It has been revealed to YHH that the cause of death to Eastview Bantam AA Defenseman, Patrick Schoonover, was a defective heart. In an email to the team Saturday, Patrick's parents confirmed via the Brainerd Medical Examiner that Patrick's heart failed while playing. The fourteen year old young man collapsed on Friday in a game between his team and Wayzata in YHH's Battle for the Blue Ox held and hosted in Brainerd, Minnesota.
In a statement posted Sunday on the Eastview Hockey website, the Schoonover's reiterated that Patrick's death was due to a heart defect and not related to what happened during the game Friday, "...Patrick's death was due to a heart defect. More information will be forthcoming, but they wanted to clarify that this was not a hockey related injury."
Patrick is survived by his parents, Michael and Gayle, and three siblings, Abby, 18; Anna, 17, and Matthew, 11. His family lives in Eagan.
Our hearts and prayers go out to the entire Schoonover family.
