‘I felt like all the teeth were coming out of my mouth’: Hockey ref fractures jaw, hospitalized after he’s smashed by puck (VIDEO)
Referee Jukka-Pekka Koistinen was floored by a horror injury in the Finnish Liiga after being smashed straight in the mouth by a flying puck, sustaining a gruesome blow which cost the wiped-out official several of his teeth.
The match between HPK and Jukurik had to be abruptly halted with just a minute left in the second period after a shot by Miro Ruokonen deflected off of Jukurit’s goaltender and flew directly into the referee’s face.
The 38-year-old match official fell to the ice in agony, covering his face with his hands and remaining motionless in a worrying scene as his refereeing colleagues rushed to help him.
The rubber disk, which poleaxed Koistinen at high speed, damaged at least seven of his teeth and fractured his upper jaw.
The referee was also said to have sustained a concussion after failing to dodge the powerful ricochet.
“Four teeth came off completely," the referee said.
“The world faded, as if someone had turned off the lights. I recovered consciousness really quickly.
"As I lay on the ice, it felt like all the teeth were coming out of my mouth."
Having spent several minutes on the ice, the referee skated off the rink holding his mouth before being taken to hospital.
A former player himself, Koistinen took part in more than 300 matches during five seasons in the Finnish league, representing Sport, Hermes and the FPS.
He lost only one tooth during his playing career, but it will now reportedly take up to six months to restore the damaged teeth and allow his jaw to heal.
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