A player for the Hershey Bears, an American Hockey League affiliate for the Washington Capitals, was hospitalized on Tuesday after he was knocked out during an on-ice fight. The fight happened in the second period when Bears center Kale Kessy dropped gloves against Derek Sheppard, a defenseman for the Charlotte Checkers, the AHL affiliate for the Carolina Hurricanes.
After the two briefly circled one another in the middle of the ice, Sheppard caught Kessy with a hard right hand, and the Hershey player appeared to go limp before hitting the ground. The Checkers defenseman is then seen waving to the bench for medical attention, alongside the officials who were doing the same.
Shortly after Kessy was attended to and brought off the ice, which took about 10 minutes, the official Hershey Bears account reported that the player was awake, stable and able to give a parting message to his team as he was taken to the hospital.
Per our media and medical team, Kale Kessy was struck in a fight. He lost, but regained consciousness on the ice. He is alert, and in stable condition, and being transported to a local medical facility. Kessy told his teammates before leaving the ice, “go win the game.” #HBH
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) February 26, 2020
Bears coach Spencer Carbery then added to the positive news after the game, telling reporters that Kessy was doing "better" and that the CT scans the player underwent did not have anything concerning results. The Bears went on to defeat the Checkers with a 6-1 victory at home.
