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Family of injured Ochapowace Thunder player considering legal action

Mar 18, 2011 | 10:02 AM

The hot-button issue of serious hockey injuries is hitting close to home in southeastern Saskatchewan.

Wyndan Cyr, a 20-year-old defenseman with the Ochapowace Thunder of the Prairie Junior Hockey League, is recovering in hospital from a vicious check that left him with three fractured vertebrae. It happened in a playoff game Monday night against the Pilot Butte Storm.

“He was hit awkwardly into the boards. He was in a vulnerable position and didn't have an opportunity to defend himself,” Thunder president Cheryl Thomas told News Talk Radio's Sportsnight on Thursday.

“It was a late hit. The puck was already going out of our zone. The hit should never have happened.”

The player who hit Cyr was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct. Thomas is irate that the PJHL didn't hand out a suspension. She feels the team and Cyr's family “have been wronged.” His family is now meeting with a lawyer to determine if legal action is an option.

Thomas said Cyr is in good spirits and will recover from his injury with the assistance of a back brace which he'll have to wear for several months. But doctors have told Cyr that he shouldn't play contact hockey anymore.

news@panow.com