Referee Chris Rooney suffered a serious cut on his face when he was hit by an errant stick during Game 7 of the Florida Panthers-Toronto Maple Leafs series on Sunday night. Rooney was in the corner when he was hit in the face by Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola's stick as he moved the puck along the boards early in the second period.
Rooney immediately covered his face and went to the ice. He was attended to by the medical team before he was able to skate off the ice on his own holding a towel over the cut. Once the blood was cleaned off the ice and backup referee Garrett Rank came out of the dressing room to replace Rooney, the game continued.
