Be a Pro - playing without a stick

So if a player breaks/loses his stick and stands over the puck, it's a penalty for hitting him since he's not technically playing the puck. 

Super frustrating since the AI apparently knows this and just stands on loose pucks if they lose their stick. Can't hit him, can't lift his stick (obviously), and poke check is likely to trip him. So they just wait for a teammate to come in and retrieve the puck while I stand there like an idiot. Which is lame. 

I didn't capture the video of this but I'm sure it'll happen again (or maybe someone else on the forum has it recorded). 

Thanks!