Panthers holding public tryouts for practice goalie

After the Florida Panthers ran out of goaltenders the other night, the team announced an open amateur tryout to find a backup practice goalie for a day.

Both Panthers goalies, Roberto Luongo and Al Montoya, suffered injuries in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Maple Leafs, forcing 41-year-old goalie coach Robb Tallas to take over the netminding duties.

So any hockey fan who wants to practice with the team can try out March 16 at 4 p.m. at the BB&T Center. A group will be selected, and Tallas, who signed a professional tryout contract during Tuesday's bizarre game before Luongo returned, will oversee the tryout.

Two finalists will then go head-to-head during an intermission of Florida's game against Montreal on March 17, and the winner gets a contract.

The "Goal of a Lifetime'' contest rules are also pretty vague about the applicant's skills.

"The Panthers want prospective goalies to submit a playing resume. The team doesn’t elaborate what sort of experience it’s looking for, so beer league goalies, feel free to apply."

"We look forward to welcoming goaltenders from across South Florida to this open tryout," said Tallas, who hadn't played in an NHL game since 2001. "It promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the goaltender who is selected to serve as our team's back-up practice goalie for a day."

The Panthers will let fans try out to become their backup practice goalie: http://t.co/VLyigdsX63 pic.twitter.com/03BPpoGjbZ
— SI NHL (@SI_NHL) March 6, 2015

The winning goalie will receive two complimentary tickets for each home game remaining in the 2014-15 regular season, a team-signed jersey and will be featured on Fox Sports Florida during an intermission segment.

The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is open to all men and women 18 or older. Any interested applicants must submit their playing resume to FloridaPanthers.com/backupgoalie.