NHL referee Mitch Dunning taken off ice on stretcher after collision

NHL referee Mitch Dunning was taken off the ice on a stretcher during a scary scene in Monday's Colorado Avalanche-Philadelphia Flyers game.

Dunning was skating backward and Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson was skating into the play when the two collided during the first period. Manson appeared to catch him in the back and the referee spun and fell to the ice.

Medical personnel attended to Dunning as he lay motionless on the ice and eventually called for a stretcher.

The NHL said in a statement that Dunning was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

"All neurological signs are normal, he is fully communicative and can move all his extremities," the league said.

The rest of the game was played with one referee and two linesmen.

Dunning, whose first NHL game was in March 2019, spent 232 games as a referee and five as a linesman entering the 2024-25 season. He has been full-time in the NHL since 2022.