Thirty years ago Thursday Fond du lac High School sophomore Jeff Merrill died playing the sport he loved. Merrill was a star on the Goodrich High School hockey team when he was struck in the chest with a hockey puck in a freak accident on the ice. Teammate Kent Ellingson remembers everything happened so fast. “He (Jeff) got knocked down and as he was going down another player took a shot that hit him in the chest. His arms were kind of up so it hit a spot where he didn’t have any pads. It stopped his heart and they couldn’t revive him,” Ellingson told WFDL news. It happened in the first period. The game was cancelled. Merrill died that evening at the hospital. Ellingson says not a day goes by that he doesn’t think about it. “My oldest son, I gave him Jeff’s name as a middle name, and I tell my kids about it,” Ellingson said. “…just remember how quickly things can change. If you’re on the ice or on the field give it your all every time because you never know what’s going to happen.” This Saturday the Fondy Cardinal hockey team will be hosting JM 21 Night in rememberance of Merrill. Merrill’s teammates from the 1988-89 team, along with the Merrill family will be honored before the game, along with a 21 second moment of silence and ceremonial face off.
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