A hard but clean hit has left Chilliwack Bruins forward Ryan Howse reeling from concussion like symptoms that will keep him out a minimum of seven days, and quite possibly a lot longer.

In the final minute of Friday night’s road game in Prince George, a 4-1 loss, Howse was caught with his head down in the neutral zone, absorbing a hard but clean hit by Cougars defenceman Colin Scherger.

The 17-year-old dropped to the ice with a thud and lay there for several minutes. Chilliwack trainer Matt Auerbach scrambled onto the ice as fast as possible, and Howse was helped off the ice by two Bruins teammates.

“To be honest, I don’t remember much about the hit, or there being blood on the ice,” Howse told the Prince George Citizen. “I remember being hit, then sitting in the hospital later than night. I’m sore in the ribs and I’ve been sick a lot. They checked my neck and ribs and everything was fine. It’s just one of the things that’s going to happen in hockey, and it’s too bad it was me.”

Howse, a Prince George native, didn’t board the team bus for the trip home, opting instead to stay at his parents’ home where mom Roxanne will take care of him.

He will undergo more tests and if he can show some improvement, he will be able to fly south to rejoin the Bruins.

As for a return to the ice, he optimistically says seven days, but realistically he’ll likely be out a lot longer than that.

He has to go one week symptom free, with no nausea or dizziness before he’ll be cleared to return to the ice.

So it’s bad news on several fronts for Howse and the Bruins. For Howse, who is eligible for next June’s National Hockey League entry draft, the injury and any possible missed time, are going to hurt his standing as a prospect, and any missed time is going to slow his development.

For the Bruins, the loss of Howse leaves a gaping hole in their top six, where he’d collected two goals and one assist in five games. So is Bruins general manager Darrell May hastily assembling a gift basket to send to the Los Angeles Kings to try to ensure the safe return of Oscar Moller?

“They can keep him for the entire season if they wish, but after nine games they have to pay him full salary for the year and it counts as one year towards his free agency,” May said. “They haven’t returned my call yet, but we’re still optimistic about him coming back.”

The top-six solution may have to come internally from the likes of Matt Meropoulis or David Robinson, two gritty guys who try hard but don’t have the natural offensive instincts of Howse.

“It sure does leave us with a hole,” May conceded. “But it happens and we have to move on. We’ve got to find ways to get it done. It was good to see Kevin (Sundher) and Jadon (Potter) stepping up on the weekend. Those are guys we’ll be looking to for offensive contributions.”

Howse wasn’t the only Bruin to hit the injured list over the weekend. Defenceman Matt Strong was involved in a mini line-brawl on Friday night and messed up his shoulder.

He was scheduled to have more tests, but it’s looking like he may be out for quite a while. Suddenly, a crowded blueline is not a bad thing to have.

“Matt’s going to be gone for a while and it doesn’t look very good,” May said. “Now we’re down to seven defencemen and that’s actually more of a workable number. But things certainly are piling up right now.”

The Bruins are back on home ice Friday night, hosting the Prince Albert Raiders at Prospera Centre (7 p.m.).