Hockey goalie scores
The hockey goalie had an accomplice and the two are seen in a (surveillance) video replay from August 15 in Russell, Manitoba rushing toward the building. The lead thief, let’s call him a forward, is seen smashing the glass door and making his way inside the beer store, followed moments later by his (beer-league?) goalie-guy teammate.
Once in each grabs cases of beer from a cooler — both went bottom shelf — and away they go, heading off back through the smashed door and into the night (the camera notes the time as 3:39 a.m.). They get only three cases of beer for all their troubles so obviously these are not big-leaguers.
The forward is wearing regular gloves, a coat and a ball cap, his face covered. And to prove that they are beer-league players, the goalie is wearing a jersey with number 17 on it (only in beer-leagues do goalies wear number 17). He also has a goalie glove, blocker and mask to go along with his goalie stick.
Bear-league players
Russell RCMP put out a press release and while the job of making a great save and stopping the thieves from scoring again is a serious one, they show their hockey savvy and sense of humor, noting the goalie “may have been a defenceman or forward in disguise as he was wearing jersey #17 — a non-traditional number for goalies.”
Officers added that anyone who has information on the robbery or has “played against a goalie matching this description” is asked to call the Russell RCMP.
According to the 2011 Canadian census, Russell, in southwest Manitoba near the Saskatchewan border, has a population of just 1,611. The goalie is right-handed and 5’9,” so eliminating women, lefties and men under or over that height likely leaves no more than 5 or 10 guys, tops, so should be easy to find him.
After all, surely they don’t all wear number 17 in their beer-league.