Flyers fan returns stick York tossed into crowd after OT series-winning goal

VOORHEES, N.J. -- Cam York used a golf analogy to explain how the stick he used to score the series-clinching overtime goal for the Philadelphia Flyers against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Wednesday ended up in the Xfinity Mobile Arena stands.

"When I threw it, I wanted it to be like a 60-degree trajectory, but it caught on my glove and made it like a 5-iron," he said Friday.

The stick landed in the hands of Flyers fan Jack Brode, but it's back in York's possession following a meet-up after practice Friday.

"When my career is done with and over with, I want to have some things to look back on and remember and cherish," York said. "This was obviously a special moment for me. ... For him to just give it back for kind of nothing, really appreciate that.

"That's the one of the best things about Philly fans is they love their players, and they want their players to perform at the highest level that they can, so really appreciative of that guy back there that I just met."

Brode, a native of Newtown, Pennsylvania, about 35 miles northeast of Philadelphia, grabbed the stick after it landed on his wife's shoulder.

"I sort of saw it come down," he said. "It must have bounced off of hands or shoulders, and I just saw it kind of laying across the shoulder of my wife. She didn't even know that he threw the stick. She didn't know about the stick until I had it in my hand, and I just reached out and grabbed it."

Brode said returning the stick was an easy call after he got in touch with the Flyers.

"It's Flyers history, but it's Cam's history more than anybody else," Brode said. "It obviously felt good to be able to return it to a professional player who wants that for his own memorabilia. Then just to meet any professional hockey player, particularly a Flyer, particularly the guy who scored the game-winning, series-winning overtime goal was, as you can imagine, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

In addition to meeting York after practice, Brode was given two tickets to a game against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Second Round, an autographed jersey, and a stick York signed with the message, "Glad you're OK."

"It was unfortunate that it came at him so fast, but glad he's all right," York said. "If that was going to happen to any fan, Philly fans are as tough as they get, so I figured even if it did hit him that he was going to still enjoy the moment and be happy. So, it was a cool moment for both of us and glad he enjoyed the game."

As far as the stick, it won't be traveling with York for Game 1 against the Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS).

Instead, it's going right into his personal memorabilia collection.

"I'm not going to reuse it," York said. "I'm just going to frame it. I feel like it'd be a crime to reuse this one, to be honest."