What is an empty net goal, and does it count?

Yes, fully. An empty net goal is a goal in the scorer's season total, a point in the league scoring race, and an assist for each of the one or two players credited on the play. It can even be the game winning goal (GWG) if it is the goal that puts the winning team one ahead of the loser's final total.

The distinction matters in analysis, not in the rules: because it is scored in a very different situation (six skaters against five, no goalie), analysts usually exclude it from certain advanced measures such as 5-on-5 expected goals (xG). That is an analysis choice, not a rule that removes the goal from the player's record. The table below sums up what an empty net goal touches and what it leaves alone.

Yes. Every skater on the ice for an empty net goal gets a plus if their team scored it and a minus if it was scored against them. The reason is the definition of plus minus: it counts goals at even strength and short handed, and it excludes only power play goals. Pulling the goalie is not a power play: no penalty is being served, so the goal is treated as even strength.

This surprises a lot of parents: the trailing team's six skaters all pick up a minus on a goal that went into a net nobody was guarding. That is how the stat works at the professional level too. The only exception is the delayed penalty: if the team that pulled its goalie was already on a power play, nobody gets a plus. Conversely, a goal scored into the empty net while killing a penalty is a short handed goal, and it does count.

No. The goalie who was pulled is on the bench when the goal is scored, and a goal against is only charged to a goalie who is in the net. Their goals against average (GAA) does not move, their save percentage does not move, and no shot is added to their shots faced. The goal is recorded against the team, not against a goalie.

In leagues that track goalie minutes, a goalie pulled with one minute left in a 60 minute game is credited with 59 minutes played, and the GAA formula uses those 59 minutes. Only one case charges the goalie: a delayed penalty where they stayed in the crease. The word « empty » is literal: no goalie, no goal against.

On most sheets, the goal is listed like any other goal (scorer, assists, time, period) with a tag that identifies the situation. The tag is usually ENG (empty net goal), sometimes simply EN; some sheets write « empty net » in full. The row still feeds the scorer's G column. Our page on hockey stat abbreviations lists ENG alongside PPG, SHG and GWG, the other situation tags.

In the goalie section of the sheet, the scorekeeper writes the time the goalie left the ice and, if they came back, the time they returned. That line is what excludes the goal from the goalie's record; how to read a scoresheet walks through each block. In minor hockey, plenty of leagues do not tag the situation at all: if you want the context later, someone has to record it.

Pulling the goalie shows up in youth hockey around M13 (Pee Wee, 12U, ages 11 and 12) and becomes common from M15 (Bantam, 14U) on. Below that, most coaches never do it: many associations want the young goalie to finish the game they started. No age makes it mandatory or forbidden; it is a coaching choice that depends on the league culture, the score and the time left.

When coaches start doing it, they copy the professional pattern: down by one goal with about a minute left, sometimes earlier when down by two. Delaying that call by thirty seconds can be the difference between a real chance to tie and an empty net goal that seals the game.

The rule that varies most between leagues is the courtesy rule. Several leagues limit or forbid pulling the goalie past a certain goal gap, to avoid piling empty net goals onto a lopsided win. Your league's regulations are worth a read, and our overview of the hockey age groups explains what each level usually expects.

There is no separate « empty net » button in RinkLog, and that is on purpose: it is an ordinary goal, so you log it like one. On the skater's board, tap Goal for the scorer (or Assist if your player set it up), exactly as you would for any other goal, with the situation selected, EV, PP or PK. That is all it takes to log an empty net goal in a scoring app built for one player.

For plus minus, tap Team goal (on ice) if your player was on the ice when the goal went in, or Opponent goal (on ice) if it was scored against your team's empty net while your player was out there. RinkLog applies the usual rule: plus at even strength or short handed, minus on an opponent goal, nothing on a power play. Keep the selector on EV unless a real penalty is running.

If you are tracking the goalie who was pulled, do nothing on their board. No goal against, no shot faced: their GAA and save percentage must stay exactly where they were. To remember that the net was empty, add a quick note to the match (« ENG, goalie pulled at 1:05 »). The note stays attached to the game.

The two get confused, and the sheet treats them the same way. When a player of the team that pulled its goalie accidentally sends the puck into their own empty net, it is still a goal for the other team, credited to the last opposing player who touched the puck. There is no « own goal » entry in hockey: someone on the scoring team always gets the goal, even if they did nothing more than chip the puck out. Scorer, plus or minus and pulled goalie: everything is handled as above, and the sheet still writes ENG.

And the reverse happens too: a goalie can score an empty net goal. If the goalie of the team that is leading clears the puck the length of the ice into the abandoned net, they are credited with an ordinary goal, ENG tag included, which counts in every column above. Whichever way it happens, the hockey stat tracker counts it like any other goal.