Hockey can be hazardous to your health

[Nitemare]

Last time I went to go watch the Hurricanes play I saw the disclaimer on the ticket stub that you can't hold anyone liable if anything happened. Occasionally you will see a puck fly over the wall and a fan holding it up after they catch it. I had no idea that they were travelling that fast...



<< Girl Hit by Puck at NHL Game Dies




March 19, 2002

A teen-age girl hit in the head by a puck at an NHL game
has died, hospital officials said Tuesday.

Brittanie Cecil, 13, died Monday night, Children's Hospital
said.

The girl was struck by a shot early in the Columbus Blue
Jackets' 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday
night.

"Our fans mean the world to us, Doug MacLean, Blue
Jackets general manager, said. "This loss has profound
effect on the entire Blue Jackets family."

It is believed to be the first death of a fan hit by a puck at an
NHL game.

Witnesses said the shot by the Blue Jackets' Espen Knutsen
flew over the high glass at the west end of the rink, glanced
off another spectator and hit the girl on the head.

NHL spokesman Frank Brown said Tuesday he could not
recall any other fan killed by a puck.

He said one NHL player died from injuries suffered in a
game. Bill Masterton died Jan. 15, 1968, days after falling.

Teams warn spectators over the public-address system
about pucks flying into the crowd. They also place warnings
on scoreboards and on the back of each ticket.

Although rare, spectators have been killed and seriously
injured at hockey games, particularly in the low minor
leagues and the amateur ranks where the glass is not as high
around the rink.

A 21-year-old Canadian man died on March 5, 2000, after
being struck by a shot that flew into the crowd during a
South East Manitoba Hockey League game between Altona
and Carman a week earlier.

A 9-year-old girl died in 1979 after being hit in the
forehead during another Canadian game.

In 1984, a 10-year-old boy in Spokane, Wash., was killed
when hit with a puck while watching an exhibition game
between the Spokane Eagles and Spokane Chiefs. >>

 

[Viper GTS]

I've been to a number of lower level hockey games (Portland Winterhawks, whatever that makes it), & I've seen pucks leave the ice & hit the upper edge of the arena - flying completely OVER the entire crowd, & hit between the top row & the ceiling. You can hear them hiss as they fly.

Seating chart of Memorial Coliseum

So it's not surprising they could kill somebody.

Very sad though. I bet the player feels like a real ass.

🙁

Viper GTS

 

[Nightfall]

The shot could have went off another players stick. I think the team as a whole feels badly about this incident. As a hockey fan, there is a certain amount of danger involved in watching a game. Things like this, while not as deadly, happen at every hockey game. People who aren't watching get smacked in the noggin by a shot going into the seats.

Oh well, at least soccer doesn't have the fatality rates of soccer in some 3rd world countries. 😉

 

[Elledan]

Methinks they need bullet-free glass around and over the playing field 🙁

 

[pyonir]

Federov's slap shot is over 100mph. so the pucks are moving. my friend got hit in the forhead while watching a high school game...all he had was a big knot on his head.

that is too bad though....

 

[RedRooster]

There's at least 2 or 3 incidents like that every year. The glass is way too short in some arenas, although the majority of people don't even watch the game so they're at such high risk actually.
When I played, I hit a guy one time and knocked him out. I felt awful, I can't imagine accidently killing a kid. Poor guy.

 

[Wingznut]

As a diehard hockey fan, and as a father taking his 8-year old son to the Winterhawks playoff game this weekend... This really hits home.

It's horrible, and it's very sad.

 

[Michael]

I was hit by a puck at a NY Rangers game. It hit me in the shin and put a huge bruise on it and a decent sized cut as well. I try as much as possible to keep my eye on the puck so I can get my hands in front of my head, but it is impossible to concentrate 100% of the time.

I'm sure that both teams and the player feel terrible, but it was an accident.

Michael

 

[Optimus]

This is terribly sad. 🙁

As a huge fan and player of the game, I really know the risks. Getting hit by a puck is my entire job as a goalie, and believe it or not I TRY to get parts of my anatomy in front of shots that literally can kill. I bring this up because I want to say to Parents and players - do NOT skimp on gear! I spent a LOT of money ($3000) buying the best protective gear to play the game - especially chest and head protection. This stuff can save your life!

But for a fan to be hit and killed like that, especially a kid... There is no protective gear to be worn by fans... maybe we really do need to look at the glass around the rink, and whether it is as safe as it can be.

BTW, Anyone know if baseballs (home runs) have every killed anybody? A baseball isn't as hard, so it may not be the same danger.

What a tradgedy this was. The player likely feels awful, although its totally not his fault.

🙁🙁🙁

 

[SALvation]

You damn goalies with your XXXXL jerseys and oversized gloves. Take some equipment off and give us shooters some room 😉

I agree its a terrible tragedy but the glass is top notch in most arenas. You can't make it much higher without it getting unstable and you can't enclose the players in an acrylic dome (Having flashbacks of Ice Hockey for Nintendo where the puck would bounce like a pinball). It is just a freak accident and there is not much we can do except be careful as a fan. Luckily the only tickets left for Wings games are againts the roof, literally.

Condolences to the family and it sure would suck to be the shooter.

 

[Soulflare]

It's a lot like car racing where sometimes fast moving debris kills people in the grandstands. I'm
suprised it doesn't happen more often actually, a lot of slapshots (once you get to the junior ranks
and higher) are well over 80mph... and some NHL guys can do over 100mph.

I was a goalie and played up to Jr. B (Jr.B > CHL > AHL > NHL), and even with the best equipment
you could still get some nasty bruises. I had someone put a large crack in my Armadilla (Kevlar/Carbon
Fibre blend) mask playing highschool hockey on a one timer.




<< Oh well, at least soccer doesn't have the fatality rates of soccer in some 3rd world countries. 😉 >>



Yeah, like England.

 

[fatalbert]

🙁

thats sad, I love watching Hockey here at BU, but it is a risky sport. One of my friends got hit in the head by a stick, only that wasn't an accident😛, he was heckling the player and he couldn't take it. Another friend plays hockey, not on the BU team, but he has had 9 concussions most of them from hockey

 

[Pastore]

nothing like this has ever happened... people get hit in the head all the time... but this is the first death that has occurred because of a puck in the nhl... very sad...

i think the league should seriously thinking about making the glass higher...

 

[Pastore]

actually the rank of the leagues is as follows... as accepted by most higher ups throughout the leagues... this list is rated in the SKILL of the players that make up the league, nothing more...

juniors > WPHL > CHL > UHL > ECHL > AHL > NHL

i know a guy who played floor hockey with a street puck and he got a serious concussion with a puck glancing off his helmet... you cant be too safe when going to a game..

for Gods sakes make your damn kids pay attention to the game or dont bring them! As you can see, it IS a matter of life or death...

 

[lllJRlll]

How do any of you know she wasn't paying attention.After all the puck ricocheted off someone else then hit her so even if she was paying attention there was not much she could have done about it.

 

[Pastore]

everyone in the entire section of the rink ducks and covers their heads when a puck comes up... if the girl was paying attention she would have covered up...

 

[Pocatello]

Not everybody is fast enough to see less duck a projectile travelling 100MPH even if you paying attention.

 

[CocaCola5]

<<

BTW, Anyone know if baseballs (home runs) have every killed anybody? A baseball isn't as hard, so it may not be the same danger.


🙁🙁🙁 >>





I doubt it, home run balls are pretty weak by the time they reach the home run stands(lost all its energy). This is like a pitcher getting a line drive except here the puck is somewhat harder.