Hockey is the ultimate team game and sometimes teamwork can be more than simply making a good pass or covering for a teammate’s defensive lapse. 

During a men’s league game at The Rinks in Hauppauge, teamwork was a matter of life and death for one adult player having a cardiac episode.

Brian Roth has been officiating men’s league games at The Rinks for more than 10 years. But he had never experienced anything like the events that occurred on Jan. 29. While preparing for a faceoff late in the first period, Roth looked at one of the players who was gasping for air more than a typical adult player may do at the end of a strenuous shift. He asked him if he was OK before dropping the puck.

As the period came to an end and the teams headed toward their respective benches, the player collapsed through the open door and tumbled onto the bench. His teammates rushed over to check on him and discovered that he didn’t have a pulse. Acting quickly, they dragged him back on the ice and lifted his jersey to check if he was breathing, which he wasn’t. It was then that everyone sprang into action.

Fortunately for the 65-year-old player, a number of his teammates were police officers with the Suffolk and Nassau County departments. One of them immediately began administering CPR while others quickly removed the man’s helmet and other pieces of gear. Roth quickly skated off the ice and raced to the office where the AED was located. On his way back toward the ice he called 911 and requested an ambulance, which arrived within five minutes.

Back on the ice, the player was administered two shocks from the AED and quickly regained consciousness. An off-duty police officer who heard the 911 call was the first on the scene, followed shortly thereafter by the ambulance that took the player to Stony Brook Hospital.

“There was a lot of teamwork,” said Roth, who has been officiating for 20 years. “It was kind of all hands on deck.”

In addition to his tenure as an experienced on-ice official, Roth is also a volunteer fireman in the area. That experience, coupled with the swift actions of the adult player’s teammates proved to be key elements that led to a successful outcome.

“It made everything easier because his teammates were cops and they knew what they were doing,” Roth said. “Otherwise, if it was a different team, it probably would’ve been very hectic for me because I would’ve been like just doing everything by myself, which I wouldn’t mind. But in that situation, it was great to have people that knew what they’re doing.” 

Shortly after the man was taken to the hospital, his teammates said he had recently returned from a trip to Las Vegas and admitted that he wasn’t feeling well. His teammates tried to convince him to take the night off but he was determined to give it a go. Still shaken by the events, both teams were in agreement not to continue the game.

“Obviously we didn’t finish the game because everyone was worried about their friend and teammate,” Roth said. “We said we’re not going to finish a game after that situation ever.”

When Roth returned to The Rinks the next night, he learned that the adult player was doing well and spent the night in the hospital for observation. 

From his perspective, the events of the evening demonstrated the importance of staying calm in the face of a medical emergency and being able to administer CPR in a timely manner. Having an AED inside the rink and being able to access it quickly is also critical when time is of the essence.

“Every rink should have at least one AED,” Roth said. “And I honestly think every rink should have an AED in the scorekeeper box because God forbid something like that happened again. I used to work at The Rinks and when everything was going on I didn’t even think where the AED was from all my time being there. 

“In the spur of the moment I’m just trying to think how to get him taken care of. I’m not thinking, oh yeah, I know what it is. It’s a totally different mindset.”