MONTREAL—Hamilton Bulldogs forward Blake Geoffrion is expected to make a full recovery after a devastating hit on Friday night during the first period of play against the Syracuse Crunch.
After skating off the ice, Geoffrion was rushed to the Montreal General Hospital where he was treated for a depressed skull fracture. The Montreal Canadiens confirmed on Saturday morning that the 24-year-old forward was in stable condition but remained in intensive care.
The hit came when Geoffrion was caught with his head down by Crunch defenceman Jean-Philippe Cote as he drove along the boards. He was bleeding and holding his hands to his face when he skated off the ice to go to the dressing room.
Hamilton coach Sylvain Lefebvre said he believed Geoffrion was injured when he fell to the ice.
"It's a head injury," Lefebvre said. "He's under surgery right now and it's not life threatening."
Cote was not penalized for his devastating but clean hit on Geoffrion, though he did get a fighting major for scrapping with Bulldogs forward Mike Blunden, who came after him right after the hit.
"To be honest, I didn't even really see the hit," Blunden said. "I was yelling, 'Heads up, Boomer!' and then when I saw he got smoked I just went after the guy.
"We're a team and we stick together and Boomer's been a big part of our team. It's unfortunate what happened and hopefully he gets well soon."
—with files from The Canadian Press.
