Keith Ballard Hits Tomas Vokoun (VIDEO)

(AP) ATLANTA - Florida Panthers goaltender Tomas Vokoun was taken off the ice on a stretcher after he was accidentally hit in the head by the stick of teammate Keith Ballard in the opening period of Monday night's game against the Atlanta Thrashers.

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Vokoun had a laceration to his ear but was alert when he was placed in an ambulance and taken to a local hospital, a Panthers spokesman said.

The incident occurred after Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk scored a goal at 8:54 of the first period, knocking in his own rebound. In apparent frustration, Ballard swung his stick at the net, inadvertently striking Vokoun in the head.

Vokoun was wheeled off the ice after about a 10-minute delay.

WATCH, WARNING - GRAPHIC:

Comments

[Berkeleylefty]

05:52 PM on 12/03/2009

Ballard needs some time off for anger management courses, perhaps a few years' worth...
The way he bangs the stick twice against the goalpost with complete disregard for anyone nearby is disturbing. I hope the league does something about it...

[plzchuteme]

11:34 AM on 12/03/2009

And hitting the goal with his stick was going to accomplish what? Was it to teach the goal a lesson? It makes as much sense as a pitcher breaking his hand on a water cooler. It seems the only lesson learned here was that goalie Vokoun should wear earmuffs.

[snruB]

07:27 PM on 12/02/2009

You're supposed to do that to the other team's goalie!

[John Fudrow]

09:45 AM on 12/02/2009

Ballard should walk away from his contract and not accept any payments for his idiotic actions.

[LeeCalif]

09:32 PM on 12/01/2009

Whether or not it was accidental. And I'm not so sure it was. The guy should be suspended for being reckless. He's got a 5 foot long wooden pole in his hands and it has a edge to it.

[Winthorpe]

08:18 PM on 12/01/2009

"Accidentally" -- that's an interesting spin.

[Poiks]

04:16 PM on 12/01/2009

What the heck....he skated away like nothing happened!

[Gover]

06:42 PM on 12/01/2009

That's what I did when I was like 8 and hurt one of my friends playing.

[Poiks]

06:53 PM on 12/01/2009

LOL exactly...I don't think he ever went over to check on the guy, either. Perhaps he has John McCain's disease (unawareness of that a lot of what goes on in the arena is on videotape).

[Ari Winkleman]

06:19 PM on 12/02/2009

He didnt notice what he did

[FoonTheElder]

02:44 PM on 12/01/2009

One thing I learned as a goalie was that I was injured three times more by my teammates than the opposing team.

[cheeriogirl]

02:44 PM on 12/01/2009

While I doubt he intended to hit his teammate, their was NOTHING accidental about the intensity of that swing. He should be removed from the ice PERMANENTLY as a consequence, for the safety of the other players.

[Ari Winkleman]

06:20 PM on 12/02/2009

Removed permanently? How do you feel about AO's knee to knee hit?

[cheeriogirl]

02:17 AM on 12/03/2009

Didn't hear about that, but it sounds brutal. Details or link please?

[Chubbster]

02:42 PM on 12/01/2009

Nice, Ballard.

[GolfingDevil05]

01:58 PM on 12/01/2009

I've been a hockey fan for over 25 years, and I've never seen anyone do anything quite this stupid. The closest was Marty McSorley hitting Donald Brashear in the side of the head with his stick, but that wasn't with nearly the force that Keith Ballard swung his stick. Regardless of whom he hit, Ballard should be suspended by the NHL for being reckless and dangerous. He could have ended Tomas Vokoun's career, if not worse.

[FirstGame72]

11:49 AM on 12/01/2009

Not to make too much of it, really, but if you want to find some kind of silver lining in the above footage and event (please nobody comment "it was funny" as a silver lining), it's the reaction of the Atlanta players on their bench when they see the Florida goalie down on the ice. Notice how quickly they stop celebrating, don't care about the goal they've just scored, as if it's forgotten, and show only concern for Vocoun. The change is immediate.