Hockey Fan Makes Stunning $100K Shot On The First Night His Team Ran The Promotion [Video]

You might have seen some brilliant ice hockey goals in your lifetime, but this one will probably steal your heart.

That feeling when you take a shot for $100,000….and you make it ????? #Unreal #SolarBears pic.twitter.com/GEDuJ18xxT

— Orlando Solar Bears (@OrlandoHockey) April 8, 2016

Well, this shot wasn’t technically struck during an NHL or ECHL game, nor was it scored by a professional hockey player, and probably that is what makes it so special — plus the fact that the fan who made the shot walked away $100K richer from the stadium!

According to Yahoo, the promotional event took place before Orlando Solar Bears’ game against Florida Everblades on Thursday night, which the Solar Bears won 4-3, thanks to an overtime goal by Patrick Watling with under a second to go.

It was the first night of the promotional event run by the Orlando Solar Bears, during which the team held its spin-to-win grand-prize shootout. More than 8,000 people, who had gathered at the Amway Center to catch their team play an important game, watched in awe as season ticket holder, Nick Gionvanelli from St. Cloud, shot a puck through a small opening in a goal from the opposite blue line.

As Global News reports, the $100K shot made by the fan was 115 feet away from the goal and was covered with a board with only a small hole for the puck to go through. As soon as Gionvanelli scored the ridiculous shot, he was mobbed by people and mascots on the ice while being simultaneously cheered by thousands of people from the stands.

Here’s another angle of the stunning goal.

The fan who scored the breathtaking shot has become a mini-celebrity on the internet, with web forums and sport aficionados not tiring from discussing the completely unexpected feat. Moreover, the fact that Gionvanelli managed to bag the $100K prize on the first night his team, the Orlando Solar Bears, ran the promotion has made the awesome goal that extra bit special.

The $100K shot, as the web has affectionately termed it, has made Giovanelli an internet sensation already. On Imgur alone, the video of the shot has been viewed more than 4 million times at the time of writing, with many fans praising Gionvanelli even at the cost of his team.

“Best part about this is the Solar Bears are in the ECHL. That guy just made more than most players.”

“The only thing cooler than the dude winning 100k is that the hockey team is named the Solar Bears, and the logo is a bear with shades.”

Other people joked that the goal might not bode well for the people who planned the promotion.

“Guy who made the promotion has been fired.”

Furthermore, according to Fox, the $100K shot was not only scored the first time that Orlando Solar Bears ran the promotion, this golden chance was only afforded to one lucky fan who managed to beat off competition from thousands of fellow season ticket holders contesting to be there for a almost a year now. There were no practice shots for Gionavelli, and there could have been no failed attempts.

The odds of such a thing happening are infinitesimally small, and that is why the internet has received the $100K shot with such warmth and joy.

For the fan who made the $100K shot, life might have already changed for the better.

[Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images]