A player with the Western Hockey League's Moose Jaw Warriors was hospitalized with serious injuries after a car and truck collided Sunday morning in the southern Saskatchewan city.

GM Chad Lang said Garrett Robinson, one of three players hurt in the crash, underwent surgery after being transferred to a Regina hospital.

``(The doctors) have informed us that it is critical, that he has trauma to the head and brain,'' Lang said.

Lang said Robinson, an 18-year-old forward from Surrey, B.C., was the passenger in the vehicle.

``They were struck on the passenger side by the Ford truck and he basically absorbed the majority of the blow,'' Lang said.

Lang said two other players, Joey Perricone and Carter Smith, were treated and released from hospital in Moose Jaw. The crash occurred just before 7 a.m. local time.

Police said the team had just returned from Red Deer, Alta., and that the jaws of life were used to pull the wreckage apart.

Perricone, 19, is a goalie from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., while Smith, 18, is a forward from Eyebrow, Sask.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the crash. Police believe alcohol was a factor and said that charges were pending.

© The Canadian Press, 2007