Epidemiology of Injuries in National Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Ice Hockey: 2014-2015 Through 2018-2019

Context: The National Collegiate Athletic Association has supported men's ice hockey, a distinct sport that mandates high-velocity gamesmanship, since 1974. Background: Injury surveillance systems are designed to identify evolving injury trends and their temporal qualities. Continual monitoring of collegiate men's ice hockey athletes remains essential. Methods: Exposure and injury data collected in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program from 2014-2015 through 2018-2019 were analyzed. Injury counts, rates, and proportions were used to describe injury characteristics, and injury rate ratios (IRR) were used to examine differential injury rates. Results: The overall injury rate was 7.65 per 1000 athleteexposures. Injuries from competition occurred at a rate nearly 7 times that from practice injuries (IRR = 6.54, 95% CI = 6.08, 7.04). The most common specific injury diagnoses were concussions (9.6%), acromioclavicular sprains (7.3%), and medial collateral ligament tears (3.7%). Summary: Injury rates by event type and season segment were higher than previously reported. Contusions accounted for nearly a quarter of all injuries, and acromioclavicular sprain rates increased notably across the study period.