--- title: "Arizona State hockey players dispute report on player’s collapse" description: "Lawmakers ask regents for an independent investigator into the Aug. 20 workout that left him hospitalized" author: "rews desk" published: 2026-09-29T22:30:47.455Z modified: 2026-09-30T02:15:57Z url: https://rews.cc/a/arizona-state-hockey-players-dispute-report-on-player-s-coll-97fc88 language: en tags: ["health", "sports", "nfl", "inquiry", "us"] publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)" --- # Arizona State hockey players dispute report on player’s collapse *Lawmakers ask regents for an independent investigator into the Aug. 20 workout that left him hospitalized* By rews desk · September 29, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/arizona-state-hockey-players-dispute-report-on-player-s-coll-97fc88 ## In brief - Seven ASU hockey players anonymously dispute university’s Sept 21 report on Mayich’s collapse - Letter alleges Matthew Mayich got no water; he remains in a coma over a month later - Arizona lawmakers ask Board of Regents chairman for an independent investigator, reply due Oct 9 - Maricopa County Attorney declines to open a separate probe, defers to ASU police inquiry - ASU hockey team’s season opener scheduled for Oct 2 with dispute unresolved Seven Arizona State University hockey players, writing anonymously through a lawyer, disputed the university’s official account of the Aug. 20 workout that left teammate Matthew Mayich hospitalized, in a letter sent to ASU President Michael Crow on Monday, according to [CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/matthew-mayich-arizona-teammates-letter-asu-president-9.7362628). The players said Mayich, a 21-year-old defenceman drafted by the St. Louis Blues, “received no water” during the outdoor session and called for the coaching staff to be placed on leave pending an independent investigation, more than a month after he collapsed and fell into a coma. The 26-page letter, delivered through lawyer Timothy J. Casey because the players said they feared retaliation, stated, according to [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/50054697/arizona-state-matthew-mayich-seven-hockey-players-dispute-school-review): > We are submitting this report anonymously because we fear retaliation from the coaching staff. The head coach and his assistant coaches were all on the field on August 20, all remain in their positions, and together they decide our playing time, scholarship levels, and roster status. No one has separated us from them since that morning. The letter disputes ASU’s Sept. 21 review by senior vice-president James Rund, which said a water break came about 20 minutes into the session and that coaches had not submitted the training plan to conditioning staff. The players said the only break came 35 to 45 minutes in, reaching just the first eight to finish a drill, with Mayich still exercising when it ended. They said there was no cold-water immersion tub, ice or stretcher on-site, and that a trainer sat him upright twice after he collapsed, contrary to medical guidance, according to ESPN. The players said the outside instructor who led the session, retired Green Beret Timothy Ziesel, made players who finished drills late do extra exercise, and told those who reached the water that he “did not get water in combat.” They said head coach Greg Powers afterward called Mayich’s collapse “just a little heat stroke” he had “seen ... a million times” and told players to leave the hospital to avoid drawing attention. The next day, Powers said he had “good news” about Mayich and held practice as scheduled, the letter said. Mayich’s parents, John and Christina, thanked the players in a statement released Tuesday by family lawyer Rob Carey. > We’re so grateful to Matthew’s teammates. A lot of you have come by, sent messages and kept Matthew in your thoughts every day. It means more to us than we can say. The parents said the coaches who ran the workout “need to be removed while an independent investigation gets to the truth,” and that “the players shouldn’t have to worry about retaliation from the people they report to every day.” The letter asks ASU to guarantee no player will lose a scholarship, roster spot or playing time for taking part. No staff member had been named, suspended or disciplined over the workout as of Tuesday, the letter said. ASU spokesman Chris Fiscus told CBC News the university would respond; it had not done so by publication, and its [statement on the case](https://newsroom.asu.edu/statements/hockey) says it has interviewed 20 people so far. Arizona’s House and Senate education committee chairs, Republicans Matt Gress and Hildy Angius, wrote separately to Arizona Board of Regents chairman Doug Goodyear on Monday asking him to retain an investigator with no ties to ASU, with a response requested by Oct. 9, ahead of the regents’ Oct. 1 meeting, according to [Front Office Sports](https://frontofficesports.com/article/arizona-lawmakers-join-asu-hockey-players-in-call-for-outside-investigation/). Angius said the conflicting accounts “deserve a thorough, independent investigation by someone who answers to the Board of Regents.” Gress said whoever is found responsible “needs to be terminated from the university—that goes without question.” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said separately she would not open a competing inquiry for now, telling the family’s lawyer it was not “wise to be conducting a separate investigation simultaneously,” according to [KJZZ](https://www.kjzz.org/politics/2026-09-29/county-attorney-mitchell-wont-open-new-investigation-into-asu-hockey-players-hospitalization). Her office remains in contact with ASU police, who are investigating the collapse. Mayich, from Hamilton, Ontario, was picked by the St. Louis Blues in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL draft and transferred to ASU this year from Clarkson University. Blues president of hockey operations Doug Armstrong said in a statement in late August that “the entire Blues organization is keeping Matthew Mayich close to our hearts as we pray for his comfort and recovery.” ASU’s hockey team was scheduled to open its season Oct. 2, according to ESPN. ## See also - [Doug Goodyear, Arizona Board of Regents chairman](https://www.azregents.edu/node/728) — azregents.edu · Background on the regents' chairman lawmakers asked to order a probe - [Arizona legislators join calls for investigation into workout](https://www.kjzz.org/politics/2026-09-29/arizona-legislators-join-calls-for-investigation-into-workout-that-left-asu-athlete-hospitalized) — kjzz.org · Fuller account of the lawmakers' letter and the regents' planned reply - [Matthew Mayich, ASU ice hockey roster](https://thesundevils.com/sports/ice-hockey/roster/player/matthew-mayich) — thesundevils.com · University athletics profile listing Mayich on the 2026-27 roster