Avalanche star breaks neck and plays on; sidelined for rest of season

In a shocking display of toughness and resilience, Colorado Avalanche forward Andrew Cogliano suffered a fractured neck during the second period of Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Wild and returned to the ice for the third period. Cogliano was hit by Wild defenseman Matt Dumba along the boards and fell awkwardly to the ice, clutching his neck. He was helped off the ice by the team’s medical staff and taken to the locker room. Remarkably, he came back for the final 20 minutes of the game and even recorded an assist on Gabriel Landeskog’s goal that gave the Avalanche a 4-3 lead. However, after the game, which the Avalanche won 5-4 in overtime, the team announced that Cogliano had suffered a fracture in his cervical spine and would be out indefinitely. The team did not provide any further details on his condition or recovery timeline. Cogliano, 34, is a veteran of 15 NHL seasons and has played in 1,038 career games. He is known for his durability and ironman streak of 830 consecuti