The father of an 11-year-old boy who made a low-percentage half-time shot on goal worth US$50,000US has owned up to the fact the contest win may have been fraudulent.
Pat Smith was at a charity hockey game last week in Faribault, Minn., when he purchased three $10 raffle tickets for a chance at taking the near-impossible half-time shot.
The winner of the raffle would have to shoot a puck from centre ice, through a 3.5-inch slot and into the net, in order to win the prize money.
Smith's son Nate made the spectacular shot and the crowd reportedly erupted in pandemonium.
There was just one problem. It was Smith's other son Nick -- Nate's identical twin brother -- whose name was on all three tickets.
According to reports, the three decided that Nick had the best chance at making the shot since Nate had recently had a cast removed from his arm and was out of practice.
But Nick left the game early, telling his brother to take the shot for him if his ticket got pulled.
He did just that. Wearing shorts and flip-flops, Nate squared up and sent a long, fluttering wrist shot 89 feet down the ice, and directly into the netting.
"I know how to shoot and stuff, so I lined it up, and yeah...," he told CNN.
When the crowd exploded with excitement over the win, Pat said he went along with it. But later guilt started to get to him and he decided to own up to what had happened.
"I just felt I had to do the right thing," he told ABCNews.
"I just think that honesty is more important than any prize or money you could get."
Game organizers have said investigators from the insurance company that underwrote the contest will look into what took place, and decide whether the winnings will go through.
If the money does come through, Pat said he will give some of the money to charity and keep the rest for the twins' college fund.
