LONDON, ONT. -- The quick action of the London Knights head physiotherapist may have saved the life of a 17-year-old goaltender.

"That's the first time I’ve had to apply a tourniquet to stop bleeding," says Doug Stacey.

During the second period of the Knights and IceDogs game Thursday, London's Hunter Skinner went crashing into the crease, slicing open the leg of Niagara goalie Tucker Tynan.

"There was a point where he could have died on the ice due to loss of blood," said Joey Burke, IceDogs general manager.

Stacey and Niagara’s athletic therapist Chris Trivieri rushed into action.

"Some of the biggest blood vessels in the body are in your leg and when you have that much damage to a vessel and that much blood loss, your body only carries eight litres," says Stacey.

"When you are losing a fair bit of blood, you could go into shock and then cardiac arrest, and that is more life threatening than the initial injury."

Stacey is widely considered one of the best hockey trainers in the country. He has a 15 year history of working with Hockey Canada and his experience and knowledge were on display during the chaotic incident.

"The biggest thing is just how calm it was," says Rob Simpson, Knights associate general manager.

"You could see experience in the staff. There was no ego and the point was just to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible and get him in ambulance. It was spectacular."

Stacey credits the Niagara staff and followed the orders he was given by Trivieri. He took the orders and everyone combined helped get Tynan, a Chicago native, into an ambulance in a timely fashion.

This is not the first time Stacey has rushed onto the ice to help a goaltender.

In 2014, he tended to Knights keeper Anthony Stolarz who suffered a cut on his leg.

"In the case Thursday, there was a major vessel lacerated," recalls Stacey. "In Stolarz's case it was purely the muscle, but the bleeding stopped quickly, because it was in an area where there wasn’t much to lose."

The surgery on Tynan was a success, and the goalie took to Twitter to thank everyone and inform the public that he's looking forward to the road to recovery.

Knights defenceman Hunter Skinner was mentally shaken up after being involved in the collision but is since progressing.

"He's doing well now that Tucker is doing well," added Simpson. "When you see the Tweet that he got through surgery, it set his mind at ease."

Thursday's game which was cancelled, is rescheduled for Feb. 4 St. Catharines.