Fan at first NHL game has head split open but refuses to leave
It's safe to say that Alexis Bovard has what it takes to be a hockey fan.
Bovard, hit in the head by plexiglass dislodged by a hard check into the boards in Friday's Edmonton Oilers-Chicago Blackhawks game in Chicago, wrapped a cloth around her head as a bandage and stayed to watch the rest of what she said was her first hockey game.
The plexiglass was knocked out during the first period when Edmonton's Benoit Pouliot checked Chicago's Niklas Hjalmarsson into the boards. Bovard, sitting in the second row and wearing a Blackhawks jersey, was bloodied but stuck around after being tended to by United Center staff.
Bovard told Comcast Sportsnet she needed stitches but planned to get them after the game.
"If I even remember correctly, I was watching the game, and you know the big hits come to the glass, and the next thing I know the glass is on my head and blood is everywhere and people are all around me and I make it up the stairs and hear all this applause, which was nice to hear," Bovard told Sportsnet.
"I'm just bummed it happened so early [in the game]," Bovard added. "It's quite a first game. First NHL game. First Blackhawks game."
And for her effort, the Blackhawks won 2-1 in a shootout.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
