Anempty net goal, abbreviated asEN orENG and colloquially called anempty netter, occurs in several team sports when a team scores a goal into a net with nogoaltender(goalie) present.

Empty net goals usually occur on two occasions in ice hockey:

1. In the final minutes of a game, if a team is within twogoals, they will oftenpull the goalie, leaving the net defenseless, for anextra attacker, in order to have a better chance of scoring to either tie or get within one goal. However, if the team holding the lead gains control of thepuck, they will often shoot at the empty net after clearing center ice. It is less common for a team to shoot from their own zone at an empty net becauseicing could occur if the shooter misses the net. A notable instance of this happening occurred on January 21, 2022, whenPittsburgh Penguins starSidney Crosby hit a bank shot intended forBryan Rust while the opposingColumbus Blue Jackets were on the extra attacker, only for the puck to go into the empty net; coincidentially, the goal was Crosby's 3rd of the game, earning him ahat trick for the game.^[1] In some circumstances, a team may also pull their goalie when they are on atwo-man advantage, even if not nearing the end of the game, to gain an advantage of six attackers to three to even further increase the chances of scoring.
2. In the case of a delayedpenalty, the non-offending team will often pull their goaltender for an extra attacker in this situation as well. Empty net goals that are scored in this case are accidentalown goals because the whistle would be blown if the offending team touches the puck. An own goal is usually scored when aforward from the non-offending team passes backwards to adefenseman that is not in position, and the puck slides all the way down the ice into the team's own net, or when players of the non-offending team are being pressured in their ownzone and they accidentally knock it into the net. This goal is credited to the last player on the scoring team who touched the puck.

Empty net goals are charged to the goaltender that was previously in net asempty net goals against (abbreviated asEN,ENG, orENA). Empty net goals do not count against a goaltender'sgoals against average or theirsave percentage, but rather are tracked separately. A goaltender can, however, be credited with a loss as the result of an empty net goal (for example, if a team is trailing by one goal, pulls its goalie, concedes an empty net goal, but then scores another but does not score a tying goal before time expires; since no goaltender was on the ice for the game winning goal, the loss is pegged to the last goaltender on the ice). In an unusual case, goaltenderAdam Wilcox, in hislone NHL appearance to date, did not concede a goal but was credited with the loss because of the aforementioned scenario.^[2]

An empty netgoal can occur insoccer in a situation where a team is currently drawing the match or losing by a goal late in a game where the team needs a goal to avoid elimination. Often in these situations thegoalkeeper of the losing team will go into the attacking area of his team during aset piece, such as acorner kick. In this case it is then possible for the defending team to score into the empty net if they are able to win possession of the ball.

Examples of this includeXabi Alonso scoring forLiverpool againstLuton Town in theFA Cup,^[3]Ryan McCann scoring forQueen of the South againstDundee in theScottish Cup,^[4]Son Heung-min scoring forSouth Korea againstGermany at the2018 FIFA World Cup^[5] andPity Martínez scoring the last goal of his team againstBoca Juniors in the second leg of the2018 Copa Libertadores Finals at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium.^[6]

With rule changes in the 2010s, the goalie can also be pulled inhandball.^[7] Unlike the soccer and ice hockey examples, this is not only done in desperate situations near the end of a game, as scoring even on a goal with a goalkeeper in it is easier in handball than ice hockey or soccer. A loss of ball possession and the inability to quickly get a goalie back in time almost always results in an empty net goal.

• Extra attacker

• Ice hockey terminology
• Association football terminology
• Handball terminology

• CS1 Danish-language sources (da)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata