The police inquiry into the death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson during a match watched by thousands of fans “will take some time”, the investigating force has said.
The 29-year-old American was playing for Nottingham Panthers at rivals Sheffield Steelers on Saturday when he was reportedly hit in the throat by an opponent’s skate, causing a fatal injury.
About 8,000 fans watched in horror as attempts were made to save Johnson’s life as he lay on the ice, shielded by fellow players.
His team said it was a “freak accident” on Sunday when they confirmed that the popular Minnesota-born player had died.
Since then, South Yorkshire Police have carried out inquiries at the arena, studied footage of the collision and spoken to experts, aided by Sheffield City Council’s health and safety team.
The force said the investigation would be lengthy.
In a statement they said: “Since Saturday, detectives have been carrying out a range of inquiries including reviewing footage, talking to witnesses and seeking the advice and support of highly specialised experts to seek to understand the circumstances surrounding what happened.
“We have also been working closely with the health and safety department at Sheffield City Council, which is supporting our investigation.
“As with all unexpected and sudden deaths, it is standard practice for police to investigate the circumstances fully and feed back our findings to HM coroner.
“Our officers have now left the scene, however due to the complex nature of this tragic and unprecedented incident, it is likely the wider investigation will take some time.
“We continue to encourage the public to avoid speculation, including on social media, while we continue our inquiries and will provide updates when appropriate.
“Our thoughts remain with the loved ones of all those affected.”
NHL: Stars beat Oilers in Game 2 to even Western Conference final
Mason Marchment scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and Jake Oettinger made it stand up with 28 saves as the Dallas Stars defeated the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 to even the Western Conference final at a game apiece on Saturday night.
Marchment deflected a shot that went through the legs of Oilers defenseman Vincent Desharnais and bounced on the ice past Stuart Skinner at 3:41 of the final period. It was Marchment’s first goal since the playoff opener on April 22.
Jamie Benn opened the scoring for Dallas 3:39 into the game and Connor Brown answered for Edmonton just 44 seconds later.
Esa Lindell tallied into an empty net with 2:03 remaining.
The series shifts to Edmonton for Game 3 on Monday night.
Stuart Skinner stopped 22 shots as the Oilers were held to fewer than two goals for just the second time in 14 playoff games. The other was a 1-0 win over Los Angeles in Game 4 of the first round.
Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl was held pointless, ending his playoff-opening point streak at 13 games. That was one short of matching Mark Messier’s franchise record set in 1988.
Dallas failed to capitalise on its only power play of the game after going 0 for 5 in Game 1. That extended the Oilers’ streak of 20 penalties killed over six-plus games since giving up a power-play goal in Game 3 of its second-round series against Vancouver.
NHL: Goodrow's OT goal gets Rangers even in East final
Barclay Goodrow scored with 5:59 left in overtime to lift the New York Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Friday night, evening the Eastern Conference final at a game apiece.
Goodrow fired a snap shot from between the circles over Sergei Bobrovsky’s right shoulder for his third goal in the last five games.
Vincent Trocheck scored early in the first period and Igor Shesterkin stopped 26 shots as the Rangers avoided losing both home games and now head to Florida for Game 3 on Sunday afternoon with the series tied.
Trocheck’s goal was his seventh of the playoffs and gave him four goals and nine points in seven games this postseason at Madison Square Garden.
NHL: McDavid's goal in double overtime lifts Oilers to Game 1 win
Connor McDavid scored 32 seconds into double overtime and the Edmonton Oilers topped the Dallas Stars 3-2 in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday night.
Evan Bouchard centered a pass into the low slot from the right boards and McDavid deflected it past Jake Oettinger for his third goal of the playoffs.
Game 2 is Saturday night in Dallas.
The Stars went scoreless on three power plays in regulation and failed to capitalize on four minutes with the man advantage after a high-stick penalty against McDavid early in the first overtime.
Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman scored in the second period to stake the Oilers to a 2-0 lead before Tyler Seguin drew the Stars within one les than two minutes later.
Edmonton held the slim lead until Seguin scored again with 3:23 left in regulation.
McDavid nearly won it with about 5:20 left in the first overtime, but his shot was blocked by Oettinger and defenseman Chris Tanev both putting their sticks down to keep the puck out of the net.
Dallas got 35 saves from Oettinger but lost it seventh straight playoff series opener.
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