Over the weekend, the USports regional divisions continued playoff play to determine who will be represented in the national championships.
In the Canada West Conference, the University of Alberta Golden Bears defeated the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 1-0 in Game 3 to win their third straight conference title.
During the second period of action, the game had to be delayed for 12-minutes after a panel of glass had to be replaced in Alberta's corner.
As defenceman Sawyer Lange went to swipe at a loose puck on the Golden Bears' goal line, Lange rotated his body around and braced for contact by lifting his skate up. Lange's skate hit the glass and smashed a hole right through it that shattered the entire panel.
Thankfully, no one was hurt in the incident, as a top piece of the panel fell right onto the ice behind Lange's skate just after he rebalanced himself. Chunks of glass fell onto Huskies forward Kohl Bauml's jersey, who needed a ref to help shake out the chards.
We've seen panels shattered over the years from slapshot and big body checks, but a skate being the cause appears to be unprecedented.
The USports National Championships will take place in Lethbridge, Alberta from March 14-17. Eight teams, including the four regional conference champions (Canada West, OUA West, OUA East and AUS) along with the host and three assigned runner-ups will compete for the David Johnston University Cup in a single-elimination competition.
(h/t Twitter/ University of Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas)
