If you’re a goaltender, then you know all about the possbiliies of having to potentially fix your gear during a game. It can be a helmet issue, a pad strap, or an untied skate lace that came undone during an intense scramble, just to name a few.
If a referee notices a player needs to adjust his equipment during a game, then the official will allocate 30 seconds or so for the goaltender to get down and fix whatever is wrong.
Depending on the severity of the issue, some fixes are quick and easy, and really don’t take much time at all. Maybe there’s a strap that needs to be tucked in, and the goaltender’s team has the opponents hemmed in their own zone for an extended period of time, allowing the goaltender to fix his gear on the fly. If it really needs to be done in-game, then you better make sure the opposition isn’t on the verge of exiting their zone or sending a player on a breakaway.
Such was the case in a game recently in Portland when goaltender Jordan Nagelkirk scrambled to put his blocker and catcher back on as an opponent came speeding down his way.
You'd think it would be an automatic goal if a goalie wasn't ready in time, right? Well, not this time.
What a sequence of saves.
You’ll notice that he barely has anytime to put on his glove and blocker, and doesn’t even grab his stick. But, he’s still able to make a sensational save, as he stacks the pads and covers up the five hole. Then, his defenceman recovers the puck, and somehow loses control of it in the corner. An opponent intercepts the puck, feeds it out front to a teammate only to be denied by a sprawling, stretched out save courtesy of Nagelkirk's right leg.
Major props to the ‘tender for recovering and make those two saves. For all you goaltenders out there, if this ever happens to you (or you decide to drink some water without realizing where the puck is on the ice), just charge your opponent like this guy did, and you'll be fine.
(h/t Instagram/ El Pinche Gabacho)
