Sam LoPresti made NHL history on March 4 in a game against the Boston Bruins when he faced a league record 83 shots in regulation (a 2-3 loss). He then left the NHL to join the United States Navy during the Second World War, theorizing that "it was safer to face Nazi U-boats in the North Atlantic than vulcanized rubber in North America."
LoPresti served aboard the SS Roger B. Taney. The ship was torpedoed and sunk during an Atlantic crossing in February 1943. LoPresti was thought to be the first casualty among American professional athletes in the conflict. But as the Roger B. Taney sank, LoPresti abandoned the ship.
He was one of 26 (or 20, reports vary) men who took refuge in a lifeboat with minimal water or food supplies. After 42 days, traveling nearly 2,500 miles southwest, they were found and rescued off the coast of Brazil. LoPresti was credited with saving the men's lives by catching the only real food they had during their entire ordeal.
After noticing dolphins swimming around their boat, LoPresti improvised a weapon by lashing a sheath knife to a boat hook. He plunged into the ocean, catching a 35-pound dolphin. They hauled it into the boat, drank its blood, and cooked the meat in a metal bucket with rags and kerosene.
Because goalies are always saving everyone else's butts, it's just what they do.
