From Monday night's Elmira (NY) Star-Gazette: "Elmira College hockey player Mike McNamara, who suffered a serious head injury in Saturday's NCAA tournament game at Plattsburgh, was upgraded to serious but stable condition Sunday. McNamara, an Elmira College sophomore was hit head on at center ice by Plattsburgh State defenseman Steve Ashe 5:28 into the second period. He landed on his back and momentarily went into convulsions. Team trainers and medical personnel on hand rushed to the fallen player who became motionless. A crowd of 3,500 which had initially cheered the hard check, became silent as McNamara needed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the ice. He was carried off on a stretcher and taken directly to the hospital. A Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital spokeswoman said late Saturday that McNamara was being looked at by Plattsburgh neurosurgeon Soham Patel, who was not available for comment on Sunday. The results of a CAT scan performed Saturday were negative. Elmira College trainer John Oliphant said head injuries are rare in hockey. "Merritt Spear, the Plattsburgh team physician said he had never seen an injury like this and he has been involved with hockey for more than 20 years," Oliphant said. "The blow that did the damage was not the player hitting Mike, but Mike's head hitting the ice," Oliphant said. "Mike did not see the other player coming so he was not tensed up and when he got hit, his feet went up and his head came down on the ice very hard." Mike McNamara is a sophomore from Potsdam, New York, majoring in education. ----Excerpted from articles by Mark Houck and George Hawke of the Star-Gazette. Mark M. Cornell U.