The captain of the Ayr Centennials junior hockey team died on Tuesday night, the team announced on Wednesday morning.
“The Ayr Centennials are devastated to announce that our captain Eli Palfreyman passed away last night,” Brian Shantz, the vice-president of the Centennials, said in a statement.
“We are asking for your prayers and support for Eli’s family and each of our players. Our Centennials organization and the community of Ayr are in mourning.”
He says the team has reached out to medical staff and grief professionals to support members of the organization and credited the response from Waterloo paramedics.
“Eli had the best of care from our medical staff and quick response from the ambulatory staff,” Shantz wrote.
“Medical doctors will have more answers for us in the coming days. Out of respect for the family’s right for privacy we will not speculate on anything at this very difficult time. Cen’s nation also needs time to heal during this devastating time.”
Palfreyman was named captain of the team just five days before his death. The Cambridge native had served as assistant captain the prior season.
The township of North Dumfries said Palfreyman died during the game and that flags will be flown at half-mast.
“Last evening at the North Dumfries Community Complex, during a game at the Ayr Mutual Global Invitational tournament, the @AyrCentennials suffered the tragic loss of one of their players,” the township wrote.
“The flags at the North Dumfries Community Complex have been lowered to half mast.”
The Centennials were scheduled to play the Boston Jr. Bruins at 7 p.m. at the North Dumfries Community Complex, according to the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s website.
The contest was a part of the Ayr Farmers Mutual Global Invitational Tournament.
The final round of games that were to take place on Wednesday have been cancelled by tournament organizers.
“The GOJHL has postponed all exhibition games for today and tomorrow,” the league wrote in a Twitter post.
“The decision comes as a result of a medical incident that occurred yesterday at the North Dumfries Community Centre. We will provide more information at a later date.”
Editor’s note: This story intially said Palfreyman was 19 years old but he was actually 20 years old. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.