Unconscious after bad DEL shock
Grizzly Captain crashes headfirst into the gang
4/11/2022 12:23 p.m
A violent accident by Sebastian Furchner overshadowed the start of the quarter-finals of the DEL. Wolfsburg’s captain crashes his head into the gang and remains unconscious. Players form a privacy screen, memories of the Eriksen drama at the European Football Championship are awakened. Furchner later gives the all-clear.
Suddenly it was quiet in the Wolfsburg Arena. The 3,500 spectators held their breath when Sebastian Furchner lay motionless on the ice after crashing his head into the gang. The paramedics rushed to the scene, the players stood in front of the unconscious grizzly captain, the broadcaster MagentaSport did not use slow motion – memories of the drama about Christian Eriksen at the European Football Championship were awakened.
The next morning, the 39-year-old, who wanted to end his ice hockey career after the playoffs due to chronic pain and wanted to make one last attempt at the championship title, gave the all-clear. He was doing well “according to the circumstances,” Furchner tweeted with a photo from the hospital, he would “remain in the clinic for further examinations”.
The runner-up’s 5-0 win over the Fischtown Pinguins in the first quarter-finals was also a minor matter for his team-mates. “The sport will definitely take a back seat for a short time. It’s bigger than a game like that,” said national goalkeeper Dustin Strahlmeier, speaking of a “goose bumps moment”.
“All for Furchi”
On Tuesday (7:30 p.m.), ice hockey should be the focus of the second game in Bremerhaven, Furchner told his teammates. The captain is the last one who wants “we stick our heads in the sand because of him,” said Strahlmeier.
Even before his 1119th game in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL), Furchner was in the spotlight. “We for you, you for us, everyone for Furchi,” demanded the Wolfsburg fans on a large banner. The 54-time national player announced two and a half weeks ago that he would be giving up his skates after 20 years in the DEL at the end of the season – due to chronic pain and nerve problems in his legs and feet. He didn’t “just want to get by because I don’t want to cheat on the game I love,” he told SID before the start of the playoffs.
After six unsuccessful appearances in finals with the Kölner Haien and the Grizzlys, he wanted to reach for the silver cup one last time. Now the spectator role threatens him. “We play for him,” defender Björn Krupp told NDR: “We wish him a speedy recovery.” Actually, Furchner should be driven to Hamburg immediately after the game to talk about the end of his career and his last playoffs in the “Sportclub” on NDR. Instead, he slowly regained consciousness in the hospital.