Boston Bruins: Brendan Gaunce savagely taken down with open-ice hit

Whilst playing for the Boston Bruins AHL affiliate on Friday, Brendan Gaunce was levelled with an open-ice hit that saw him leave on a stretcher.

The Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins are storied rivals; turns out it carries down to the minor-league too, as the Providence Bruins faced the Laval Rocket on Friday. During that game, Brendan Gaunce was levelled near center-ice by a brutal hit away from the play by Michael McCarron.

No penalty was called on the play somehow, despite it’s vicious nature and the fact it was clearly away from the play, meaning at minimum, it should’ve been called as interference.

Boston Bruins prospect, Brendan Gaunce stayed on the ice surface for a considerable time and was clearly unable to maintain his balance when helped back to his feet.

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Not only that he was bleeding profusely and reportedly vomiting into a towel as a trainer tended to him. Eventually, he was stretchered from the ice.

It’s always disappointing to see that players like McCarron still act in such a manner. Whilst we all appreciate that hockey is a physical game and that hitting and contact in general should by no means be removed; to see a player injured in an off-the-puck incident always feels like a cheap shot.

Brendan Gaunce has 3 goals and 1 assist in his 6 games with the Providence Bruins thus far this year, so you might be wondering if this was ever so slightly targeted by the Rocket forward. That we don’t know, but we believe he may have been a shot at an NHL call-up with recent injuries on the Boston Bruins roster.

Unfortunately though, this is often the way it goes with hockey. Whether it was mistimed, accidental or a vicious and intentional act, only McCarron knows but given the impact at which Gaunce’s head hit the ice, you’d have to expect a concussion.

Such is his fickle luck, as any NHL call-up will now have to wait until all symptoms of a concussion have faded. For some players, that’s a few weeks, for others it can be months.

Perhaps most interestingly of all, unlike in years gone by it seems McCarron got away with this hit relatively unscathed. Brendan Woods did challenge him to a fight in the second period, but seemingly gone, for better or worse, are the days of having to answer the bell immediately and against a ‘goon’ there for that purpose only.

Hopefully it’s a speedy road to recovery for Brendan Gaunce; you never know we could still see him in a Boston Bruins jersey yet this season! As for McCarron, you’d hope some sort of punishment is in order, but we shall just have to wait and see.