During the Winter Classic festivities, the Boston Pride played against Les Montreal Canadiennes in the first ever CWHL vs NWHL game, and the first Women's Outdoor Classic. It was a fun game for the select few that actually got to watch. Unfortunately, at the end of the first half, Denna Laing went hard into the boards and had to be stretchered off and sent to the hospital.

Denna Laing's family would like to keep any further details of the injury private. We do know that they need some help with medical expenses and such, and a GoFundMe has been set up by a family friend to that end. From the page:

On December 31st, 2015 Denna Laing, a forward for the Boston Pride of the NWHL, was injured during the Women’s Outdoor Winter Classic held at the Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA. Currently, Denna is being treated at Massachusetts General Hospital for the injuries she sustained during the game.

Denna grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts, a few miles north of the hockey hub of Boston, where her love and passion for the game of hockey started and flourished. Her career began like most hockey players career’s do when her father taught her how to skate during open ice at the local rink and her mother drove her to all of her early morning club hockey games across New England.

Growing up, Denna and her two sisters played for Assabet Valley Girls Hockey where her father, Dennis Laing, lead teams to numerous state and national championships. Denna attended the Noble and Greenough school, where she excelled in three varsity sports: field hockey, hockey, and lacrosse before she went on to Princeton University. She had an impressive collegiate career all while being a two year captain for Princeton Women’s Ice Hockey. Post-college, Denna played for the Boston Blades before joining the Boston Pride in the newly formed National Women’s Hockey League for the 2015-2016 season.

Those who’ve been blessed with the opportunity to get to know Denna, know that she is one of the most caring, hard-working, and selfless people on this planet. She always has and will continue to confront adversity with relentless grit that is unparalleled. Our hope is that, in this time where we know Denna would be the one stepping up for you, you find the little piece of Denna in your heart, to help her and her family through this recovery process.

The money donated to this fund will be allocated to Denna and her family to use towards funding her medical expenses, along with any other expenses that we can help her family with during this hard time. A donation of any size is greatly appreciated.

This fund has been suspended for now, will update when/if we get more information.

Here's the update from the campaign page:

At the request of the family this fund is going to be discontinued temporarily. There will be other trust funds set up to support Denna. There will be more information available soon. Thank you for all the support so far.

This has been shared by many people that know Denna Laing personally, and other more connected people have confirmed it, so I believe it to be legitimate. I would not share it if I wasn't sure. This does make this part of the Patrick Burke interview that Jen Neale did for Puck Daddy slightly more interesting, however:

BURKE: There were major HR-related red tape involved in getting teams insurance coverage, getting teams contracts signed, everything like that. So when people say this was clearly planned months ago, I think it was Christmas Day, it might have been, when two teams were finalized. Contracts signed. Deals done. Fully cleared that they could play.

This makes me wonder what sort of insurance coverage the teams actually had for that game. If Denna needs extra help, how much did insurance cover? We are looking into that and will let you know if we find out more.

Again, the family has requested privacy for details of the injury, and we plan to respect that. I don't know anything beyond what has already been said here. Please give to help out this local hockey player in need.

We wish you all the best, Denna.