PHILADELPHIA — Referee Mitch Dunning was taken off the ice on a stretcher after a collision with a player during the first period of the game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Colorado Avalanche game at Wells Fargo Center on Monday night.
Dunning, gliding slightly backward, collided with Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson near Colorado’s offensive zone blue line and immediately fell backward onto the ice a little more than six minutes into the game. Flyers trainer Tommy Alva immediately tended to Dunning, who lay motionless for several moments before he was eventually lifted onto a stretcher, resulting in an approximately eight-minute delay.
Dunning, who had been taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons, is fully communicative and can move all his extremities after further evaluation, according to a post by NHL Public Relations on X.
Referee Mitch Dunning is currently being stretchered off the ice in Philadelphia after this collision with Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson. Hope he is okay 🙏
— Nasty Knuckles (@NastyKnuckles) November 19, 2024
Both head coaches commented on the frightening incident after the game, a 3-2 Avalanche win.
“Manson ran into him,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “He kind of pivoted backwards into the middle, he ran into him. Took a tumble, but I heard he’s doing OK, so that’s positive sign.”
Said Flyers coach John Tortorella: “We were concerned he was struggling, didn’t have any feeling in his arms — that’s what was told to me. But I think he’s OK.”
A former OHL defenseman, Dunning worked his first NHL game in 2019 and has been a full-time referee since 2022.
(Photo of Dunning: Richard A. Whittaker / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
