NHL Referee Bloodied After Getting Hit in Eye by Player's Stick in Scary Incident

Longtime NHL referee Chris Rooney is “doing well” after being hit by an errant stick during Sunday night’s playoff game between the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to the league.

NHL.com reported that Rooney, 49, “received medical attention for a cut above his eye and is doing well” after the incident just 13 seconds into the second period of Game 7 between the Panthers and the Maple Leafs.

The incident happened in the corner of the boards when Rooney got caught in a tussle over the puck. Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola’s stick struck the referee in the face while he was bracing for a hit by Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner. 

Rooney remained on the ice for several minutes as trainers from both the Maple Leafs and the Panthers rushed to help the referee, whose face was bloodied, as were the boards. The Toronto home ice medical staff brought out a stretcher at one point before being waved off. Rooney then left the ice with the assistance of two trainers while holding a bloody towel to his face.

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Afterwards, Rooney reportedly got stitches above his eye to close the cut. He was ruled out for the rest of the game and replacement referee Garrett Rank took over for him, according to the Associated Press.

According to the TNT broadcast, Mikkola hadn’t realized his stick hit Rooney in the face until an on-ice reporter asked him how he felt about the situation afterwards as the referee was receiving medical attention.

Rooney, a married father of two, is one of the longest tenured officials in hockey, having first refereed his NHL game in 2000, according to the NHL Officials Association. The Boston native has officiated nearly 1,500 NHL games in his career, including 170 playoff games.

“Scary incident,” longtime TSN hockey reporter Pierre LeBrun wrote on social media, noting that Rooney “has a black eye but luckily no eye damage” and “hopes to be back working later this round.”

“Good news it wasn’t worse,” LeBrun added.