The ice hockey player who accidentally slashed the throat of Adam Johnson is to be ‘absolutely distraught’ over the Nottingham Panthers star’s death.
Sheffield Steelers player Matt Petgrave, 31, fatally cut his opponent’s throat in a freak accident when they collided during a match in front of 8,000 horrified fans.
Petgrave crashed into one of Johnson’s teammates on Saturday, knocking him off balance and causing his leg to lift up and make contact with Johnson’s neck.
Canadian defender Petgrave has reportedly been receiving ‘vile messages online’ from ‘heartless trolls’ following the shocking incident.
Panthers fans said ‘no one was to blame’ for the ‘horrific accident’, and described watching Petgrave ‘break with shock and trauma’ after seeing what had happened.
Tina Taylor, a Panthers supporter, said: ‘It was a one in a million chance occurrence and will probably never happen again. It was a complete freak accident.’
She told how Petgrave had been ‘receiving vile messages online’ from ‘heartless trolls’, adding: ‘He was absolutely distraught by the death of an opponent but it was a tragic accident and he was not to blame. The awful trolling must stop.’
Julie Whitnum, another Panthers fan, said the accident was a ‘one off, it was awful’, adding: ‘It was not a deliberate or foul play.’
Panthers supporter Hazel Woods, who witnessed the tragedy, said: ‘What happened was horrible and I can’t get the image out of my head. It is like a bad dream I can’t wake up from.’
She added: ‘It was a freak accident, totally tragic, and no one was to blame.’
And Caroline Crossland, a spectator at the match, commented on X: ‘Don’t even know how to feel or what to think after the horrific accident we saw tonight.’
In reference to Petgrave, she added: ‘Watching him break with shock and trauma was horrific, I can’t imagine how he feels.’
Toronto-born Petgrave joined the Steelers in summer last year from Czech Republic side HC Dunamo Pardubice, and had also recently played for Slovakian team HIK Spisska Nova Ves.
The 6ft 1in player studied at the University of New Brunswick where he spent four seasons playing ice hockey, before turning professional in 2017.
He joined East Coast Hockey League side Brampton Beast, based in Ontario, that year and also had spells with Syracuse Crunch, Laval Rocket, Utica Comets, Florida Everblades and Kansas City Mavericks.
Johnson’s throat was cut by Petgrave’s skate blade when they collided during the match.
The 29-year-old briefly stood up, bleeding profusely on to the ice, before collapsing again.
He received immediate medical attention, with CPR performed on the ice, and was taken to hospital but could not be saved.
Today, Johnson’s fiancée Ryan Wolfe paid tribute to him on Instagram, posting a picture of him and saying: ‘My sweet, sweet angel. I’ll miss you forever and love you always.’
Minnesota-born Johnson and Miss Wolfe had become engaged over the summer and lived together in England, his former college teammate Riley Tufte told The Athletic.
