DENVER (CP-AP) - Colorado Avalanche rookie Steve Moore has no memory of being attacked by Todd Bertuzzi and says he could only stomach watching it a few times on tape.
``I have seen the video of it, not many times,'' he told a news conference Monday at the Pepsi Center. ``The couple of times I saw was enough.''
Wearing a neck brace and with a welt still visible below his right eye, Moore made his first public comments since being injured during a March 8 game in Vancouver.
He said he does not remember being injured, with a blank spot of about 15 to 20 minutes on each side of the incident.
``I have no memory of that,'' he said.
``My first memory actually is well after I had been taken off the ice, in the medical room at GM Place,'' he added. ``I can't explain how scary it is to kind of wake up to a nightmare.
``I'm playing a game, the next thing I know I'm lying in a room with medical personnel standing over me. I have a neck brace on and I'm having my equipment cut off of me and I'm strapped down, and I really had no idea what was going on. It's pretty scary.''
Moore, who said he has not spoken to Bertuzzi since, steered away from assigning blame. Instead he made a point of thanking people everywhere for their support, specifically singling out the people of Vancouver and Denver.
But he did say: ``That kind of stuff doesn't have any place in the game. That's all I want to say about that.''
Moore attended the Avalanche's game against the Chicago Blackhawks later on Monday. He waved to the crowd from one of the luxury boxes in the first period after he was welcomed back by the public address announcer. The fans gave him a standing ovation that lasted more than a minute and players from both teams tapped their sticks on the ice.
Canucks' president and GM Brian Burke released a statement after viewing Moore's press conference, but said the organization will not comment further until after the playoffs.
``On behalf of the entire Canucks organization, I'd like to wish Steve a quick and full recovery,'' Burke. ``I was pleased to see him looking better today and we hope to hear good things about his status in the near future.''
Moore was released from hospital on March 22, two weeks after he was punched from behind by Bertuzzi.
``As I sit here today, I don't know whether I'll be able to play again,'' he said. ``But I remain optimistic. I'm more just fortunate to be alive and to take one day at a time.''
``I've come a long way,'' he added. ``Hopefully one day I'll be able to play again.''
It's believed Bertuzzi went after Moore for a Feb. 16 hit that sidelined Vancouver captain Markus Naslund for three games. There was no penalty on the Naslund hit.
Bertuzzi sucker-punched Moore from behind, driving his head into the ice as both players fell forward.
Moore, 25, ended up in the hospital with three fractured vertebrae - two to cervical vertebrae and a fracture of the transverse process in a thoracic vertebra - facial cuts, significant post-concussion symptoms and ``significant amnesia.''
Nerves in the neck area were also stretched by the blow.
At the time of his release from hospital, team doctors said it was not known when - or if - he could play hockey again.
Bertuzzi, 29, was suspended for the rest of the regular season - 13 games in all - and for the playoffs. He will have to meet with the league before being reinstated next season.
Going into Monday night's game against Phoenix, Vancouver was 3-4-2 since the Bertuzzi incident.
The Canucks power forward has since spent time at GM Place in Vancouver but hasn't spoken with reporters since a tearful apology the night before his punishment was announced in Toronto by the league.
``Steve, I just want to apologize for what happened out there,'' said Bertuzzi. ``I had no intention of hurting you. I feel awful for what transpired.''
``I don't play the game that way,'' he added. ``I'm not a mean-spirited person. I'm sorry for what happened.''
Bertuzzi will forfeit some $500,000 US in salary.