This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

St. Thomas Academy 'Celly' Popular At State Hockey Tourney

Likely riffing off NHL star Alexander Ovechkin, teams this year expressed post-goal excitement with particular move.

St. Thomas Academy junior Andrew Commers said that it was impulsive—that he didn’t have enough time to think about it.

All he knew was it had to show his excitement.

Seconds after scoring in Friday’s Class A semifinal, Commers, while still in motion, knelt to one knee and dusted the ice with his glove before being mobbed by teammates.

Find out what's happening in Mendota Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Impulsive? Perhaps, but this particular hockey celebration—known to the players as a “celly”—has become the celly du jour at this year’s Minnesota state tournament.

The move has popped up everywhere—including three times during St. Thomas Academy’s 5-4 overtime win over Hermantown in Saturday’s Class A championship. The question is, where did it come from?

Find out what's happening in Mendota Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I don’t really know. (NHL All-Star Alexander) Ovechkin does it,” Commers said. “I’ve noticed that, too. A lot of people have been doing that. It’s really popular.”

Cellys are nothing new in hockey locker rooms. Hermantown’s Jared Thomas said members of the Hawks have competitions to see who has the best goal celebration. His teammate, Andrew Mattson, used the “Ovechkin” celly in Friday’s first Class A semifinal after netting the game-winning goal and again during one of his two goals Saturday.

“I don’t know where it came from,” Thomas said after the Hawks’ 6-4 win. “Probably an older player in college or the pros that we all look up to.”

Ovechkin fits that description. The Washington Capitals’ forward has averaged 54 goals a year in his first five full seasons, many coming in highlight-reel fashion.

Commers said scouting for cellies is usual for high school hockey players.

“Oh yeah, me and my buddies always look up videos on YouTube to see sick cellies,” Commers said. “I’m pretty sure a lot of high school kids do that to get a good idea.”

It’s showing at this year’s tournament. Scorers ranging from St. Thomas Academy and Hermantown in Class A to Edina and Eagan in Class AA have knelt to the ice and swiped the snow in celebration.

Commers said it doesn’t matter what celly you do, as long as you achieve two things.

“Just a lot of emotion,” he said. “You’ve got to show everyone you’re pumped and you’ve got a lot of emotion going into that goal.”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Mendota Heights