The regular season NHL championship match between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Colorado Avalanche (2-3) was punctuated by an extremely rare incident which threw fear into the stands: a referee had to be evacuated to a stretcher from the Wells Fargo Center filled with 18,930 spectators.
During the first third of this game which was played during the night from Monday to Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Mitch Dunning, one of the two game directors wearing red sleeves with Jean Hébert, was accidentally hit by the American defender from the Avalanche Josh Manson (33 years old).
The referee also collapsed on the ice, where he remained lying for several minutes. Medical staff from the rink and both teams immediately came to his aid. And, when Manson went to talk to him, Dunning moved his feet as well as his right hand. Gestures which reassured the players, spectators and television viewers.
The NHL communicated that the neurological tests were normal and that the referee was hospitalized as a preventive measure.
Mitch Dunning, who has been whistling in the NHL since 2022, is a 32-year-old Ontarian who tried to become a professional hockey player. A former defender in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the three Canadian junior leagues, he had however failed to convince a professional club to recruit him.
The match continued, as in the good old days, with a head referee and two linesmen.
He was peppered with eleven punishments, all minor. Six against the Flyers, five against the visitors from Denver. All that is most ordinary…
