Americans defenceman Terrell Goldsmith alert in hospital after fight

Tri-City Americans defenceman Terrell Goldsmith is alert and responsive in hospital after he suffered a scary injury during a fight, resulting in the postponement of a WHL game on Tuesday.

The team released an update on Goldsmith’s condition an hour after the Americans’ game against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds was called off in Kennewick, Wash.

The injury occurred at 1:05 of the second period after Goldsmith fell face first on the ice during a fight with Seattle defenceman Ashton Cumby.

In video posted on X, an Americans training staff member is seen running onto the ice after Goldsmith goes down. A Thunderbirds training staff member followed seconds later before an ambulance took Goldsmith to hospital.

On the local broadcast of the game, the commentator said Goldsmith was unconscious seconds after falling. The Thunderbirds said the game was paused for 10 minutes after the injury before the Americans announced the postponement.

The Americans said the game would be rescheduled at a later date.

Seattle led 2-0 at the time of the fight, which resulted in major penalties and game misconducts for both players.

Game misconducts for both players are automatic following ‘staged fights’ — defined as a fight after a faceoff, like Tuesday’s, in the WHL rule book.

The 19-year-old Goldsmith, a native of Fort St. James, B.C., is in his fifth season in the WHL and first with the Americans after playing his first four years with the Prince Albert Raiders. He was traded to the Americans last summer.

The Arizona Coyotes (now Utah Hockey Club) selected Goldsmith in the fourth round (102nd overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft.

Utah signed Goldsmith to a three-year, entry-level contract last October.

The Raiders picked Goldsmith 15th overall in the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft.