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The St. John’s Junior Hockey League has dropped the hammer on the Southern Shore Breakers following a fight-filled playoff game on Saturday night that saw referees issue nearly 600 minutes in penalties.
Twelve Breakers players and a coach received a combined total of 45 games in suspensions, while six players with the St. John’s Jr. Caps were assessed a combined total of eight games.
League vice-president Boyd Hillier left no doubt about who was to blame for instigating what he described as an “ugly and embarrassing” scene at the Goulds Arena in St. John’s in Game 3 of the quarterfinal series on March 7.
“Unfortunately, we had one team that figured they would be out of the playoffs and they didn’t want to play hockey,” Hillier said of the Breakers.
League hopes suspensions will deter future outbreaks
The game featured brawls in both the first and second periods, and was halted early in the third because the Breakers could no longer ice enough players to continue. All four goalies received fighting majors.
The game ended with a 5-2 win for the Caps, and a three-game sweep of the series.
A hockey game between the St. John’s Caps and the Southern Shore Breakers that devolved into a fight fest over the weekend had hockey circles across the country talking. As CBC’s Terry Roberts reports, Thursday came with heavy suspensions for the guilty parties.
Hillier called it a “one-off” incident, and said the 568 minutes in penalties and more than 50 games in suspensions were both “unprecedented” for a league with nearly a quarter-century of history.
He said the league responded with a heavy hand in hopes of preventing similar outbreaks in future games.
“We must move on now with the playoffs,” he added.
Six players on the Breakers — James Stamp, Jaedon Putt, Alex Gentry, Tanner Hawkins, Liam Kelly and goaltender J.T. Tobin — each received a five-game suspension.
Breakers tender Devon Bungay, who was assessed a gross misconduct for removing his mask before a fight, was given a four-game suspension, while four other Southern Shore players received one-game suspensions.
Stamp, Putt, Hawkins, Kelly, Tobin have all aged out of the league, and their suspensions will only apply if they play Newfoundland and Labrador senior hockey next season.
Coach receives biggest suspension
But the biggest sanction — seven games — went to Breakers coach Meghan Frizzell. Under Hockey Canada rules, a coach receives an automatic suspension if players leave the bench while a fight is occurring on the ice or for the purposes of starting a fight.
Frizzell could not be reached Thursday morning.
Caps goaltender Nathan Hurley and forward Jack Dwyer each received two-game suspensions, while four others will be forced to sit out for Game 1 of the best-of-seven semifinal against the Paradise Warriors when that series opens Saturday night at the D.F. Barnes Arena in St. John’s.
Caps coach Steve Callahan would not do a recorded interview, but in a written statement said his team is now focused on the next round of the playoffs.
