A goaltender from the Twin Cities is one of three East Coast college hockey players who remain hospitalized Monday after breathing noxious fumes last week from a smoky Zamboni.

Joe Dawson, of Woodbury, and two Curry College teammates in Milton Hospital near Boston are still coping with "lung inflammation that is not going away as they had hoped," said Deb Dawson, the netminder's mother.

Dawson was one of nearly two dozen Curry players who fell ill from a suspected case of nitrous dioxide poisoning Thursday while in a Rhode Island rink for a Div. III game against host Johnson & Wales University.

Officials believe the poisoning was caused by fumes from the propane-fueled Zamboni revved up to prepare the ice for the game. Most rinks these days use electric-powered Zambonis.

"People were making comments about how much black smoke was coming from the Zamboni" as it was parked and left running near the Curry lockerroom before the game, Deb Dawson said.

On Friday morning, the Curry players began reporting to Milton Hospital complaining of dizziness, trouble breathing and coughing up blood. A hospital spokesman says tests showed exposure to nitrous dioxide. It doesn't appear that any Johnson & Wales players fell ill.

"The kids started to feel ill during the game, but they didn't know what the cause of it was," she said.

Despite feeling the effects while playing, Curry pulled off a 4-1 victory Thursday. Joe Dawson was in the net and made 10 saves. Curry's Saturday home game vs. Wentworth was called off because of the incident.

Joe Dawson's prognosis is "day by day," Deb Dawson said. "We are hoping he will get out of there [Monday]."

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482