A University of Georgia club hockey assistant coach was working as a referee during an adult league game Thursday and needed to break up a fight.
During the brawl, Steve “Benny” Beneke was hit in the chin by one of the players, knocking him to the ground and causing him to hit his head on the ice.
The fall seriously injured him and sent him to the hospital, where he remained Monday, according to the team’s social media accounts.
The incident happened during the third period of the game. After Beneke fell and hit his head, he was able to make it to the penalty box and sit down.
However, players and coaches "realized very quickly that he was in trouble," according to a GoFundMe page created for his medical costs. He collapsed while trying to get off the ice, and 911 was promptly called.
Beneke was taken to the Gwinnett Medical Center’s emergency room before being moved to the hospital’s intensive case unit.
He remains on a ventilator but has been moved out of the ICU, the page said. A CT scan revealed that he suffered brain bleeding and he was put into a medically induced coma at some point.
As of Monday, the GoFundMe page had raised more than $53,000.
“For those that don't know Benny, he is one of the most selfless people and would give his shirt off his back to anyone that needed it,” the team said in a Facebook post. “He has been with the organization since almost the beginning and would do anything for it or anyone on the team!”
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