Sidney Crosby Played Goalie In A Dek Hockey Game The Other Night

Had there been no NHL lockout, the Pittsburgh Pensguins would have had a travel day Friday after a road game in Boston on Thursday and another one in Winnipeg on Saturday. As it was, Sidney Crosby had some time to kill, and since Justin Bieber had already swagged his way through Pittsburgh, Crosby quietly put on the pads and played goalie in a suburban dek hockey game.

During the offseason, Crosby often plays goalie in street hockey games in Canada, where it's called road hockey. He tried to be a little less obvious about things the other night; not even his opponents knew that was him in net. The Pens Blog first had photos of Crosby in his gear along with a few details, but Crosby later confirmed everything and filled in all the blanks for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

"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.' "

Crosby's team beat a team called Flyers Suck, 4-0, which must have people in Pittsburgh feeling really conflicted.

[ The Pens Blog/ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]