Anton Blidh Okay, Returns For 2nd Period After Collapsing On Bench In First Period

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"He was on the bench. He collapsed. It didn't look good."

Hartford head coach Kris Knoblauch on Anton Blidh's medical emergency late in the 1st period.*

HERSHEY, Pa. - As the opening period of the Atlantic Division Finals was winding down, what appeared to be a regular collision during the course of a hockey game provided quite the scare for those in attendance at Giant Center Thursday night.

Hartford WolfPack forward Anton Blidh was attempting to put a hit on Hershey Bears defenseman Logan Day, but took the brunt of the impact. Blidh was slow to get up and headed to the WolfPack bench.

Hunched over after the stoppage in play with 2:39 left in the first frame, Blidh collapsed on bench according to what Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch told InsideAHLHockey.com after the game.

"He was on the bench. He collapsed. It didn't look good," Knoblauch recalled of the incident.

Play was halted, and both teams headed off the ice. It was later determined the teams would enter the first intermission with the 2:39 still left on the clock. They resumed play after the intermission, finished the 2:39 and then went right into the second period after a one-minute break.

"I don't think anybody really knew what was going on," Wolf Pack captain Jonny Brodzinski said after the game. "But, glad he's alright. It wasn't anything serious, just kind of got the wind knocked out of him. So he's alright, healthy and it's all we care about."

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was that Blidh came out of the tunnel after the first intermission and stepped onto the ice in a single file line with his teammates like nothing happened.

"Well, fortunately, Anton was in good shape and everyone was able to stay calm... and know - we were reassured that he was okay. He was in the dressing room."

Blidh finished the contest, but was not made available to speak with InsideAHLHockey.com after the game.

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