Hockey Axemen head coach Darren Burns confirmed all-star defenceman Christopher Owens is “a day-to-day thing.”
Owens suffered a concussion as the result of a blindside hit to the head during Acadia’s Nov. 30 game against the UPEI Panthers at Acadia Arena.
After briefly losing consciousness, Owens was removed from the ice on a stretcher and transported to hospital. He was released the following day and attended the following evening’s game against UNB.
Since then, Owens has not been attending classes and had been spending his time as quietly as possible.
“He’s not writing his exams – at least not right now – and he’s getting regular check-ups,” Burns said. “We’re optimistic (for a full recovery) in that he was released from the hospital so quickly.”
Mason Wilgosh, the UPEI player that hit Owens, received a game misconduct as well as a match penalty, which reportedly carries an automatic three-game suspension.
AUS officials, including executive director Phil Currie, were reviewing the incident, with additional sanctions – including a longer suspension – a possible scenario.
“The whole thing is very unfortunate,” Burns said. “It’s in the right hands now.”
He admitted, “I wasn’t happy with the whole game. It wasn’t a very safe environment.”
Thankful Owens wasn’t more seriously hurt, Burns continues to be “confident the league will do the right thing. I’m not happy with how that game played out,” he said. “Hockey can be a rough game, but there’s no room for stuff like that.”
A decision on Wilgosh is expected on Dec. 11. See www.kingscountynews.ca for the results when they become available.
