There was a scary moment at the Dow Centennial Centre (DCC) last weekend.
On Saturday (Jan. 14) evening, a local men's hockey team was on the ice when one of the players collapsed on the ice.
Lyle MacKinnon, who was playing in the game, had gone into cardiac arrest.
"Lyle was just coming off for a shift change, he didn't get hit or anything, and he just collapsed on the ice," said Chris Moerman, a close friend of MacKinnon's who was there when it happened. "I had my back to him but I heard a couple of guys call out."
"He was down on the ice and a few of us skated over to him and realized he was in distress. We checked his vitals and we couldn't find a heartbeat."
Luckily, a couple of rink attendants who were working at the DCC during the time jumped into action.
"[The rink attendant] came down onto the ice to help out and started chest compressions," said Moerman.
While the rink attendant administered CPR, Moerman was quick to find the nearest AED machine. Other players on the ice started to remove MacKinnon's equipment to better help him.
Another rink attendant helped to clear the ice and get things under control.
"I've coached hockey in Fort Saskatchewan so I roughly knew where it was," said Moerman. "We put the AED pads on him and shocked him a couple of times."
"It was a team effort from everyone."
Emergency services were immediately called and arrived quickly to take over the situation. He did leave the DCC with a heartbeat and is now recovering in a hospital.
Sabatina Conrad, the mother of MacKinnon's children and one of his closest friends, has been beside Mackinnon's side at the hospital since he was transported there.
"He was shocked three times on the ice and the paramedics shocked him again in the ambulance," said Conrad. "[The doctors] said 'if you didn't go to hockey, you would have died in your sleep.'"
"We are all super thankful for everybody that was there, everybody that was at the rink. They were super quick, on it, and I'm thankful that the DCC has AEDs everywhere."
The names of the two rink attendants that helped save MacKinnon's life haven't been revealed by the DCC yet, only giving out their first names, Steve and Derrick.
"[MacKinnon] has six broken ribs, but if he didn't have broken ribs he wouldn't be alive right now," said Conrad. "They did everything in their power and did everything right and we are so appreciative."
Conrad and the rest of MacKinnon's family were heading to the DCC this weekend to hopefully get a chance to meet with Steve and Derrick and thank them for their quick thinking and action in helping to save a life.
"I want them to be recognized," said Conrad.
MacKinnon is now in the hospital recovering from the incident. He has had some issues with his memory but Conrad says that is getting better as each day passes. Moerman and a few other players on MacKinnon's hockey team even had the chance to visit him.
Outside of playing hockey every Saturday, MacKinnon also serves as a minor hockey coach.
"He's in good spirits, very thankful of course," said Moerman. "One of the guys actually brought him a hockey jersey cause we ripped his last one just to say 'hey buddy, you're still with us and we hope you play hockey again with us'."