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According to the Star Trib...<br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.startribune.com/462/story/15 ... ml">Errant puck leaves father in 'bad shape'</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="font-size:x-small;"><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Dennin Bauers loved hockey so much that he rose every morning before his shift as a police officer in Duluth to make sure that the ice at a local rink was fresh and frozen.And when he got off work, he coached his two sons into the late hours of the evening, only to do it all over again the next morning.<br><br>But on Saturday, a hard and unusual hit from a hockey puck during a father-son game left Dennin Bauers, 52, fighting for his life at a Duluth hospital.<br><br>Bauers, a well-known youth hockey coach, was critically injured when the puck struck him behind the left ear.<br><br>"He's in bad, bad shape," said Duluth police Chief Roger Waller, Bauers' friend.<br><br>Bauers, who was wearing a helmet, collapsed and was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth.<br><br>He was in the intensive care unit on Saturday night.<br><br>The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.<br><br>Scott Lyons, former Duluth police chief, said more than 75 of Bauers' friends and relatives have been at the hospital.<br><br>He said his high school friend and former colleague suffered life-threatening injuries.<br><br>"It was pretty somber," Lyons said. "He was a great guy."<br><br>Bauers, a Duluth native, has been extensively involved in local youth and adult hockey leagues.<br><br>He served as an assistant at Duluth Central High School, where his son plays hockey. <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--></span><!--EZCODE FONT END--> <p></p><i></i>

I did not hear about this and I am not sure I understand why Lyons said he WAS a great guy. It doesn't sound like he died, but are the injuries irreversible? My goodness, these things always put the game into perspective. Good luck to him and his family and we will pray for both. <p></p><i></i>

wild77, the usage of past tense jumped out at me too and left me slightly puzzled.<br><br>Thoughts and prayers go out to Dennin and his family tonight, hoping for the best. <br><br>Lee <p>____________<br>Message Board arsonist since 2005</p><i></i>

<br><br>I have heard that he is on life support as he is an organ donor <p></p><i></i>

thats very terrible, you know it could happen but youd never think to you. that name sounds familiar though, what team was he the coach of, squirts? <p></p><i></i>

I just watched the story on WDIO and seeing his picture, I realized that I was standing next to him talking and watching his son play when Central faced off against Moose Lake five weeks ago. I remember coming away from the chat thinking what a nice man he was. This is beyond sad.<br><br>Lee <p>____________<br>Message Board arsonist since 2005</p><i></i>

This is a sad story, and my thoughts and prayers go out to him, his family and his extended hockey family in Duluth. <p>________________________________<br>Academy of Holy Angels<br>2005 GIRLS STATE CHAMPS!<br>2002 & 2005 BOYS STATE CHAMPS!!<br>GO STARS!!</p><i></i>

What an unspeakable tragedy. I hope things work out the best they can for him. <p></p><i></i>

This was posted on the star-tribune, just after midnight:<br><br>Very sad. Thoughts and prayers to the family and the Duluth community.<br><br><br>A tear ran down Dave Ling's cheek as he said it: Somewhere out there is a lucky person who will soon get to see the world through Dennin Bauers' eyes.<br>Organ-donation and funeral preparations were underway Sunday in Duluth for Bauers, 52, a gregarious and popular ex-cop and volunteer youth athletics coach who was considered brain dead after being hit by a hockey puck Saturday during an annual father-son game.<br><br>Officially, Bauers' condition remained critical Sunday. But family members and friends who stood vigil in a St. Luke's Hospital waiting room said that tests showed that his brain functions had ceased.<br><br>They said the fatal brain damage was caused by blood loss from an artery that was ruptured by the blow to his neck, just below his helmet.<br><br>Family members said he would be removed from life-support machines as soon as recipients were located for his organs and they were removed, expected to take a day or two.<br><br>The accident happened Saturday morning during a game at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center between about 20 high school hockey players -- most from Duluth Central High School -- and their fathers.<br><br>Bauers was there with his sons, Dean, 17, a player for Central, and Bryan, 14, a Bantam A player for the Duluth Lakers.<br><br>Duluth Central's head hockey coach, Christian Koelling, said that Bauers, who was lean, physically fit and still was playing hockey regularly in leagues, was near the fathers' team's goal when he was struck by a puck shot toward the goal from the blue line area by one of the students. "It wasn't even a slapshot," Koelling said. "It was just kind of a fluttering puck that was picked up."<br><br>Bauers said something like, "That hurt," and asked whether he was bleeding before collapsing, unconscious, Koelling said. He almost immediately stopped breathing, and other adults gave him CPR until an ambulance arrived a few minutes later.<br><br>Blood filled the area around Bauer's brain stem, which governs the lungs and the heart, said former Police Chief Scott Lyons, a longtime friend. Doctors tried to drain it, Lyons said, but the treatment didn't work.<br><br>"Over and over, I've been wondering how this could have been prevented," said Koelling, who joined the vigil at the hospital, along with Lyons, Police Chief Roger Waller, Ling and scores of others. "I guess it raises the question of how helmets are made. If they're not protecting all the vital areas, that's something that should be looked at."<br><br>Koelling said grief counseling will be made available to the student players today.<br><br>Bauers' wife, Anne Peterson Bauers, the chief of police at the University of Minnesota Duluth, called what happened "a freakish accident." But she said that if Bauers could have known his time was up, he might have chosen to go exactly this way, doing something he loved with the sons he adored.<br><br>The news that Bauers wasn't expected to live spread rapidly through Duluth's law enforcement and amateur athletics communities.<br><br>Ling, who had known Bauers since junior high, said it was just like his friend to be an organ donor, giving generously of himself in death, as he had always done in life. "He loved an awful lot of people, and an awful lot of people loved him," Ling said.<br><br>Lyons, who worked with Bauers in the department's Special Investigations Unit -- which Bauers eventually ran -- said Bauers was a fearless cop who spent a lot of his career building cases against drug dealers, including stints undercover. "On major busts, he always wanted to be one of the first guys through the door," Lyons said. "He took the attitude that, 'This is my city, and they're not taking it over.' "<br><br>While Bauers normally went for cheap beer, he'd always bring a bottle of expensive Courvoisier cognac to New Year's Eve gatherings, for himself, friends said. So Saturday night, the friends who normally spent those New Year's Eves with him gathered in Bauers' hospital room.<br><br>As midnight approached, they poured glasses of Courvoisier, and in the first seconds of 2006, toasted their friend, and the good heart that will soon go out to some lucky person, as it always has. <p></p><i></i>

To the Bauers Family:<br><br>May God bless you and watch over you during this difficult time! From my family to yours, our sympathy’s and regrets to you.<br><br>Regards,<br>mnhockey39<br> <p></p><i></i>

<!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:blue;font-family:verdana;font-size:large;">Do not fear,<br>for I am with you;<br>do not be dismayed,<br>for I am your God.</span><!--EZCODE FONT END--><br><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:orange;font-family:comic sans ms;font-size:x-small;">Isaiah 41:10</span><!--EZCODE FONT END--><br><br>may your soul be in <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/">he ... <!--EZCODE LINK END-->.<br><br>bb <p></p><i></i>

Our family's hearts go out to all of you at this difficult time. <br><br>To the boys, your Dad's memory will live on not only in others who's organs they receive but in the hearts and minds of many who knew him. We know you are proud of him and will miss him very much. He will be smiling on you as you continue a sport you all loved. <br> <br>To Mrs. Bauers we are so very sorry for your loss and pray for the support you need in such a difficult time and the many times ahead which you may need others for support. <br><br>To the Duluth hockey community, you will feel the loss of a great friend, former coach and all around great guy. Be there for his family when they need to talk and need to remember him on their road to healing. Sometimes it seems like nothing one can say feels like enough but remember just listening is sometimes the most important gesture of support.<br><br>A puck from the Metro <p></p><i></i>

Just a very sad story indeed which pretty much tells us all how fragile life really is. Prayers and thoughts go out to a young family who lost a great dad and coach. <p></p><i></i>

my thoughts and prayers are with the family. good luck and god bless. <p>2A</p><i></i>

Just think how the individual who shot the puck must feel. <p></p><i></i>

MY HEART AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO YOUR FAMILY.<br><br> He will still PLAY with his SONS , In there HOCKEY HEARTS.<br><br> SONS, go out and PLAY HARD in HONOR of your DAD. <p></p><i></i>

Deepest sympathies to his wife and children. <br><br>Sounds like a man that will be long remembered and an inspiration to many. <p></p><i></i>

My sympathy goes out to his wife and children. I am sure he will be watching over his boys' hockey games. <p></p><i></i>

My Condolences also go out to the Bauers Family. I was very lucky to become a friend of Dennin. He was a very gentle person with a heart that was big enough for everyone. This is a great loss to the hockey programs. Dennin we'll miss you for all you've done and taught in life. The Bauers family is a strong close family and need the support from eveyone during this time. Once again my Condolences to the Bauers Family.. <p></p><i></i>

"When they arrive at the gates of death, God welcomes those who love Him" Psalm 116:15 The Message<br>With Sympathy <p></p><i></i>

I hope everyone's thoughts and Prayers are with the Bauer family. I somewhat know Dean from sports. I have played against him a lot. I am very sorry to hear this. <p><br><br>_________________<br><br>BOB</p><i></i>