Posted by By Bradley Massman February 21, 2026 on Mar 7th 2026

A hockey player died after heart attack at ice rink. Teammates brought him back to life.

It’s been a little tough for Jerry Jaiven to watch his teammates play hockey out on the ice rink.

At 74, Jaiven admits his legs aren’t what they used to be, but he knows it’s not his time to hang up the skates.

“I want to be out there – I feel OK,” Jaiven said. “I feel no different than I did before this all happened.”

The ice rink has become Jaiven’s social network that’s made up of a group of like-minded guys who enjoy hockey. It’s also the spot where Jaiven’s life nearly ended.

Jaiven was still in full gear, sitting in the locker room after a league game at Griff’s IceHouse West when he started to experience a shortness of breath. His teammates noticed Jaiven had a funny look to him.

Seconds later, Jaiven suffered a heart attack. He was effectively dead.

What happened in the minutes after Jaiven collapsed became a story of being in the right place at the right time surrounded by the right people. He knows if he wasn’t at the ice rink, the outcome could’ve been different.

Inside the arena, Jaiven shared his story with MLive/The Grand Rapids Press one month after his heart attack. Others have described to Jaiven what happened that night. There are moments he doesn’t remember.

Jaiven got teary-eyed during the interview at times but boasted high spirits.

He was grateful to be alive.

“All the cards aligned to save my life with no damage to me,” Jaiven said. “Timing and luck had a lot to do with it.”

Quick-thinking from two teammates along with a pair of doctors – who also play in the league – became the recipe for saving Jaiven’s life.

MLive spoke with some of those key people who shared different perspectives of what unfolded that evening.

All were ecstatic about the outcome.

‘He was pulseless, not breathing’

Hockey is built into Jaiven’s DNA. He routinely watches the Detroit Red Wings and attends at least a dozen Grand Rapids Griffins games each season.

Jaiven has been playing the sport for about 50 years, spending most of his career as a defenseman. But he doesn’t have any background in organized hockey.

“It’s always been beer league my entire life,” he said with a laugh. “And it shows.”

About 15 years ago, Jaiven joined the Men Over The Hill and Elderly Rink Rats league at Griff’s IceHouse West in Holland. He typically plays three times a week in three different age divisions.

Though he’s known for his skills on defense, Jaiven has transitioned to play forward in recent years. He pushes himself for 60 to 90 seconds, grabs a swig of water and he’s back out there doing it again.

Jaiven’s life – and outlook on it – changed the night of Jan. 14.

That Wednesday evening, Jaiven had stepped off the ice after wrapping up his first game. He volunteered to sub in for a second game later that night, so he went to the locker room for a break.

Most of Jaiven’s teammates showered and left the arena, but there were still some guys who stuck around.

Jaiven was talking with teammates Christopher Wysong and Rob Otis when Jaiven started to experience a shortness of breath. Amid a conversation, Wysong and Otis recognized something was wrong.

In that moment, Jaiven began to slump over.

Wysong and Otis began yelling Jaiven’s name. No response.

They lowered Jaiven to the ground and removed his jersey, shoulder and elbow pads. Everything was happening so fast.

“I wasn’t sure what was going on,” Wysong said. “That’s when I yelled, ‘Go find the docs!’”

Wysong, who had his skates off, vividly remembers his run to the lobby – nearly plowing one person out of the way – to get help.

Anthony Yasick and Kevin Matrosic, a pair of anesthesiologists at Holland Hospital, happened to be socializing in the lobby after their league game. They noticed something was wrong and rushed to the locker room.

“He was pulseless, not breathing, when we got in there” Yasick said.

Yasick and Matrosic started to administer CPR on Jaiven. While that was happening, Wysong grabbed an AED from the lobby and rushed it back to the locker room.

By then, an ambulance was less than five minutes away.

The doctors hooked the AED up to Jaiven and shocked him three times.

“They brought him back,’” Wysong said. “I thought, ‘God’s not done with Jerry yet.’”

An ambulance arrived shortly after. Lying on a gurney, Jaiven flashed a thumbs up on his way out of the locker room, Wysong said.

Jaiven was rushed to Holland Hospital where doctors performed emergency surgery, putting three stents in place.

Doctors told Jaiven he had a blockage on his right side that caused his heart to fail. Jaiven spent three days in the intensive care unit before he was released.

‘I hope to be back out there’

A heart attack couldn’t keep Jaiven down long.

He’s returned to the ice rink as a spectator in the weeks after the near-death experience. Jaiven has started doing cardiac rehab and is determined to be back playing by summertime.

Sitting inside the arena, Jaiven expressed his gratitude to those who helped save his life.

“Because they started within a minute, both the CPR and AED, I’ve made pretty much a full recovery,” he said.

Jaiven’s story comes with a happy ending as well as a learning lesson for others.

Those involved in the life-saving efforts encourage everyone to learn CPR and how to work an AED.

“It’s a reality check that I have to go through because it seems a little surreal that it happened, to me of all people, but it happened,” Jaiven said. “But without those guys, I wouldn’t be here today.

“I hope to be back skating soon for drop-in and then out there playing for the summer league.”