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Crosby plays goal in Pittsburgh ball hockey game, pitches shutout, sets Internet ablaze

Hockey Players Workout During NHL Lockout

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 03: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins participates in a workout at the Ice Den on December 3, 2012 in Scottsdale, Arizona. More than a dozen players from around the league that are not able to play during the NHL lockout have been attending workouts at the Phoenix Coyotes practice rink. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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Amidst rumors of playing in Switzerland and/or Russia, Sidney Crosby flipped the script on Friday by appearing in a ball hockey game...in Ohio Township.

Where he played in goal.

And recorded a 4-0 shutout.

For more on this story (that’s been picked up here and here and here and here and here and yes, right here at PHT), here’s Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Stories surfaced on Twitter and Facebook late Friday and early Saturday that Crosby participated in a dek hockey game Friday at Dek Star, a rink in Ohio Township next to Interstate 279. Photos on Twitter showed Crosby dressed in goaltender gear. After an informal practice Monday at Southpointe, Crosby confirmed he moonlighted between the pipes.

“My buddy plays in the league there. I talked to him about playing,” Crosby said. “I played a lot of goalie in street hockey growing up and stuff. Just asked if he needed a goalie. He said sure and I came out. It was cool.”

Due to his equipment, the presence of hockey’s most recognizable figure was not known by those at the rink until late in the contest.

“I had all the [goaltending] gear on,” Crosby said. “I was talking to the ref once toward the end of the game and I think he recognized me.”

“My referee walked over just to kind of say, ‘Hey, you’re not the normal goalie. It’s about time they get a goalie.’ ” said Chris Evans, general manager of Dek Star. “Instead, he looked at him and he was like, ‘Holy [cow] that’s Sidney Crosby.’ ”

I’m not all that familiar with the term “dek hockey” as us Canadians usually refer to it as floor hockey, or ball hockey, or street hockey. We also sometimes call napkins “serviettes,” if you’re curious.

Anyway, Crosby reportedly notched his shutout against a team called Flyers Suck (seriously, Puck Daddy has it) and, afterward, answered the obligatory question about fear of injury.

“It’s a hockey ball and I have ice hockey gear on. I’m not too worried about it,” he said. “I guess there’s always a chance. I wouldn’t take that risk if I thought it was a big one.”