Unacceptable At Any Level!

Once again, sports stoops to a new level of respect. It has been reported that a midget hockey player has been suspended for punching a linesman after a heated game Sunday between his Surrey Hurricanes and the Prince George Cougars.

I am told from various reliable sources that the player is from North Surrey MHA.

The incident occurred after the game at the Richmond International Bantam Hockey Tournament and accounts may differ depending on who you ask the mishap is believed to be between the player, a linesman and the referee.

The teenager allegedly hit the linesman when he stepped in to break up an on-ice skirmish.

Witnesses say the linesman hit the ice and the player was swinging his arms wildly at him until they were broken up. The linesman was sent to hospital and released.

Randy Potskin, coach of the Prince George Cougars, was shocked at what he saw on the ice.

I am told that the player went after the referee and when the the linesman stepped in and he got the brunt of it and he simply would not stop. CBC news’s was told that the player involved “wanted a piece of somebody.”

Parents watching the game said the incident came after a highly emotional game. Steve Vorley, the father of another Surrey player, said he had never seen anything like it.

“If one of my players did that, I wouldn’t want him on my team. It’s unacceptable at this level of hockey. It’s unacceptable at any level of hockey.”

Not surprisingly Coach Scott Sparkman of the Surrey Hurricanes said “the incident was overblown and he never saw his player throw a punch. ”

He continued “I saw a scrum … My main concern was that my player was acting inappropriately in a scrum,” Sparkman told CBC News.

Coach Sparkman said he suspended the teenager “because he’s in my doghouse.” Great choice of words!!!

BC Hockey, an organization governing all levels of amateur hockey in B.C., has started investigating the incident, said Barry Petrachenko, the group’s executive director.

The investigation will take several days and is likely to include a hearing with the player.

BC Hockey’s Barry Petrachenko states  “A decision will be made in the next seven to 10 days and we hope the decision will act as a little bit of a deterrent in the future.”

What’s this “A Little Bit”??

Not the first time it’s happened, nor will it be the last!!