’d have to watch hundreds of clips just to find candidates. My coffee went cold three times during this part.
Started making notes as I watched each goal:
• Did it make me jump off my couch?
• Was it technically bonkers?
• Did the crowd lose their damn minds?
Ended up with like 40 potential goals and my eyes felt fried.
The Painful Elimination Game
Printed screenshots of all 40 goals and spread ’em on my kitchen table. Got my roommate involved – had him yell “nope” or “hell yeah” while I replayed clips. We argued for two straight hours about goal #7 from the 2016 finals. Almost threw a shoe at him when he dissed my favorite backhand.
Our brutal elimination rules:
- Impossible angle goals > boring breakaways
- Stanley Cup moments always get priority
- If the goalie looked genuinely pissed afterward = automatic contender
Editing Nightmare
Tried clipping the footage myself using cheap editing software. Spent 30 minutes just trying to crop out some dude’s ugly beard blocking the replay angle. Got so frustrated I almost punched my monitor when the software crashed after splicing audio.
Finally settled on these five masterpieces:
1. 2012 Skate-Drag Rocket
That stupidly smooth toe drag through three defenders still gives me chills. Looks like he’s skating through wet noodles.
2. 2015 Overtime Magic
Between-the-legs nonsense during playoffs. Goalie just stood there frozen like a statue afterward.
3. 2018 Spin-O-Rama
Full 360 spin on his own damn blue line before roofing it. Showboat move that actually worked.
4. 2020 No-Look Deflection
How’d he even see that puck coming? Pure witchcraft.
5. 2023 Final Clapper
One-timer from the parking lot with 0.2 seconds left. Arena went absolutely bananas.
Posted the compilation this morning and my phone’s been blowing up nonstop. Worth every second of that editing headache.
