Wojciech Stachowiak decided to switch from striker to goalkeeper.
Wojciech Stachowiak (right) was incensed by his insight. EPA/AOP
A special situation was seen in the Riga group of the Ice Hockey World Championships on Thursday.
German-Polish Wojciech Stachowiak too the blade came off the skate in the middle of the Denmark-Germany match. In the second set, Stachowiak was involved in a side turn and started to kick with one leg when he noticed that the blade had fallen off.
The 23-year-old striker realized that skipping was too slow a way to get into the substitution. Then he tried something extraordinary.
Stachowiak dropped to his knees and kicked to the side with his left skate. The tactic, similar to the goalkeeper’s post-to-post movement, worked, as the attacker quickly got to the bench.
You can see the status of the video on SVT’s website.
The insight surprised the SVT expert Jonas Andersson.
– I have to say that it was nicely done. He went away like a keeper. Great use of common sense, Andersson praised.
Stachowiak himself was surprised by the situation.
– This has never happened to me before. It took me a while to realize what was happening. I tried to get off the ice quickly, which was not easy.
Stachowiak has scored one assist in four World Cup matches. Germany won the match 6–4.