Referee Mitch Dunning was stretchered off and taken to a hospital after he collided with Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson during a game against the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center.
The scary incident occurred during the first period on Monday night as Dunning was moving backward focused on the play in front of him.
It was at that moment that Manson accidentally collided with Dunning and sent him flying through the air landing on his back before tumbling onto his frontside clearly in pain.
Dunning lay motionless on the ice for several moments while he was tended to by the Flyers trainer and was later put on a stretcher to be taken off the ice.
A video from inside the venue showed fans clapping as Dunning was taken off the ice and Manson could be seen coming over to tap Dunning as he was on the stretcher.
Players from both the Flyers and Avalanche came over to check on Dunning, the NHL’s website reported.
The NHL later released a statement that the ref had been taken to an area hospital for “precautionary reasons.”
“All neurological signs are normal, he is fully communicative and can move all his extremities,” the league statement read.
The incident led to a roughly eight-minute delay in the game and the contest proceeded with one referee and two linesmen.
Dunning made his NHL reffing debut on March 28, 2019, and is in his seventh season working NHL games.
He has been a full-time NHL ref since 2022.
Dunning began officiating as a lineman in the Ontario Hockey Association and was a linesman in the OHL, East Coast Hockey League and the AHL from 2015-17.
He became an AHL referee in the 2017-18 season.
Dunning had been a former OHL defenseman, spending time with the Sarnia Sting and Windsor Spitfires.
