The hockey community rallies for Denna Laing
Following a week of silence surrounding her status, Denna Laing’s parents announced Friday that their daughter, a professional hockey player for the Boston Pride, had suffered a severe spinal cord injury.
The Marblehead native was injured after she crashed into the boards during an outdoor National Women’s Hockey League game December 31 at Gillette Stadium. As of Friday, Laing had limited movement in her arms and could not feel her legs, her parents said.
Faced with the tragic news, the hockey community reacted this weekend in unanimous support. Throughout Massachusetts and New England, local hockey teams formed the number 14 at center ice.
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Travis Roy, the Boston University hockey player who was paralyzed after a similar accident more than 20 years ago, took to Facebook to express his support for Laing and encourage others to donate for her recovery at DennaLaing.org.
Roy wrote that the hockey community is “like no other’’ when it comes to supporting each other.
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The outpouring of support also extended beyond the New England hockey community.
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Laing’s NWHL team, the Boston Pride, played for the first time since the news Sunday against the New York Riveters. Winthrop native Jillian Dempsey scored the team’s first goal.
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The Pride ultimately won the game, 8-1.
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