A college hockey player is allergic to ice, this is a real thing

One would think an allergy to something like ice would have kept Quinnipiac goaltender Chris Truehl away from the sport of hockey.

Instead, Truehl has spent four years playing hockey with a condition called cold urticaria, where he is allergic to ice and extremely sensitive to cold temperatures, so much so that he gets cold hives.

In an interview with Quinnipiac University, Truehl described his condition and the lengths he has to go to protect himself.

“You’ll see me skating around a lot, stretching my legs, moving my arms,” Truehl said. “If I start to feel my body stiffen, or my skin begin to tighten and feel uncomfortable, I absolutely have to.”

The condition popped up in 2013 when Truehl, a former member of the United States Air Force, jumped into a cold bath after a practice. A year prior, Truehl was caught in a stretch of unexpected weather during an outdoor Air Force training exercise. Instead of warm Colorado days, Truehl picked up frostbite on nearly 40 percent of his body after five days in the rain and 40 degree weather.

Truehl had to leave the Air Force due to the incident, but continued to play hockey before transferring to Quinnipiac, where he is a member of the Bobcats’ three-goaltender rotation.

In 21 games played this year for Quinnipiac, Truehl has a .899 save percentage. Considering he gets hives if he doesn’t move about and protect himself from the cold, that’s not bad at all.