Fiancée of ice hockey player who died during match pays tribute | UK News

The fiancée of a Nottingham ice hockey player whose throat was fatally slashed during a match has paid tribute to him on social media.

Adam Johnson, 29, suffered a ‘freak injury’ as the Nottingham Players squared off against the Sheffield Steelers on Saturday evening.

After an opponent’s skate cut his neck, Adam shuffled towards the sidelines only to collapse as his teammates formed a protective barrier.

During the chaos, his partner Ryan Wolfe ran from the stands and into the rink to ‘pray for him’, The Sun reported.

She has now posted a tribute to him on Instagram, sharing a black-and-white picture of Adam and writing: ‘My sweet sweet angel. I’ll miss you forever and love you always.’

The some 8,000 people packing Sheffield’s Utilita Arena to watch the Challenge Cup game were evacuated.

The former NHL star, originally from Minnesota in the US, died in the early hours of Sunday after he was taken to Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital.

To those who knew Johnson, he was not only an ‘outstanding ice hockey player’ but an ‘incredible person’ – and ‘half’ his mother’s heart.

Johnson’s mum Susan ‘Kari’ Johnson posted on Facebook: ‘I lost half of my heart today. Love you always, Munch.’

The Nottingham Panthers, a British professional ice hockey club and member of the Elite Ice Hockey League, added that the team is ‘truly devastated to announce that Adam Johnson has tragically passed away following a freak accident at the game in Sheffield last night’.

‘Adam, our number 47, was not only an outstanding ice hockey player but also a great teammate and an incredible person with his whole life ahead of him. The Club will dearly miss him and will never ever forget him,’ the statement shared on X said.

Tributes have piled up outside the Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham Panther’s base, from heartfelt messages and ‘ to bouquets of flowers.

A GoFundMe campaign started has raised nearly £5,000 in an attempt to fundraise for Johnson’s family, which has received more than 300 donations so far.

Laura Oates, who made the appeal, said: ‘Nottingham Panthers player Adam Johnson was accidentally injured in the neck by another player’s skate. Tragically Adam died from his injuries.

‘Let’s raise some money for his family to try and make their lives slightly easier.

‘Please share and give as much or as little as you can.’

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