KITCHENER, Ontario (AP) — A junior hockey player remains in critical condition with skull and facial fractures after a hard check into the glass during a game Friday night.
Kitchener Rangers defenseman Ben Fanelli fell to the ice after getting hit by Erie's Michael Liambas during a 4-0 victory in an Ontario Hockey League game.
Fanelli's helmet went flying during the collision, and a pool of blood from a cut on his face formed on the ice under his head. The 16-year-old player was conscious when he was airlifted to a Hamilton hospital.
Rangers CEO Steve Bienkowski said in a statement posted on the team's website Sunday that Fanelli was in critical but stable condition.
Liambas received a boarding penalty and was ejected from the game for delivering the hit.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
