With his team up 2-0 eight minuted into the second period, Fanelli skated the puck behind his own net. As Michael Liambas of the Erie Otters came bearing down on him, the Rangers defenseman attempted to reverse the flow by playing the puck back to his partner, but that didn’t stop him from receiving a vicious hit to the head, which sent his helmet flying into the air and knocked him to the ice where he lay unconscious for the next 40 minutes.

The Kitchener players began a prayer circle as trainers attended to Fanelli, who lay motionless beside a pool of blood created from a cut he sustained on his head. His mom, who was in attendance with some otherfamily members, reportedly fainted from the sight of her injured son and had to be revived.

Fanelli would eventually be taken off the ice and airlifted to the hospital where he remained in critical but stable condition. He was diagnosed by doctors at the Grand River Hospital as having sustained a fractured skull and orbital bone, as well as facial lacerations, but has been making progress.

The latest news coming on Sunday states that he remains in intensive care, in critical but stable condition. Our thought and prayers go out to Fanelli, his family, and friends during this tough time.

Liambas received an indefinite suspension for his nasty role in this incident.