The Minnesota Wild opened their season with a 2-0 shutout win over the Florida Panthers Thursday night in front of an excited Minnesota crowd. Their first goal came from an unexpected stick, as rookie defenseman Brock Faber found the back of the net in the first period to start the scoring for the Wild.

It's Faber's first NHL goal in his first regular season home game as a Wild player. He made his NHL debut with Minnesota late last season, appearing in two road games.

“[Matt Boldy] gave it to me and I obviously had a lane and there were a bunch of screens in front,” Faber said, via Jessi Pierce. “I saw far side and kind of just hoped. It was more just a shot to get it down there than to pick a corner, but [I] got lucky.

“Everyone just kind of started skating towards me, so I figured something good happened.”

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Selected in the second round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings, Faber's rights were traded to the Wild in June 2022. He played out his junior year of college before making his Wild debut and was part of the playoff roster as Minnesota fell in the first round to the Dallas Stars.

Faber was born in Minnesota and went to school at the University of Minnesota. Playing for his favorite childhood team has to be a surreal feeling for the 21-year-old.

Brock Faber accomplished several impressive things throughout his amateur career, including playing for the United States hockey team in the Olympics. He notched perhaps his best moment to date with his first NHL goal.