Hockey fans highly value power moves that cause players to fly over the boards and end up on the bench. And in the match between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New Jersey Devils, a unique incident occurred: after Erik Gudbranson’s hit, line referee Sandor Alfonso found himself behind the protective fence.

Alfonso’s unexpected change of workplace looked fun in the dynamics, but in slow motion it is clear that this story almost ended in tragedy.

A few centimeters from the blade

The episode itself occurred at the end of the first period, when the “devils” already took the lead – 2:0. The Columbus players were clearly unhappy with the state of affairs at home

Nationwide Arena and noticeably increased their aggression. Gudbranson stood out in particular, holding his first meeting after serving a one-game suspension for a fight with Florida forward Nick Cousins.

At some point, Gudbranson managed to catch Michael McLeod, who was breaking through the flank at speed into the attack zone. McLeod himself was not injured and, moreover, even remained on his feet. But linesman Alfonso tried with all his might not to become a third participant in the conflict and avoid a collision. To do this, he even jumped, which ended up being a mistake. After hitting the Columbus defender, McLeod flew into Alfonso, and the referee fell over the side.

The linesman’s pirouette caused laughter on the hosts’ bench and among the spectators who managed to see the unusual scene. The Blue Jackets players then helped the referee back onto the ice and quickly forgot about the incident. However, the episode actually didn’t look all that fun. Alfonso’s skate came within inches of McLeod’s face as it flew over the side. Moreover, the linesman ran his blade across the helmet of Andrew Peake, who was calmly waiting for his shift. If Alfonso had lowered his foot a little lower, the episode could have ended in tragedy. Fortunately, everything worked out fine.

Photo: © Slavica / E+ / Gettyimages.ru

Interestingly, this is not the first time Alfonso has suffered on the bench. In 2021, during the Dallas Stars – Ottawa Senators match, the linesman jumped on board so as not to interfere with the game. At that moment, a Senators player jumped out for a change and accidentally cut the referee’s hand with his skate. Alfonso then immediately ended the meeting and received four stitches.

After this whole story started by Gudbranson, the Columbus players noticeably improved and spent the second period on equal terms, exchanging two goals with New Jersey. At the same time, Russian players distinguished themselves for the hosts: first, Kirill Marchenko scored the majority, and then, in equal numbers, Egor Chinakhov scored a scoring shot.

However, in the final 20 minutes the “devils” managed to put the squeeze on the opponent. As a result, the guests won a landslide victory – 6:3.