Ohio man saves boy, 4, from flying hockey puck

CLEVELAND — Asia Davis and her 4-year-old son, Nasir, were in attendance for the Cleveland Monsters’ hockey game last Thursday when a stranger saved her son from potential danger.

In the final minutes of the game, a hockey puck flew over the barrier glass and into the crowd, seemingly on a path straight toward Nasir. That’s when Andrew Podolak, sitting next to Nasir, stepped up and blocked the puck from hitting the boy’s head. Asia said the puck came so close to hitting Nasir that he had ice chips from the puck in his hair.

“This dude literally saved my son’s life,” Asia said in a now-viral TikTok video that has received more than 4 million views. “He prevented a life-changing event from happening.”

Asia posted the video in hopes social media would help connect her with Podolak so she could again thank him for protecting her son.

“Man, that situation could’ve been so bad,” Asia said. “I owe that man lunch or dinner, another thank you, because I cannot imagine my baby getting hit with that hockey puck.”

After posting the video around 2 a.m. Saturday, Asia said she received a direct message from Podolak around 10 a.m. She responded by telling him she would buy him Monsters playoff tickets later in April.

“He was like, ‘Everything happens for a reason, I’m glad your little man is OK,’” Asia told a Cleveland TV station.

Also on Saturday, the Monsters invited Asia, Nasir and Podolak to the team’s home game that evening at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. All three received VIP status and were allowed on the ice to high-five Monsters players as they skated out for warm-ups. Nasir even did the ceremonial puck drop before the Monsters squared off against the visiting Laval Rocket.

Asia said she continues to be thankful for Podolak being in the right place at the right time.

“After the video went viral and people recognized (Podolak) and started reaching out to tell me who he was, everyone just had such nice things to say about him,” Asia said.