The game between the Laval Rocket and the Manitoba Moose on Saturday was a tense battle on the ice. But with just 72 seconds separating the home team from a 3-0 defeat, the contest at Place Bell came to a sudden end due to a crisis in the stands.

As reported by CTV News, the game was halted and then came to an official end when a fan in the stands experienced a severe medical emergency and later passed away. Emergency responders rushed through the stands to aid the fan, who was later identified as Michel Pelletier.

Social media footage showed them performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him in the seating area as the gravity of the moment settled over the silent arena.

Despite the action on the ice, rookie goalie Jacob Fowler, who was playing his first game for the Rocket after being sent down from the Montreal Canadiens, noticed the commotion in the stands and alerted officials, which eventually led the game to stop.

Despite the efforts from the responders, the following day, the Laval Rocket organization confirmed the tragic news over social media:

“It is with deep sadness that the Laval Rocket has learned of the passing of its fan Michel Pelletier, who attended yesterday’s game at Place Bell. We would like to offer our most sincere condolences to his family and all his loved ones.”

They continued, “Having been part of the members’ community for seven seasons, he has always been there to encourage us and the Rocket family is wholeheartedly with his family.”

The Pelletier family posted their own tributes, with his daughter Sophie writing, “Thank you for your messages of sympathy and thank you to the organization. I am this gentleman’s daughter; he was my father, and he passed away peacefully at the Rocket game he loved to attend. He was a huge fan of the team.”

Michel’s brother, Yves Brenda Pelletier, also joined in: “I am the victim’s brother and want to emphasize the class of the Rockets organization. My brother was a HUGE Rocket fan and you gave him a lot of joy over the past few seasons. Thank you to the organization and all the fans of this GREAT club! Thank you also to all the medical personnel who tried to save his life. Thank you for your messages.”

Michel Pelletier was a devoted hockey fan. And while he will be missed in the upcoming AHL games, the love he is surrounded by will live forever. But this isn’t the first time such an incident has occurred at a hockey game.

Other medical emergencies during live games

In 2016, a 71-year-old man, who identified as Bill Streb, suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest during an NHL preseason game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks at the Staples Center. Luckily, he was saved by an emergency physician, Sujal Mandavia, who was also in the stands.

However, back in 2002, during a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames, 13-year-old Brittanie Cecil, who received the game tickets as an early gift from her father for her 14th birthday, died from injuries suffered from a puck that was deflected into the stands. This tragic death, though, changed a major rule in the NHL.

Commissioner Gary Bettman announced, “And even though Brittanie Cecil was the first fatality in the 85-year history of the league, and probably 800 million fans have attended our games, we still wanted the look of doing the right thing.”

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“So we concluded on the basis of the report that there were measures we could take that would reduce the incidence of pucks entering the stands without it interfering with the game, or the fans’ enjoyment of the game, and we’re doing that.”

The Board of Governors back then, announced safety nets to be installed above the glass behind both goals. Furthermore, Bettman confirmed that the sides of all NHL rinks that have protective glass will be raised to at least five feet in height.