On Friday evening, the Adler Mannheim celebrated a furious 7-1 win against the reigning champion Eisbären Berlin-but the evening was quickly in the background. A brutal check by Yannick Veilleux against Mannheim’s striker Luke Esposito shaken the German ice hockey league and overshadowed the game.
The 32-year-old Canadian Veilleux from the Eisbären Berlin caught Esposito head-on and unprepared at the beginning of the second third. The Mannheimer lost his helmet and crashed into the gang unchecked. He had to be treated on the ice for minutes before he was fixed and removed under the applause of the spectators of paramedics. Blood traces on the ice made the extent of the scene clear.
Esposito was taken to the BG Clinic Ludwigshafen. On Saturday evening, the eagles were able to give a cautious all -clear: “We are very relieved that Luke Esposito was released from the hospital this evening,” said the club. At first the Mannheimers did not give any further details on the state of health of the American.
The league also reacted quickly: the DEL blocked Veilleux for six games on Saturday and also made a fine. In the reasoning, it was said that the Berliner acted “ruthlessly and without other purpose” and used “excessive and superfluous power”. Veilleux was punished particularly hard as a repeat offender.
