Miracle Off Ice: Mom, Monsters thank man for stopping puck headed for a young boy
Source: https://www.cleveland19.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - It was "Miracle Off Ice," a tale of Monsters and Angels.
"What's up, Buddy?" says Andrew Podolak as Asia Davis and her four-year-old son Nasir walked up to him as he waited outside Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. "What's up, my man!"
On Thursday, in the third period of the Monsters game with only a few minutes left, a puck flew into the crowd, captured on TikTok
"This puck comes out of heaven, straight toward my son's head," Asia Davis said on TikTok. "If you know anything about a hockey puck, it's more dense than a baseball. This dude literally saved my son's life."
"It was coming up over the glass and I just saw it was wobbling and whatnot and, O God!" remembered Andrew. "The first thing I gotta do is protect the kid, jump in front of it."
After the heart-stopping moment, Andrew, Asia, and Nasir took pictures and left. But, when she got home, Asia thought about Andrew's quick reaction and wanted to thank him more.
"TikTok, I need your help finding someone," Asia asked on TikTok. "This man."
"Next thing you know, my phone is blowing up, one person after the next, is this you this you this you?" remembered Andrew. "That's me! I was there!"
The Monsters invited the three back to the Fieldhouse. They walked in together, greeted the players as they entered the rink, and then, just before game time, met a center ice for an emotional puck drop.
"It's really cool," said Asia. "I didn't expect any of this."
Andrew opted to sit next to Asia and Nasir, despite the fact he bought two seats and it was his decision to stay next to them.
"After he caught the puck, he told me this empty seat next to him was his seat too," said Asia. "If I were him, I would have switched seats from this badass little kid, can't sit still, but he stayed in that seat and he's like I was meant to be there."
The Monsters play in the shadow of Jack Casino and, on Thursday, for Asia, Nasir, and Andrew, the numbers came up seven."
"My section was one-oh-seven, row seven, seat seven," remembered Andrew. "It hit me after everything blew up, everything happens for a reason."
"Seven is my lucky number," added Asia. "I was born on the seventh, that's always the number I play when I do a little gambling. I don't believe in coincidences. I believe everything happens for a reason. I'm just so grateful."
The final score of Saturday night's game against Laval Rocket shows the Monsters on the losing end of a 5-1 score. But the final tally of the game was meaningless since the night was a win for everyone.
"Finally, get to see him again and we got to hug, and it was great," said Asia.