Referee in the Flyers-Avalanche game taken off on a stretcher after colliding with a Colorado player

Mitch Dunning, who became a full-time referee in the NHL in 2022, collided with Josh Manson as the Colorado defenseman was coming onto the ice.

Game referee Mitch Dunning gets taken off the ice by medical staff members after Dunning collided with a Colorado Avalanche player during the first period.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Jackie Spiegel

Published Nov. 18, 2024, 8:10 p.m. ET

Referee Mitch Dunning was injured in a collision with Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson during Monday night’s game against the Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center.

Dunning was skating backward near the Flyers’ blue line in the first while watching the play in the right corner. Manson, who had just come off the bench, was skating to the right point and did not appear to see the referee, causing them to collide. Dunning, 32, stayed on the ice for a long time and was treated by the Flyers training staff and the doctor on site before being placed into a neck brace and onto a stretcher.

According to the NHL, Dunning has been taken to the hospital for evaluation.

“All neurological signs are normal,” the post on X read. “He is fully communicative and can move all his extremities.”

A native of Tecumseh, Ontario, Dunning made his referee debut in the NHL on March 28, 2019, when the Ottawa Senators hosted the Florida Panthers. Bob Boughner, who coached Dunning for 16 games with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League, was the Panthers coach at the time. Dunning also played 21 games with the Sarnia Sting.

Dunning worked his way up the officiating rankings. After knee injuries ended his playing career, he started as a linesman in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA). He was a linesman in the OHL, East Coast Hockey League, and American Hockey League from 2015-17 before becoming an AHL referee in 2017-18. Dunning was promoted to a full-time NHL referee in 2022.

The game continued with referee Jean Hebert and linespersons Matt MacPherson and Michel Cormier.