When Edina’s Bode McConnell launched a shot off the glass with under two minutes remaining in the second period at Ridder Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 25, it looked like any of the 17 earlier missed chances in the Class 2A, Section 6 championship game against Wayzata.

That is, until the puck rolled along the crossbar and bounced off Trojans goalie Ryan Pellinger. McConnell was there to tap it in. Fewer than 24 hours later, the goal had gone viral, making the top-10 plays on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”

“I didn’t think it was going to be like this initially, it was just one of those weird plays,” McConnell said. “People are giving me some love at school, for sure. I would have never thought it would make it to ‘SportsCenter.’ ”

Few could believe what they saw — whether it was because the goal defied gravity or because the sequence of events occurred so quickly. Even McConnell was surprised: “I dumped it in and it rolled across the crossbar,” he said. “I was just right there; I don’t know how.”

Edina goalie Chase Bjorgaard watched from across the ice as the play unfolded.

“From my vantage point, I was so confused [about] what happened,” Bjorgaard recalled. “I saw the puck bounce towards the net then I couldn’t see it and the next thing I know the goal horn is going off and it’s 1-1.

“Minutes before that too, I remember thinking we just couldn’t seem to get a bounce and felt like we were dominating them the whole period and couldn’t put one in then not a minute later that happened.”

Said Hornets coach Curt Giles: “We just saw from the bench, all we could see is it pop up off the top of the net, and he whacked it in.”

But unlike Bjorgaard or Giles’ hazy views from afar, Edina’s activities director and assistant principal Troy Stein had a front-row seat in the student section when the shot landed in front of McConnell.

“From the stands, there was this collective gasp when the puck hit the top of the net,” Stein said. “The craziest part from the crowd’s perspective was the timing. It felt like the puck was suspended in the air for an eternity before Bode slapped it in like he was hitting a baseball.”

McConnell — who sits at 54 points this season, with a team-high 33 goals along with 21 assists — secured the team’s fifth consecutive ticket to the boys hockey state tournament with two additional goals. But his first shot was one for the history books.

“The moment it hit the back of the net, the energy in the arena just shifted,” Stein recalled. “It was easily the most unique goal I’ve seen in years of watching Edina hockey.”

After the shock of virality wore off a bit, there’s one thing McConnell took from the goal.

“I guess when you go to the net, good things happen,” the senior forward said.