He’s never seen anything like this.

Cunningham fell to the ice, and within five seconds, Hoffman was sprinting for the stairs.

“At points you think back, and it feels like it took forever, and sometimes it felt like a millisecond,” he said.

Hoffman initially thought the forward had slipped and hit his head, but then two officials skated over and beckoned for medical help.

Trainers from both the Roadrunners and their opponent, the Manitoba Moose, bolted toward the ice. A group of local firemen who happened to be on the ice performing the national anthem as a Scottish bagpipe and drum band jetted over to help. Within seconds, Cunningham’s jersey was cut off and medics performed chest compressions. He was placed on a stretcher and hurried out.

Hoffman quickly made it down to the home-team corner, his mind racing as quickly as his feet.

“I’ve been in the sport a long time, and I’ve seen on-ice injuries, but I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said.

In the moments after, Hoffman had dual purposes.