BATON ROUGE — Frightening video from an Oct. 25 Baton Rouge Zydeco game is raising concerns about the team’s injury response protocols.
With 4:25 left in the third period, as the Zydeco Hockey Team was up 3-0 over their rival, Mississippi Sea Wolves’ forward Cater Eha blindsided a Zydeco defenseman with an illegal open-ice hit.
In videos taken by fans in attendance and shared on social media, Zydeco player Nick Ketola can be seen lying on the ice, seemingly unconscious for several minutes. In another video, a Zydeco player rolls out a bed cart, usually reserved for transporting equipment and concessions, but Ketola is ultimately not loaded onto the cart.
In both videos, fans appear to be screaming and shouting for medical attention to come to the ice.
Rebecca Pfister, a regular Zydeco game attendee, was present at the Oct. 25 game. She told UWK that one emergency responder eventually came out to the ice, but the incident left her shaken.
“I had really good seats. I went to games all last season, and nothing like this had happened before,” Pfister said. “It’s not like they were engaged in a fistfight or anything, but a Sea Wolves player got a really, really good hit. I don’t know if it was dirty or whatever, but the guy he hit fell to the ground and was flat on his back. You could see his hands contorting, and he was seizing in front of everyone. It wasn’t until the crowd was yelling at the refs, like ‘Hey, this guy is hurt,’ that play was stopped.”
Pfister said a Sea Wolves player checked on Ketola, and eventually, a team or arena medical professional came out as Zydeco players appeared visibly upset and knelt around him. However, Ketola remained on the ice with little assistance for as long as ten minutes, according to videos shared with UWK.
UWK confirmed with the Baton Rouge Fire Department that they received a call about an injured player at the game and that BRFD firefighters responded to the River Center and removed Ketola from the ice on a stretcher.
Curt Monte, Public Information Officer with BRFD, said that regardless of the response by arena or team medical personnel, it’s not uncommon for someone with a potentially serious injury to remain in place until emergency responders can assess the situation.
“When you’re dealing with the type of injury that was possible, you have to be very cautious in how you move a patient, and it takes several people to do that to ensure the patient isn’t injured further,” Monte said. “As long as their vitals are good and you’re not dealing with a life-threatening situation, you take as much time as needed to properly package the patient so you don’t cause further harm.”
According to the Federal Hockey League’s website, Eha has been suspended for four games as a result of his actions.
“This was a very late, predatory hit on an unsuspecting player who was not eligible to be hit. Injury resulted from this play,” FPHL Director of Player Safety Dave Jackson wrote in a press release.
According to the official Zydeco fan account on Facebook, Ketola was placed on a 15-day injured reserve and is expected to return later this season.
UWK reached out to Acadian Ambulance, who confirmed they do have a contract with the River Center, but they are not contracted by the Baton Rouge Zydeco Hockey team. They added that once they were notified, their medic, who was working the event, responded to the ice for the player.
UWK reached out to Zydeco team president and general manager Don Lewis to inquire about the availability of team-funded medical personnel at Zydeco games, but Lewis has not returned the calls.
“I’ve heard that (the response) was slow, but I don’t know all the particulars. If the injury had been far more severe, it would obviously be a bigger problem,” FPHL commissioner Don Kirnan told UWK. “It was a bad hit, a dangerous hit, and I know the head of player safety imposed a very stiff penalty.”
Kirnan also said that while it varies by state, every player in the league is covered by some form of health insurance, assuring UWK that Ketola will not have to pay any medical bills resulting from his injuries.
“Not one player has paid a medical bill that I’m aware of,” Kirnan said. “All players have been covered. All injuries are covered. That’s a team and league responsibility. Everything is set up.”
Kirnan said he also spoke with Lewis and doesn’t expect any further issues with medical responses at future games.
“I spoke to the building manager yesterday on some other issues. He’s a very competent person, and I know the owner, and I spoke to the general manager, so they’re on top of everything. I don’t expect any problems the rest of the year,” Kirnan said.
Pfister said she still plans to attend future Zydeco games but hopes the team prioritizes player safety moving forward.
“I just want this team to keep going. I’ve enjoyed having another thing to do in Baton Rouge. It’s family-friendly and pretty affordable,” Pfister said. “I don’t want them to get shut down, but there are several layers of concern. I feel it was poorly handled. This guy could have been seriously hurt or killed, and this team could go away if something like this or worse happens again.”
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