A scary incident which led to the game being stalled occured last night in the AHL. In the second period, Hershey Bears forward Kale Kessy and Charlotte Checkers defenseman Derek Sheppard engaged in a fight straight after the face off.
Trading punches, Sheppard knocked Kessy unconscious before the forward hit his head in the ice.
Sheppard and the officials quickly called for the medical staff who rushed on the ice. After several minutes of medical care, Kessy regained consciousness and left the ice on a stretcher with an oxygen mask. He was then transported to a local medical facility.
According to the Bears, Kessy told his teammates to “win the game” before being leaving the arena.
The game was stalled for 40 minutes with the teams leaving for the dressing room following the incident.
“He’s doing better,” Bears head coach Spencer Carbery said after the game. “CT Scan came back (good) but they’re going to keep him overnight just for observation. All the reports back from the hospital are positive.”
Hershey went on to win the game 6-1. But speaking after the game, Checkers’ head coach said the result wasn’t important.
“To be honest, we lost the game,” Ryan Warsofsky said, “but hearing that Kale’s okay is the most important thing.”
