Stand-in twin denied prize after miracle hockey shot

Nate Smith and his father, right, pose for a photo after his incredible shot (AP)

A boy who hit an ice hockey puck into a tiny hole from the rink's centre line 27 metres away has been denied $50,000 prize money, because his identical 11-year-old twin brother bought the ticket that allowed him to take the shot.

Nate Smith scored the incredible goal last month at a charity hockey game in Minnesota, but the company that insured the event said this week it would not award Nate the prize money because of "contractual breaches and legal implications". Nate's twin brother, Nick, was supposed to take the shot because his name was on the ticket.

The company has instead pledged to make a $20,000 (£12,350) donation to Minnesota's youth hockey organisations.

The boys' father, Pat Smith, told event organisers the day after the game that his sons had swapped places because they "weren't feeling right about it". He said: "It didn't even dawn on me he (Nate) was going to make it. We weren't trying to hide anything. We just felt honesty was the best policy."

Mr Smith said he had originally planned to write Nate's name on the raffle ticket, but Nate objected. Nick was outside the venue when his ticket number was called, leaving Nate to try his luck at scoring the goal.