It was a clean body check - no more, no less.
But it could have been the hit that lost him his right leg.
Michigan right wing Sean Ritchlin is on a hot streak. The sophomore from Fairport, N.Y., has scored three goals in his last four games. He notched seven goals for the Wolverines in his freshman year, but he wasn't on the ice when Michigan won the NCAA title.
He remembers the reason and looks back to that one dreadful night.
Ritchlin was playing in a game between the Wolverines and Ohio State on Feb. 3 of this year at Yost Ice Arena.
He doesn't remember how the play developed, where on the ice he was hit, or who hit him. But, midway through the third period, Ritchlin was checked, and he headed to the bench, holding his right leg. He stayed on the bench for the remainder of the game, watching the Wolverines struggle in a disappointing 2-2 tie against Ohio State.
He took all the necessary measures after the game, thinking what he had was just a minor leg injury.
"I thought it was a charley horse at first," Ritchlin said. "I treated it. I went home, but things just got worse and worse. Things just got out of hand."
That's an understatement.
Ritchlin headed back to his room at West Quad following the game.
But his leg did not get better. As time passed, the swelling worsened. Ritchlin complained of the pain enough that his friends told him he better go to the hospital. At 2 a.m. the next morning, Ritchlin's parents rushed him to the University Medical Center. Ritchlin wasn't even thinking of going to the hospital. He still thought it was just a charley horse.
When doctors saw Ritchlin's leg, they knew it wasn't just a bad cramp. There was something awfully wrong.
Ritchlin's thigh was expanding like a balloon.
"The size of it was the size of both my thighs put together," Ritchlin said. "It was hard as a rock. You touched it, immediately, I felt pain."
Doctors moved Ritchlin into the intensive care unit and told his parents that he was suffering from compartment syndrome, a condition that is common to car accidents, not hockey. The malady entails severe internal bleeding that builds up enough pressure to require surgery.
Ritchlin underwent emergency surgery early on the morning of Feb. 4 to relieve the pressure in his right thigh. He needed two more surgical procedures later that week.
But the problem wasn't getting better. Ritchlin developed an infection in his right leg, and it kept getting worse. If the infection had continued, there was a severe option doctors had to consider - amputation.
Ritchlin's father only told his son that he could have lost his leg after Ritchlin had recovered. Fortunately for Ritchlin, the antibiotics kicked in and stopped the infection.
"Thank God, the antibiotics worked," he said.
Ritchlin doesn't remember that much when he was in the hospital, but he can't forget the pain. It even pains him to talk about it today.
"The pain was so, so unreal," Ritchlin said. "You can't imagine the pain I was in. It was ridiculous. Ugh, when I think about, I get so ..." he paused for a long time and cringed before continuing "... it was awful."
Ritchlin remained in the hospital for a month with his mother by his side. He spoke of how supportive his teammates were, especially Michigan forward Jason Botterill, who "didn't miss one day" of visiting Ritchlin in the hospital.
When Ritchlin entered the hospital, he weighed 200 pounds. When he left, the scale read 155. "Three and a half weeks of eating lots of Jello," he said. It took him a couple of weeks to get back his fluids, to eat normally, and to learn how to walk again.
He stayed in Ann Arbor all summer for therapy. He worked four hours a day with upper-and lower-body routines.
Michigan coach Red Berenson was thrilled with Ritchlin's rehabilitation, but he feels he is not yet in his groove. Berenson is expecting more from him.
"In terms of working hard and rehabbing the injury, he's done a great job," Berenson said. "Now, it's a matter of him getting the confidence that he can play well."
Ritchlin agrees. He understands that he must play better. With the last few games of point production, things are going in the right direction - considering Ritchlin didn't even know if he would be back for the beginning of this season. He was surprised at how quickly his leg healed. With his leg close to 100 percent, Ritchlin knows it's go time.
"I feel like now is the time," Ritchlin said "I have a feel for what is going on now. I know my leg is in good shape. Now it is time to pump some goals in." Much sweeter than the blood pumping in his leg this past February.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Sophomore right wing Sean Ritchlin raises the Great Lakes Invitational trophy above his head after the Wolverines won their eighth consecutive GLI championship. The moment was one of Ritchlin's last on the ice last season. He suffered from compartment syndrome in his right leg after a hit he took on Feb. 3 against Ohio State that forced him to miss the rest of the season. Ritchlin thought it was just a charley horse, but it turned out to be more serious.