Matt Christensen, the high scoring first-line center of the University of Minnesota-Duluth hockey team, is expected to be released from a Duluth hospital this weekend after a nearly two-week stay.

Christensen, the Bulldogs' third-leading scorer this season (16 goals and 41 assists in 33 games), was just four points shy of UMD's all-time scoring mark when he suffered a stroke on Sunday, February 9 after participating in a charity bowling tournament and playing a game of "boot hockey."

The senior center was taken to St. Luke's Hospital after the first stroke and appeared to be returning to normal. He was listed in satisfactory condition.

But Christensen suffered a second stroke Monday night and was rushed to the intensive care unit where he was down-graded to critical.

Since then, his condition has slowly but steadily improved. Christensen's speech and movement on the right side of his body are impaired. Both problems will be treated with therapy.

Christensen, drafted by the NHL St. Louis Blues, will miss the rest of this season, and his future as a professional--which once looked very bright--is now in grave doubt.

Meanwhile, his loss has come as a shock to the Bulldog squad. He can now only watch on a television set from his hospital bed.

Two weeks ago, UMD was 24-7-1 and the second-ranked squad in the nation. But the emotional strain on the team, to say nothing of the physical loss of the center of the highest scoring line in college hockey (along with wings Skeeter Moore and Brett Hull) have taken their toll.

The Bulldogs are now 25-10-1 after being swept by Minnesota last weekend and have fallen to seventh and eighth in the latest national polls.

Minnesota-Duluth defeated Harvard in the national quarterfinals in Duluth last March, 4-2, 4-2, on its way to the Final Four. There, the Bulldogs finished in third place, losing to Providence College in the national semifinals but going on to defeat Boston College in the consolation game.

The Bulldogs seemed certain to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament again this year before their recent dip. UMD likely will still receive a bid, but the loss of Christensen, with his 219 career points (in 168 games), is a severe blow to the team's chances.

Teammate

"They don't consider the loss so much as a teammate but as a friend," UMD Sports Information Director Bob Nygard reported on the mood of the Bulldogs' players and coaches. "The hockey thing is one thing--but as a human being it's totally different.

"Matt as a human being--that's what we're all worried about," Nygard continued.

Doctors have diagnosed Christensen's problem, which they describe as completely unrelated to his involvement in sports, as caused by blood clotting due to an abnormal artery running to the left hemisphere of his brain.

Once released from the hospital, Christensen will take anti-coagulent medication to fight further blood clotting and undergo physical therapy to rehabilitate the impared right side of his body.