Tuesday was fairly quotidian for Josh Getzoff.<\/p>\n
After dropping his kids off at day care in the morning, he trekked to the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry to do his customary preparation as the play-by-play voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins on SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcasts.<\/p>\n
He updated his \u201cboards,\u201d which are documents with the lineups from both teams, including basic information such as jersey numbers, heights and weights, or more intricate tidbits such as statistics over a player\u2019s past handful of games or where they played junior hockey.<\/p>\n
He watched the morning skate, conversed with color commentator Colby Armstrong and producer Matt Aaron before chatting with Penguins coach Dan Muse for some additional insight he could sprinkle into that night\u2019s broadcast of a home game against the Vancouver Canucks at PPG Paints Arena.<\/p>\n
With that fastidious approach to his vocation, Getzoff is nothing short of a complete professional as a broadcaster.<\/p>\n
But he\u2019s also human. And he had a very inconvenient human moment last week.<\/p>\n
During the second intermission of the Penguins\u2019 road game against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 14, Getzoff fainted in the press box of the Honda Center and required medical attention.<\/p>\n
The cause of the episode was Vasovagal Syncope, which, according to the Mayo <\/a>Clinic<\/a>, causes \u201cheart rate and blood pressure to drop suddenly\u201d when the \u201cbody overreacts to certain triggers.\u201d<\/p>\n The 37-year-old Getzoff \u2014 who is in fine shape and regularly bikes lengthy distances \u2014 is uncertain what prompted him to faint.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a few different things that can bring it on,\u201d Getzoff said following Tuesday\u2019s morning skate. \u201cI\u2019m not exactly sure which it was for me but that\u2019s what my doctor said.<\/p>\n \u201cKind of came out of nowhere. Fainted. Was really lucky that I was where I was and there was a lot of people around. Got tended to pretty quickly. Was under care right away.\u201d<\/p>\n I want to thank everyone for reaching out after what happened on Tuesday night. My family & I are overwhelmed by your support and so appreciative of your kind words. Big thanks to the first responders at Honda Center & the great doctors & nurses at UCI. I am feeling good, & am\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Josh Getzoff (@JG_PxP) October 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n First responders at the Honda Center saw to Getzoff before he stayed at UCI Family Health Center in Anaheim, Calif. overnight as a precaution. He was released the next day and traveled with the team for the remainder of its West Coast road trip, which included games against the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks.<\/p>\n But he was sidelined, so to speak, for the remainder of the excursion and that led to a chain reaction in the team\u2019s broadcast booths, beginning with the third period of the game against the Ducks.<\/p>\n Joe Brand, typically the radio play-by-play voice, moved to the same role on television while radio color commentator Phil Bourque replaced Brand in handling the play-by-play duties. Director of team operations Jason Seidling, a North Huntingdon native who has previously written for the team\u2019s website and worked in a media relations capacity, supplanted Bourque as radio color commentator.<\/p>\n The broadcast \u201cdepth chart\u201d will return to normal Tuesday after Getzoff was given clearance by his doctor in Pittsburgh to resume his typical activities.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard because I felt fine,\u201d Getzoff said. \u201cBut I was just doing what I was told to take it easy and rest. I always knew that when I came back to Pittsburgh, I would have to follow up. That\u2019s the protocol, just in general. It was just part of the process. Glad it\u2019s past me.\u201d<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Getzoff was back doing what he usually does on a game day.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, it feels very normal,\u201d Getzoff said. \u201cIn a refreshing way.\u201d <\/p>\n Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n