During a game against the Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center, referee Mitch Dunning collided with Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson and was taken on a stretcher to the hospital.
The horrifying incident happened Monday night during the first period when Dunning was backing away, focused on the play at hand.
It was at that moment that Manson accidentally collided with Dunning, sending him flying into the air and landing on his back, before falling onto his front side in apparent pain.
Dunning lay motionless on the ice for several minutes while being attended to by Flyers trainers before being taken off the ice on a stretcher.
This is a video from inside the venue. Fans applauded as Dunning was taken off the ice, and Manson was seen coming over to hit Dunning while he was on a stretcher.
Players from both the Flyers and Avalanche came to check on Dunning. The NHL website reported.
The NHL later released a statement saying the referee was taken to a local hospital for “precautionary reasons.”
“All neurological symptoms are normal and he is fully communicative and able to move all four limbs.” The league's statement read:
The incident delayed the match for approximately eight minutes, and the match was played with one referee and two linesmen.
Dunning made his NHL officiating debut on March 28, 2019, and is in his seventh season in NHL games.
He has been a full-time referee in the NHL since 2022.
Dunning began his career as a lineman with the Ontario Hockey Association and served as a lineman in the OHL, East Coast Hockey League, and AHL from 2015 to 2017.
He became an AHL umpire in the 2017-18 season.
Dunning is a former OHL defenseman who spent time with the Sarnia Sting and Windsor Spitfires.
