NHL referee Mitch Dunning was taken off the ice during the game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night.
Dunning was dribbling the puck when Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson collided with him in the first half. Dunning hit the ice hard and was down for a while as trainers and medical staff came out to tend to him.
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Referee Mitch Dunning, center, is taken off the ice after being injured during the first half of an NHL hockey game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Colorado Avalanche, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
He was later taken off the ice on a stretcher.
“Referee Mitch Dunning was taken to the hospital for safety reasons following a concussion in the @Avalanche / @NHLFlyers game,” the league said on the X website. “All neurological signs are normal, he is able to communicate and is able to shake all his issues. edges.”
The game was delayed for a few minutes.
BLUES PLAYER HIT ON THE NECK BY PUCK, CONTINUES TO PLAY BEFORE FINALLY STRENGTHENED
Referee Mitch Dunning, below, lies on the ice after being injured during the first half of an NHL hockey game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Colorado Avalanche, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Dunning is a former professional hockey player in the Ontario Hockey League. He played parts of three seasons with the Sarnia Sting and Windsor Spitfires. He suffered a serious knee injury during the 2010-11 season with the Spitfires.
He retired from hockey after playing for Windsor University in the 2012-13 season and turned to coaching before eventually joining the Windsor Essex Referee Association in 2014.
He worked his way up the managerial ladder through the OHL, East Coast Hockey League, American Hockey League and later the NHL. He was offered a minor league umpire contract in 2018 and was promoted to the NHL in 2022.
Colorado Avalanche’s Josh Manson (42), right, talks with referee Mitch Dunning, center, as Dunning is taken off the ice after suffering an injury in the first half of an NHL hockey game between the Philadelphia Flyers and -Avalanche, Monday, Nov. 18 , 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
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Dunning’s first NHL game was between the Florida Panthers and the Ottawa Senators in March 2019, according to his NHL Officials Association bio.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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