Erik Cole high-fives referee Greg Kimmerly after scoring goal vs. Ottawa Senators (VIDEO)

Strange things are afoot when hockey players celebrate goals. Sometimes they're premeditated, like pretending your stick is on fire or rowing an imaginary kayak to center ice. Other times they're completely spontaneous … which can lead to a player hugging the wrong team.

We imagine Montreal Canadiens winger Erik Cole's celebration after scoring against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night falls into that latter category; who goes into a game thinking, "OK, I send one home tonight, I'm high-fiving the ref"?

That's 18-year veteran official Greg Kimmerly that was given the hand slap as he signaled the goal. Here's the RDS feed:

"He was the only one there, and I had to celebrate with somebody," said Cole after the game. "I told him I was sorry after."

Obviously, Cole didn't take that $2,500 fine from the NHL for slew footing too personally. No word if he's a fan of BYU QB Riley Nelson, who famously high-fived a ref in a loss to TCU last season.

Rhetorical question: If a player high-fives a ref after scoring a goal, is that ref more or less likely to call the next penalty on that player's team?

s/t Benoit B.

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