Death of Brittanie Cecil Brittanie Nichole Cecil ( March 20 , 1988 – March 18 , 2002 ) was a hockey fan who died from injuries suffered when a puck was deflected into the stands and struck her in the left temple at Nationwide Arena in Columbus , Ohio , on March 16 , 2002 . It was the first fan fatality in the NHL ' s history . Personal life . A native of West Alexandria , Ohio , a small farming suburb of Dayton , Brittanie was an avid sports fan and soccer player , competing in a state tournament with her team , the Orange Crush , at eleven years old . Upon qualifying for the state tournament , mayor Carol Lunsford declared the day Orange Crush Day . Brittanie attended Twin Valley South Middle School as a cheerleader , student council member and an honor student . The incident . Brittanie had been watching the Columbus Blue Jackets play the Calgary Flames on March 16 , 2002 , on tickets received as an early gift from her father for her 14th birthday . A shot by the Blue Jackets ' Espen Knutsen was deflected by the Flames ' Derek Morris and went over the glass behind the net , striking her in the left temple . Play carried on as the players were unaware of having caused any serious injury . In fact , although Brittanie had suffered a skull fracture , she walked to a first - aid station before being taken to Columbus Children ' s Hospital in an ambulance with her only visible injury being a gash on her forehead . At the hospital , she suffered an initial seizure and was admitted , but the next day she appeared to be recovering , both communicative and ambulatory , and without complaints of pain or dizziness . A CT - scan , however , had failed to catch a torn vertebral artery , resulting in severe clotting and swelling of the brain . On March 18 , she developed a high fever and lost consciousness . She died nearly 48 hours after being struck , at 5 : 15 p . m . on March 18 , 2002 . Brittanie ' s funeral was held at Preble Memory Gardens Chapel near West Alexandria , after which a procession of more than 150 cars followed the hearse to Fairview Cemetery , where she was buried . Attending the funeral was Blue Jackets general manager Doug MacLean , who spoke on behalf of the team . Aftermath . The Thursday after the incident , a moment of silence was observed for Brittanie at the next Blue Jackets home game , played against the Detroit Red Wings . Her initials " BNC " were worn by the team ' s players on their helmets for the remainder of the season and the Brittanie Cecil Memorial Fund has since been created , which collects donations at every Blue Jackets home game . Knutsen and Morris , the two players who combined for the fatal slapshot , expressed remorse following Brittanie ' s death . Morris , who deflected the puck , explained , " You try to say , ' It happens all the time , ' but you can ' t . I don ' t know how many times pucks get deflected over the glass , but it doesn ' t make it any better . You can always say , ' It ' s not my fault , ' but you always feel like it is , a little . " Knutsen , who was given the option of sitting out the next game by Blue Jackets coach Dave King but chose to play , told reporters , " I think about it all the time . It was a terrible accident , and I cannot get it off my mind . " Brittanie ' s death was the first of its kind in the 85 - year history of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Consequently , the league implemented mandatory netting at either end of the rink in every stadium at the beginning of the next NHL season in 2002 – 03 to protect spectators from errant pucks . In April , 2004 , a little over two years after Brittanie ' s death , her parents received $ 1 . 2 million in a settlement with the NHL and other groups .