A 10th-grade hockey player from Connecticut died after another player's skate cut his neck, according to school officials and police. St. Luke's School, one of the teams involved, identified the player as Teddy Balkind on Friday.
The incident occurred Thursday during a game between Brunswick School's junior varsity team and St. Luke's. Balkind fell to the ice and the player who eventually cut him couldn't stop before impact, Greenwich Police Capt. Mark Zuccerella said Friday. The game was stopped at that point, as Balkind was transported to Greenwich Hospital.
Brunswick Head of School Thomas Philip echoed Zuccerella's sentiment, saying observers found the play "entirely normal and unremarkable in the game of hockey" in a statement.
"I want to commend our medical, coaching and security staff for all that they did in the most terrible of circumstances to sustain the boy until the ambulance arrived," Philip wrote, per the AP.
To mourn Balkind's loss, St. Luke's Head of School Mark Davis said he'd open the school building to the public Friday afternoon despite a snow storm canceling that day's classes.
"Our community is mourning," Davis said, per the Hartford Courant. "Yesterday, we lost a precious young man in a tragic accident. Both St. Luke's School and Brunswick School are in shock as we work to support our students and families. St. Luke's singular focus at this moment is to care for our devastated community."
