Roberto Luongo surprises beer league team to help defeat reigning champions

Hall of Famer answered ‘goalie needed’ ad on Facebook

NHL legend Roberto Luongo leads beer league team to upset win after responding to ‘goalie needed’ ad on Facebook

One poor men’s league team surely wasn’t expecting to see one of the best goalies in history staring them down from their opponent’s crease at 11 p.m. on a Monday

NHL Hall of Famer Roberto Luongo answers a Facebook ad requesting a goaltender for a men’s league hockey game. (Photo credit: @topshelfhkyvids)

Roberto Luongo retired from the NHL years ago, but his glory days are clearly far from over.

The Hockey Hall of Famer and fourth-winningest goaltender in NHL history strapped on the pads and hit the ice once again on Monday night, but it wasn’t for an alumni or charity contest, or for a fun little twirl around the rink with his kids.

No, this was something of much greater importance than charity or family: a beer-league playoff game.

With their squad missing a goalie for a critical postseason matchup against the five-time defending league champions, the desperate men’s-league team, based in Florida, reportedly put out a “goalie needed” ad on Facebook.

And, judging by a video making the rounds on social media, the team was pretty stunned to see who answered the call.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist, decked out in a Florida Panthers practice jersey and rocking a well-deserved grey retirement beard, strolled into the locker room to a sea of shocked and excited faces before pleading with his new teammates to play some defence in front of him — something often lacking in the wild world of men’s recreational hockey.

Whether it was the tight defensive effort in front of him, a big performance from Luongo in between the pipes or a combination of both, the underdog squad found the secret sauce and pulled out a 4-2 win against the five-time defending champs.

The Internet, needless to say, was absolutely loving it.

“This is amazing,” one X user wrote. “Imagine posting on Facebook that you need a tendy for an 11PM game, and Roberto f*****g Luongo walks into the room to win your team the beer league title. This guy is a rockstar.”

“Imagine being some random beer leaguer thinking ‘oh yeah we’re gonna walk these mfs again, easy’ and you come out on the ice only to see Roberto freaking Luongo in the other net,” wrote another. “I would just forfeit on the spot.”

As the social media users above touched on, it would be quite a shock to the system showing up at the local arena for a Monday night beer-league clash as the five-time defending champs, thinking you’ll cruise to another victory, before hitting the ice and seeing a Hockey Hall of Famer occupying your opponent’s crease.

Beer league hockey can be a cruel world sometimes.

However, as some users on X pointed out, there’s one or two players from the losing squad who will have some unreal stories to tell for years to come after scoring on the 19-year NHL veteran.

Hockey fans couldn’t help but have some fun with the idea of scoring on Luongo on social media.

“If I scored on Roberto Luongo I’d get the date tatted on my a**,” read one post on X, while another commenter wrote, “there’s a dude in a random beer league somewhere who will tell the story of how he scored on Luongo and no one will ever believe him.”

“Imagine the ego boost you’d get if you’re one of the two guys who potted a goal against f*****g Roberto Luongo,” posted another.

It’s not the first time Luongo — who’s always been one of the top NHL personalities on social media — has gone viral this summer, as the man known as “Bobby Lou” won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Florida Panthers’ front office in June.

In classic Luongo fashion, the Montreal, Quebec, native went “full Italian” and crushed a bowl of pasta (topped with freshly grated parmesan, of course) out of the most storied trophy in sports.

Luongo, one of the best goalies to ever strap on the pads, played 19 seasons in the NHL with three organizations, including eight campaigns with the Vancouver Canucks and 11 with the Panthers. He suited up in 1,044 games (second all-time), posting 489 wins (fourth all-time), a 2.52 goals-against average, .919 save percentage, and 77 shutouts. Luongo was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022.

Beer league “ringers” don’t get much better than that.