Sebastien Savage tragedy

[bluemeanie]

On-ice tragedy shatters squad
Moncton forward paralyzed in game
Teammates trying to cope with shock


MONCTON, N.B.?It was the kind of accident that hockey players, their families and their coaches have nightmares about ? a high-speed, head-first crash into the boards that leaves a strong, young player broken and paralyzed.

Players with the University of Moncton's Blue Eagles hockey team were struggling to cope yesterday with the news that their teammate, 24-year-old Sebastien Savage of St. Albert, Ont., is paralyzed from the chest down as the result of an accident during a weekend CIS game in the New Brunswick city.

"We all know an accident like this can happen, we just always hope it doesn't happen," head coach Bob Mongrain said. "I'm sure Sebastien never thought one moment about the risks involved in the game."

Savage, a third-year forward widely regarded as one of the team's top players, was chasing the puck into a corner behind a member of the opposing team, the Acadia Axemen from Wolfville, N.S.

The Axemen player lost his balance and went down. Savage tripped over his opponent and flew headlong into the boards, hitting with a bone-crunching thud that sent shivers through fans in the suddenly silent rink.

"It just went dead silent," said Moncton student Daniel Belliveau.

Savage lay motionless for 20 minutes before he was carried off the ice on a stretcher.

The university said yesterday that Savage is in stable condition at the Moncton Hospital.

He suffered a major fracture of the fifth vertebra in his neck and is paralyzed in his "upper and lower extremities."

Savage's parents and siblings from St. Albert, near Ottawa, were in Moncton and have asked for privacy. They plan to transfer Savage to an Ottawa hospital as soon as he is strong enough to be moved.

Savage, a 6-foot, 195-pound right winger, played a key role as the Blue Eagles won the league championship last year.

Savage joined the Moncton team after five seasons in the OHL. In 2000-01 he helped the Ottawa 67's win the league championship and play in the Memorial Cup.

"Sebastien is a very strong competitor," Mongrain said. "He doesn't talk much, he never has, but he gets the job done. He was respected, a natural leader."

Mongrain said the team has decided not to play this week and has cancelled a game scheduled for today. He said the team will play Saturday against Acadia in Wolfville.

Mongrain said the Moncton players are trying to come to terms with what happened. He said psychologists have met with the team in group sessions, but the shock of Savage's injury is having a profound effect.

Team captain Scott Toner said each player is dealing with the tragedy in his own way.

"You hear about these things but I don't know if anybody on our team has ever experienced something like this with another team or even in life with a loved one," Toner said.

"It's so tough when the guy sitting next to you might never do that again."

[butterfly_style]

I don't know what to say about this one, blue.
Certainly, it's a tragedy and my heart goes out to the Savage family.

At the same time, hockey is an aggressive sport and there will always be injuries of some sort.
For some . . . the scars, the missing teeth, etc are a badge of honour.

From all accounts, Sebastien was a player who played with a lot of heart.
I wonder if / when we hear from him, he would have done anything differently (in regards to the way he played the game).

I'll give another example.
My wife is a runner.
She just completed her first marathon.
For any who don't know, finishing a marathon is a grueling, emotionally draining, as well as uplifting experience.
Her father was constantly showing her articles of people dying, getting injured while running.

There are risks in anything we do, including sitting on the couch.

I don't mean to come off as callous.
This is definately a sad, sad time for the Savage family.
May Sebastien persue future endeavours with the same zeal that he persued hockey.

[bluemeanie]

I don't know what to say about this one, blue.
Certainly, it's a tragedy and my heart goes out to the Savage family.

At the same time, hockey is an aggressive sport and there will always be injuries of some sort.
For some . . . the scars, the missing teeth, etc are a badge of honour.

From all accounts, Sebastien was a player who played with a lot of heart.
I wonder if / when we hear from him, he would have done anything differently (in regards to the way he played the game).

I'll give another example.
My wife is a runner.
She just completed her first marathon.
For any who don't know, finishing a marathon is a grueling, emotionally draining, as well as uplifting experience.
Her father was constantly showing her articles of people dying, getting injured while running.

There are risks in anything we do, including sitting on the couch.

I don't mean to come off as callous.
This is definately a sad, sad time for the Savage family.
May Sebastien persue future endeavours with the same zeal that he persued hockey.

I agree. I went to highschool with a guy who went head first into the boards and was paralyzed. Today he's still in a wheel chair and is mostly paralyzed from the chest down. He went on to do a lot for the community and became a rocognized voice in support of other injured atheletes. He still plays a roll in minor hockey and he still get's out for beers when a bunch of us go out to recapture the glory days. Savage's life isn't over if he doen't want it to be. It's just a harsh reminder of how sometimes the heart can be stronger then the body.

[KB in Kelowna]

a lady I work with her son is 20 and is into Martial Arts and Gymnastics. He was doing some floor exercises and warm ups when he landed wrong and snaped his neck, he is now a quadrapalegic. This just happened in September.