Skip to search.

Breaking News Visit Yahoo! News for the latest.

×Close this window

Puck Daddy - NHL

Puck Daddy

Wed Apr 28 05:20pm EDT

Teen goalie wins title with 4 broken ribs, punctured lung

By Greg Wyshynski

Douglas Critch is a 16-year-old goalie for the La Scie Jets in Newfoundland, who picked up hockey this year and helped his team to its first championship since he was a newborn.

This was an impressive feat for several reasons, including the fact that Critch thought he had torn a muscle making a save in Game 2 of the tourney.

Yeah, that's why you never self-diagnose, kids. Turns out it was something slightly more serious than a muscle tear, according to CBC News:

After a motorcade, he sought medical attention for nagging pain. "I didn't think it would be that serious, but it was pretty bad," he said.

Doctors told him he had four broken ribs and a punctured lung, and that air had begun to seep into his spine, a rare development that puzzled doctors as far away as Toronto.

Critch said he was relieved they were able to treat him quickly. "I was thinking, "How did I manage to play three games like that, with four broken ribs ... I don't know how I [did] it," he said.

We have a theory: That Douglas Critch has the kind of toughness that usually inspires its own series of Chuck Norris-style jokes.

Glad to read the kid intends to play again next season. Even gladder that his heroic performance didn't occur in the NHL, or we would have been left with "16-year-old goalie overcomes unspecified upper body injury to win title."

Stick-tap to Steven M. for the tip.

digg delicious

Related Articles

Launch Article Browser

Puck Daddy

Add to My Yahoo! RSS

Related Photo Gallery

More NHL Photos »

Y! Sports Blog