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No cash for Minn. boy who made 'miracle' shot

$50,000 prize denied because twin brother was supposed to take part in charity event at hockey game

MINNEAPOLIS - It was an amazing hockey shot, with the puck sliding into a tiny hole from center ice for a $50,000 prize. But a penalty was called on the Minnesota boy who made the shot during a charity event because his twin brother should have been wielding the stick.

The company that insured the event, Odds On Promotions of Reno, Nev., said Wednesday that due to "contractual breaches and legal implications" it was unable to pay the claim. Instead, the company said it would donate $20,000 to youth hockey in Minnesota in the boys' names.

With one shot, 11-year-old Nate Smith hit the puck through a hole cut into a board from 89 feet away during a charity hockey game at Shattuck-St. Mary's School in the southern Minnesota city of Faribault on Aug. 11. But it was Nate's identical twin, Nick, whose raffle ticket won the chance to take the shot at a hole just slightly larger than the puck.

Video
  Hockey shot twins won’t get $50,000 prize
Sept. 1, 2011: Twins Nick and Nate who swapped places for a hockey shot worth $50,000 have been denied the prize money, which will be donated to youth hockey leagues.

The boys' father, Pat Smith of Owatonna, said Nick was going outside with his buddies and told his brother to try.

"It didn't even dawn on me he (Nate) was going to make it," Smith told The Associated Press Wednesday.

He told organizers the next day about his sons' swap. "You could tell they weren't feeling right about it," Smith said of the boys.

"We weren't trying to hide anything," he added. "We just felt honesty was the best policy."

Originally, Smith said he was going to write Nate's name on the raffle ticket before the drawing. But Nate begged off because he had just had a cast removed, his father said.

"We greatly respect the eventual honesty of the Smith family," Mark Gilmartin, president of Odds On Promotions, said in a news release. "Although we're unable to pay the claim on Nate's incredible shot, we are confident our donation will foster a positive environment for present and future youth hockey in Minnesota."

Video
  Hockey twins get second shot on the plaza
Sept. 2, 2011: Nate and Nick Smith, the 11-year-old twin boys who were denied a $50,000 prize because the wrong twin made a spectacular hockey goal, get a second chance at a once-in-a-lifetime shot. Did they do it? Watch the video.
Smith said the boys, who are entering sixth grade, are disappointed they won't get the money but are excited that youth hockey will benefit.

"They understand," Smith said.

Nick and Nate Smith play for the Owatonna Youth Hockey Association. Odds On Promotions said the $20,000 donation will benefit that organization as well as the Faribault Youth Hockey Association, the promotion's original beneficiary.

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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