University of Denver hockey captain Adrian Veideman has frightening memories of his accident Saturday night at Magness Arena. Veideman, who lost his helmet and banged his head on the ice during a skirmish with Colorado College co-captain Brandon Straub, said Monday he had problems breathing once he gained consciousness.
“It’s a scary situation when something like that happens, and it definitely scared me,” Veideman said.
DU trainer Aaron Leu helped ease Veideman’s panic attack, which went away once Veideman was assured he had use of his extremities. The senior defenseman remembers everything that happened before his head hit the ice and Straub landed on top of him.
“I remember getting hit into the boards and going down without my helmet on,” Veideman said. “I was out for a bit there, and I was back when Aaron was talking to me.”
The incident took place early in the second period of CC’s 3-2 victory. Veideman was rushed to Porter Adventist Hospital, where doctors diagnosed a concussion but found no other damage. DU coach George Gwozdecky said his captain is questionable for this weekend’s two-game series against visiting Minnesota State.
“Adrian is a lot better off than everybody thought he might be,” Gwozdecky said. “I was with him late Saturday, early Sunday, and we walked out of the hospital together. He’s got a pretty good concussion, and some whiplash effects, but obviously things could have been a lot worse.”
Veideman, 6-feet-2 and 190 pounds, is not angry at Straub, who is the Tigers’ biggest player at 6-4, 230 pounds.
“It’s part of the game,” Veideman said. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt me. It’s one of those things, just an accident. You can’t put any blame on anybody.”
Footnotes
CC entered the top 15 in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll, at No. 9. DU fell five spots, to 13th…. Gwozdecky is confident his team will put away its two losses to CC and focus on the future. “I don’t think anyone thinks we’ll have any lingering effect from the CC series,” Gwozdecky said. “It’s still the first half of the season, and we’re still in the hunt.” … A decision on the availability of Pioneers junior forward Tom May would be made today, Gwozdecky said. May served a first-quarter suspension that ended last week, but he has not been reinstated.
In Super Stats: Polls, leaders 8D
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
