Pohl out of intensive care; condition 'fair'

Brian Peterson, Star Tribune

Gophers hockey player Tom Pohl lay motionless in front of the Gopher bench after being elbowed by Mavericks' Jason Wiley on Sunday night.

By ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ, Star Tribune

Last update: March 18, 2008 - 4:38 PM

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Gophers' hockey player Tom Pohl has been moved out of intensive care unit at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester but his condition is still listed as fair.

Pohl was injured on Sunday night in the Gophers' 3-2, double overtime victory over Minnesota State Mankato in the deciding game of their first-round WCHA playoffs series.

He was elbowed in the head in front of the Gophers' bench, lost his helmet and then it appeared his unprotected face hit the dasher and then the ice.

After being removed from the ice on a stretcher, Pohl was airlifted from Mankato to Rochester and had emergency surgery. He had a skull fracture and bleeding on the brain.

St. Marys is part of the Mayo Clinic. A patient is in fair condition, according to the Mayo Clinic's definition, when "vital signs are stable and within normal limits. The patient is conscious. He or she is uncomfortable or may have minor complications. Favorable prognosis."

Pohl is a senior winger who usually plays on the Gophers' fourth line and kills penalties. He played in a career-high 34 games this season. Sunday's game would probably have been the Gophers' last game of the season if they had lost.

Instead, they are playing in the WCHA Final Five this week at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Gophers face St. Cloud State at 7:07 p.m. Thursday in the first game.

Members of Pohl's family, who are with him in Rochester, have declined media interviews.

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