NCAA hockey referee dies from injuries sustained in fall
NCAA hockey referee Oliver "Butch" Mousseau died Friday from head injuries he suffered last week before a hockey game in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Mousseau was 48 years old.
Last Friday, Mousseau fell during warm-ups before a WCHA Final Five game between Ferris State and Michigan Tech. Mousseau was reportedly not wearing a helmet at the time of his fall according to MLive. He was also reportedly skating with his hands in his pockets, so he was unable to break his fall.
He was taken from the ice by stretcher and placed in a medically induced coma.
According to the Denver post, Mousseau suffered a brain hemorrhage Friday.
Mousseau’s wife Macaire gave her most recent update on her husband’s condition Wednesday on a Facebook public group titled “Get Better Butchy.” A similar update was given on a fundraising page.
"We continue to be patient as we wait for the swelling in the brain to decrease. They've started him on antibiotics to treat an infection in his lungs. The oxygen levels looked better today. The intracranial pressure readings have stayed about the same."
Mousseau had been a WCHA referee since 2003. His NHL officials’ jersey and skates are in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto as the first Native American referee. He grew up on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
“We are saddened beyond belief by the tragic passing of Oliver ‘Butch’ Mosseau,” said WCHA Commissioner Bill Robertson in a statement on MIHOCKEY. “Words cannot express the depth of sorrow we feel, or the sympathy the WCHA, our member institutions and fellow officials extend to Butch’s wife, Macaire, their children, Sam (SJ), Abbie and Olivia, and the rest of the Mousseau family. At the end of the day, hockey is just a game. It is a special game because of the people involved, and Butch was one of the all-time greats who left an indelibly positive impact upon everyone whom he came in contact with. The WCHA is, and always will be, a better league because of Butch’s involvement.”
According to MLive, Mousseau is survived by his wife and three children, Sam, Abbie and Olivia, his parents, Oliver and Mary, sisters Beth and Fran, and brothers Charlie and Joey.
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