NHL fans enjoy watching international play as they get to see their favrourite NHLers scrambled and relocated to different teams. This is why there was so much uproar about NHLers not being allowed to participate in the Olympics – people wanted to see the stars shine. There’s one thing that’s for sure about international play, however, it’s certainly… different.
We aren’t just talking about the size of the ice either. Sometimes international play leads to unique situations that you would never see in the NHL or most North American leagues. Case in point, the Italy-Slovenia match that saw both teams playing with pulled goalies simultaneously.
The situation arose because both teams found themselves in a situation where they had an opportunity to be promoted to the world’s top division. A win wouldn’t simply guarantee it though, it would have to be a regulation win.
Cue strange moment.
Both teams were fighting so hard to win in regulation, with neither team really caring about winning beyond that, that they ended up with pulled goalies on both sides of the ice. Slovenia pulled their goalie first, but by the time Diego Kostner potted the game-winning tally with 2.3 seconds to spare, the Italian goalie was no longer in his net either.
This does not guarantee promotion for the Italians, as they still need some help from Great Britain. The following is an excerpt from the IIHF website:
While Slovenia missed promotion, Italy now has to hope for a favourable outcome in the last game. If Great Britain gets at least one point against Hungary, the British and Italy will go up to the top division. If Hungary beats Great Britain in regulation time, there will be a four-team tie for first place with Kazakhstan and Hungary earning promotion.
What a ridiculous ending to a high-stakes game.
(H/T IIHF)
