Holy Angels hockey player hit into boards has limited use of hands, lower body

A high school hockey player who took a hard hit into the boards over the weekend during a scrimmage in White Bear Lake remains hospitalized with a serious brain injury.

Academy of Holy Angels senior captain Mason Garcia was sent into the boards Saturday by a player from Lakeville South during the contest at TCO Winter Garden in Vadnais Heights, his head coach said.

An ambulance took Garcia to Regions Hospital, were he was admitted to the intensive care unit, Holy Angels head coach Patrick Griswold said.

As of Sunday night, "movement in Mason's hands and lower body is limited," read a posting on an online fund-raising page started by Garcia's team in an effort to pay for future medical and therapy expenses.

Rebecca Lechner, who has two sons on Holy Angels and is coordinating the fund-raising effort, posted photos on Facebook showing a smiling Garcia in his hospital bed during a visit by some of his teammates.

"All the boys are rallying around the official 'dad' of their team," Lechner wrote.

Griswold, who visited Garcia at the hospital Saturday night and Sunday morning, said an MRI found no cause for concern.

Griswold said he didn't see the play, because he was talking to another player at the time. But he said video showed Garcia hitting his head against the glass.

"He was in and out of consciousness on the ice, and we called 911," the coach of the Richfield team said.

Griswold said he and the other coaches decided to call off the rest of the day's scrimmages.

Matt Lechner, who was at the scrimmage to watch his sons, said the hit happened in a corner of the rink that is out of view from the stands that are solely on one side.

"From what I understand, [the hit] was not malicious; it wasn't anything of ill-intent," he said.

He said the Lakeville South players and coaches "were obviously upset and checking in with our coaches, saying, 'Hey, what do you need?' "