(UPDATE: May 29 @ 10:25 am) - It's bittersweet news on the Kyle Masters front.
Blazers head coach Shaun Clouston was on Radio NL this morning and provided an update on his 20-year-old defenceman.
He said that Masters will be okay, but unfortunately will miss the remainder of the Memorial Cup tournament.
Masters was taken off the ice on a stretcher late in the Blazers 10-2 victory over the Peterborough Petes on Sunday. He was transported to hospital for further evaluation.
Clouston did not get into details on the nature of Masters' injury.
(Original story: May 29 @ 7:25 am) - A massive Kamloops Blazers win on Sunday was slightly overshadowed by a significant injury late in the game.
Blazers defenceman Kyle Masters took an awkward hit from Peterborough Petes forward Brennan Othmann, which sent the 20-year-old heavily into the corner boards.
Masters stayed down on the ice for several minutes and was seen moving around a little bit after the incident, but the medical team wasn’t prepared to take any risks with his health.
He was stabilized on a backboard and lifted onto a stretcher before being taken off the ice and transported to Royal Inland Hospital for further assessment.
Blazers assistant coach Don Hay provided a quick update on Masters’ health after the game and said the doctor told him that he wanted to get up on his own, but the medical staff wasn’t prepared to take any chances.
“We’re optimistic Kyle will be okay,” Hay explained, confirming that he was transported to hospital to be evaluated.
The Blazers released a statement as well, noting that Masters was “fully awake and moving all of his extremities” after the scary incident.
Othmann skated over to acknowledge Masters after he was lifted onto the stretcher and looked visibly distraught on the Petes’ bench during the lengthy stoppage in play.
However, Kamloops forward Ryan Hofer told media after the game that Othmann’s tone was a lot different when he skated by the bench in the immediate aftermath of the hit.
Hofer claimed that Othmann told the Blazers bench he “would do it to any of us,” which unsurprisingly did not sit well with the host team and sparked a heated exchange between the two teams.
When all was said and done, the Blazers skated away with a 10-2 win and have guaranteed themselves, at worst, a tie-breaker game on Thursday to reach the tournament playoff games.