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Jesse Martin, a senior center on the men’s hockey team, is in stable condition after sustaining three fractures to his C-2 vertebrae in his neck.
The injury happened in the second period of last Saturday’s contest between DU and the University of North Dakota, when UND’s senior Brad Malone collided with Martin on the ice.
Martin was hurried to nearby Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, N.D. , where evaluations determined that he needed to be airlifted to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
Head coach George Gwozdecky said he spoke to Martin before he was airlifted and has been in contact with his father several times.
“Right now everyone is waiting to hear from the doctors and see what they decide needs to be the course of action,” said Gwozdecky on Monday afternoon.
The injury ends Martin’s senior season and his prolofic career at DU, where he was apart of three consecutive NCAA tournament teams. In his time at DU, he recorded 64 points on 32 goals and 32 assists.
Martin was selected by Atlanta in the seventh round, No. 195 overall of the 2006 NHL entry draft.
On Monday, Martin reached out to Malone, according to a statement issued by the UND athletic department.
“[The fact] he reached out to Brad Malone during this most difficult time is an incredible testament to Jesse’s character,” said Jayson Hajdu, the assistant athletics director at UND. “We certainly wish him a full and rapid recovery.”
According to a report in the Denver Post, Martin called Malone to “ease [his] mental anguish” in regards to the hit, which was penalized.
According to the report, Martin didn’t feel the hit was illegal and wanted Malone to know that.
The incident happened with 11 minutes left in the second period.
Martin was skating up the ice, attempting to get the puck out of the defensive zone, when Malone checked him into the boards.
Martin lay temporarily unconscious on the ice and was eventually taken off on a stretcher.
Aaron Leu, the University of Denver’s associate director of sports medicine, has been with Martin since the injury occured, according to Gwozdecky.
“We need to keep Jesse in the front of our minds,” said Gwozdecky. “But we know he would want us to continue with our mission as a team.”
Redemption after loss
When Martin went down, the Pioneers were tied 0-0 and were being outplayed.
However, DU found redemption after the penalty, when sophomore Drew Shore notched the team’s first goal as the power play expired.
Two more goals in the third period helped the Pioneers (3-3-2) complete a 3-0 shutout of the Fighting Sioux.
“As we watched Jesse go off the ice, there was a sense among our players that we need to inspire him through our performance,” said Gwozdecky. “At the same time, [his injury] inspired us to play better.”
The Fighting Sioux had harassed the Pioneers and freshman goalie Sam Brittain with an onslaught of 15 shots in the first period.
However, Brittain stayed strong in the net, finishing with 33 saves and posting his first career shutout as a Pioneer.
“It was undoubtedly the best performance of [Sam’s] young career,” said Gwozdecky. “We certainly needed it, because [UND] really dominated us in the first period and he stopped everything they threw at him.”
For his presence in net, Brittain was awarded with a hard hat and was named a three-star player.
No. 9-ranked North Dakota outshot No. 13 Denver 33-17 on the night, but Brittain didn’t allow that to hinder the team’s chance of splitting the series with their conference rival.
“It is great to see [Sam’s]development and his further understanding of the game,” said Gwozdecky.
In the third period, freshman Jason Zucker scored the Pioneers’ second goal off an assist from Kyle Ostrow.
Shore and Zucker currently lead the Pioneers with five goals each.
Rivalry series looms
The Pioneers survived an October stretch, which featured series against the defending national champions, the national runner up and the No. 2-ranked team in the 2010-2011 preaseason polls.
Next up, the team plays a home-and-home series against Western College Hockey Association (WCHA) and instate rival, Colorado College.
The Pioneers host the first game of the series on Friday night, while the Tigers host the second game on Saturday evening.
The Tigers are no longer ranked in either of the national polls, however this doesn’t mean the schedule is getting an easier, according to Gwozdecky.
“The next 10 games will be just as challenging, because the league is so competitive,” said Gwozdecky. “We are not in any position to take our foot off the gas.”
“This rivalry [DU vs. CC] is as intense as there is in college hockey,” said Gwozdecky.
Puck drops at 7:37 p.m. on Friday in Magness Arena and 7:07 p.m. on Saturday at Colorado Springs, Colo.
