KIDWCKED
12-30-2009, 06:16 PM
ESPN.com news services
WOODSTOCK, Ontario -- A 25-year-old hockey linesman was gravely injured when his neck was cut by a skate during a Junior C game on Tuesday.
Kevin Brown was initially reported to be in stable condition, but Woodstock Renegades owner Bill McLeod says he's been told Brown is "not doing so well now."
Two players fell to the ice during a scrum late in a game between the Renegades and New Hamburg Firebirds, and one of their skates came up and cut the linesman.
According to the North Bay (Ont.) Nugget newspaper, Woodstock's Craig Thomson, who had just scored to tie the game 4-4, got into a fight with New Hamburg's Reid Oliver behind the Firebirds' net after the goal and subsequent celebration.
The two traded punches until Thomson threw Oliver to the ice. Oliver's right leg was lifted through the air and his skate cut Brown's throat under his chin on the right side of his face.
According to the report, Brown, not realizing he had been gravely injured, continued to break up the fight as he bled profusely on the ice.
"I saw the skate go up and he grabbed his neck right away," linesman Bruce Byers said afterwards, according to the report. "You knew he was leaking. I told the guys on the ice, 'It's done.' "
Witnesses say Brown's neck was gushing blood as he skated off the ice, and he collapsed before he could reach the benches.
Team trainers say he drifted in and out of consciousness as he was loaded into an ambulance.
The game was immediately stopped.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
WOODSTOCK, Ontario -- A 25-year-old hockey linesman was gravely injured when his neck was cut by a skate during a Junior C game on Tuesday.
Kevin Brown was initially reported to be in stable condition, but Woodstock Renegades owner Bill McLeod says he's been told Brown is "not doing so well now."
Two players fell to the ice during a scrum late in a game between the Renegades and New Hamburg Firebirds, and one of their skates came up and cut the linesman.
According to the North Bay (Ont.) Nugget newspaper, Woodstock's Craig Thomson, who had just scored to tie the game 4-4, got into a fight with New Hamburg's Reid Oliver behind the Firebirds' net after the goal and subsequent celebration.
The two traded punches until Thomson threw Oliver to the ice. Oliver's right leg was lifted through the air and his skate cut Brown's throat under his chin on the right side of his face.
According to the report, Brown, not realizing he had been gravely injured, continued to break up the fight as he bled profusely on the ice.
"I saw the skate go up and he grabbed his neck right away," linesman Bruce Byers said afterwards, according to the report. "You knew he was leaking. I told the guys on the ice, 'It's done.' "
Witnesses say Brown's neck was gushing blood as he skated off the ice, and he collapsed before he could reach the benches.
Team trainers say he drifted in and out of consciousness as he was loaded into an ambulance.
The game was immediately stopped.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.