Mouillierat's goal goes national

Most consider 13 to be an unlucky number. Kael Mouillierat will likely consider his 13th goal of the season to be quite fortunate. ?I?ve tried it before,? Mouillierat said after his wild goal helped the Idaho Steelheads defeat the Alaska Aces, 4-3, on Friday night at CenturyLink Arena. ?But it had never worked in a game.? Early in the first period, Mouillierat found the puck at his feet behind the Alaska net. He had some space and time, so he decided to try again. Try, that is, to pick up the puck with the blade of his stick and shovel it in the goal. The second-year forward skillfully lifted the puck onto his stick blade and then carefully tucked the puck over the right shoulder of Alaska goaltender Adam Courchaine, under the crossbar, and into the net for a goal. The buzz began instantly. ?Within five minutes, I probably had half a dozen text messages from people in the arena,? play-by-play broadcaster and director of media relations Will Hoenike said. ?Asking if we were going to send the video of the goal to ESPN.? The answer was yes. The Steelheads were able to send the video to the cable sports giant to be used in their nightly ?Top Ten Plays? segment. Mouillierat?s goal was the no. 3 play of the night, coming in behind a pair of other spectacular goals from the NHL on Friday night. ?Some friends back in Minnesota at school saw it,? Mouillierat, who attended college at Minnesota State ? Mankato, mentioned. ?And they (the ESPN anchors) said my name right.? A similar goal was nominated for an ESPY award several years ago. It was scored by University of Michigan senior Mike Legg. Legg later played for the Steelheads. ?I had friends who saw it reach out to me, so I can only imagine what it was like for Kael since he?s the one who pulled it off,? Hoenike said with a laugh. ?It was really cool to see it show up on SportsCenter that night, but it was much cooler to see it happen in person with my own eyes. It?s a play I won?t forget and I?m sure he won?t, either.? The goal and national attention came on the fourth ACHD Commuteride ?Rat Pack Night,? a promotion honoring Mouillierat at each of Idaho?s home Friday games this season. The SportsCenter anchors even mentioned at the end of the highlight that it was Mouillierat?s night when he pulled his wild feat. Mouillierat now has four goals and two assists in the four ?Rat Pack? games thusfar, including his sensational tally against Alaska and an overtime game-winner to beat Las Vegas on November 4. The next ?Rat Pack? night comes this Friday, December 30, when the Steelheads host the Las Vegas Wranglers at CenturyLink Arena. Fans can get a ticket for Section 205 and a ?Rat Pack? t-shirt, courtesy of ACHD Commuteride, for just $15. Tickets are available on the Steelheads website or by calling 208.331.TIXS.