Student dies after puck strikes chest

A 22-year-old University of New Haven student playing in a recreational league hockey game died after being hit in the chest by a puck with just three seconds left in the game.

Nathan Crowell of Portsmouth, R.I., was wearing a chest protector, but the puck apparently hit an unprotected part of his torso just below the pad.

"This is a terrible, terrible tragedy," said Howard Saffan, owner of SportsCenter of Connecticut on River Road, where Crowell was playing.

Saffan said one of the players on the ice Thursday night was a doctor, who immediately began performing CPR on Crowell and kept him alive until medical personnel arrived. Crowell was later pronounced dead at Bridgeport Hospital that night.

The incident occurred after Crowell "slid on the ice to block a shot and got hit in the chest by a puck," police Detective Thomas Federowicz said.

Police and emergency medical personnel were called at 10:52 p.m. Thursday for a report of an unresponsive male hockey player, Federowicz said.

When they arrived, there were several people trying to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Crowell, Federowicz said.

"An investigation is ongoing, but all factors indicate that this death was nothing more than a tragic accident," police said.

Saffan, who is also president of the American Hockey League's Bridgeport Sound Tigers, said, "The two teams were just devastated. This is just so tragic."

SportsCenter of Connecticut, near Sikorsky Aircraft, opened in January 2004. It is a large recreational facility that has an ice rink facility called The Rinks.

It is the only ice facility in Connecticut with rinks on two floors stacked one above the other. It has a year-round amateur hockey league for male or female players ages 21 and older.

There is no "checking" in the league and players are required to wear full protective gear, including chest protectors. Pucks fly around at high speed and there is often incidental contact, but serious injuries are infrequent and no one has ever been killed at The Rinks.

All players are required to sign a release of liability and assumption of risk form. The stated risks include "permanent paralysis, disability and death."

The league is divided into three tiers, depending on ability. Crowell played in the middle tier for a team called the Chiefs.

Crowell and his teammates played the 9:30 p.m. game on the upper rink against the Kamco Lumberjacks.

The third period was about to end when a Kamco player took a slapshot and Crowell positioned himself to block the puck, a routine play during most games.

"There was three seconds left and he went down to block a shot. The shot hit him right below his (chest) pad," Saffan said.

Crowell immediately collapsed and the players on the ice figured he had the wind knocked out of him, Saffan said.

Players turned Crowell over, saw his face was turning blue and realized something was terribly wrong.

"There was an ER doctor on the ice. He got to him within 30 seconds. He was able to keep him alive, and (EMS crews) got him to Bridgeport Hospital, but he died at the hospital," Saffan said.

Police Detective Ben Trabka said he was unaware of anyone in the area dying while playing hockey, but noted there are a few deaths nationwide each year. Similar fatal injuries are more common in youth baseball, when an unprotected player is hit in the chest by a ball and the blow stops the heart.

A similar incident occurred during an NHL hockey game in 1998 when St. Louis Blues defenseman Chris Pronger suffered an acute heart attack after being hit the chest during a Stanley Cup playoff game. He recovered quickly, but was sidelined for a few games.

Julie Winkel, director of media relations at the University of New Haven, issued a statement Friday night.

"A Rhode Island native, Nathan Crowell, 22, died Thursday night while playing his favorite sport, ice hockey. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Nathan's family and friends. UNH's Counseling Center and the dean of students will provide counseling services," Winkel said.

Source: New Haven Register, 10/27/07