Derek Boogaard News

MINNEAPOLIS - A medical examiner in Minnesota has ruled the death of New York Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard was an accident, due to mixing alcohol and oxycodone.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner released Boogaard's cause of death on Friday. The medical examiner says no other data will be released.

The 28-year-old Boogaard was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment last Friday, five months after he sustained a season-ending concussion with the Rangers.

The six-foot-seven, 265-pound Saskatoon native became a fan favourite in his years with the Minnesota Wild.

He played in 255 games with the Wild from 2005-10.

Oxycodone is a powerful painkiller that can be addictive and has been blamed in some overdose deaths.

(The Associated Press)