MINNEAPOLIS- Sophomore Vinni Lettieri left Sunday's game against Notre Dame in the second period after blocking a slap shot with his helmet.
The shot, which came while Minnesota was killing its second consecutive penalty, left Lettieri momentarily motionless on the ice. He was eventually able to skate off the ice with the help of his teammates. As expected when dealing with head injuries, he was not on the bench for the third period and won't return, per a Gophers spokesman.
Lettieri, who is pointless in 7 games this season, was already filling in for the injured Travis Boyd. Gopher head coach Don Lucia saw him as one of the players that he was looking to step up.
"(Lettieri's) going to be in a top-9 forward spot and we need guys like that to get more offensively for us," he said last weekend.
You can see the video above. We hope to provide an update to Lettieri's status after the game.
s/t @cjzero
UPDATE: Lucia said postgame that he will have more information on Lettieri's status after Monday's off day.