Clint Malarchuck
Brett Jones


Had his jugular cut with an opponent’s skate
back in 1989, before goalies were required
to wear neck guards to prevent such injuries.

The incident occurred on National television,
and Clint grabbed his own throat and skated
off the ice so his mother would not see him
die.

Clint skated toward the locker-room leaving
a trail of blood, spectators puking & seizing,
towards the team trainer, a Vietnam-Veteran
who took over holding his throat and plugged
his arteries.

Clint lost thirty-five percent of the blood
in his body that day, seconds from death,
pieced together by three-hundred stitches.

Nine years later, Clint shot himself
in the head with a twenty-two rifle
after drowning in trauma, alcoholism,
depression and obsessive-compulsive
disorder.

Despite the injury Clint again did not die, and
was released from the hospital six days later.
Now he coaches other goalies for a pro team,

goes home to a house with no guns or booze
kisses his wife on the cheek, rubs the scars
on his neck and chin, and gazes awake in bed
wondering why.

About the author:
Brett Jones studied Creative Writing at Fredonia State and currently lives in Rochester, New York. Recent work can be found in Blast Furnace, The Boiler Journal, Dark Matter, Gambling The Aisle, RPD Society, and forthcoming in Tribe Magazine.