Players, refs run out clock after league says game can't be ended due to player injury
An upstanding gesture in a worrying situation from a hockey team in Germany. Early in the third period of a game between the Selber Wölfe and Ravensburg Towerstars of DEL-2, Germany's second highest league, Selber's Max Gimmel suffered a medical emergency and was taken to hospital. Gimmel is listed in stable condition by his own team, with more testing required. In the meantime, while waiting for word on Gimmel's condition, it was checked on and announced that the game could not be cancelled, even though Ravensburg was winning 7-0 at that point and the Selber Wölfe were willing to let that be the end.
Das Regelwerk lässt eine Absage in Folge einer Spielerverletzung nicht zu. Die Teams und Referees einigten sich, den Puck ruhen und die Uhr herunterlaufen zu lassen. Die Liga versteht die Haltung der Spieler, das Spiel nicht fortzuführen und sieht es als große Geste.— DEL2 (@DEL2_News) November 6, 2022
Instead of going through the motions, the two teams, along with the officials, had the puck dropped and then not touched for 18 consecutive minutes.
"The DEL2 wishes Max Gimmel of the Selber Wölfe a speedy recovery. He is undergoing treatment and his condition is stable. The rules do not allow a game cancellation as a result of a player injury. Both teams agreed with the referees to rest the puck and let the clock run down. The league understands the players' stance as a result of the injury not to continue the game and sees it as a great gesture." - DEL2 Official Site
The Wölfe were quite grateful for the gesture from Ravensburg.
"We would like to expressly thank the Ravensburg Towerstars and the referees for this sporting fair and humane gesture. Thanks to the fans for your exemplary behavior #ForMax." - Selber Wölfe, Twitter
While the league referred to Gimmel's situation as a medical emergency, on Twitter it was a called a "serious injury" by the team. It's not exactly clear what happened.
Top 10 latest hockey stories
