Per Yahoo!:
A junior hockey player has been suspended for the season after a hard check sent an opposing player to the hospital with skull and facial fractures.
The Ontario Hockey League suspended Michael Liambas of the Erie Otters on Wednesday.
The decision came after a boarding incident in a game between Erie and the Kitchener Rangers last Friday. The 20-year-old Liambas was assessed a match penalty for his hit on Ben Fanelli, whose helmet flew off as he fell unconscious to the ice.
The 16-year-old Fanelli was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Doctors recently upgraded his status to serious but stable.
Granted, the hit was pretty hard, but the result was all because of how the kid being hit turned trying to dodge the hit rather than taking the hit head on.
Brutal call by the OHL to suspend him for the entire season. They are obviously sending a message to everyone to tone down hitting in hockey!
I don’t think that he turned away, it looked like he was making a pass away from the defenseman.
Why he got such a long suspension could be for many reasons. If the league decided that he targeted the head, then he would see a long suspension and if he had a history of violence, then he’d see a long suspension.
I don’t know if either of these things are true, but it is a possible explanation for the long suspension.
wow thats scary. it didnt seem too vicious to be suspended the whole season, but still just a HUGE hit. hope hes ok
im sick of people saying “he got hurt cuz he tried to dodge the hit” or “its cuz he had his head down”. that may be the case, it mostly is true for knee on knee hits. virtually all of those is due to the player trying to get out of the way. regradless, hits like this one are NOT NEEDED. he never had to take a charging start to hit him, he did not have to hit him that hard in a vulnerable position, he never had to headshot. not saying this warranted a suspension for the rest of the season, but i’m sure they have their reasons. maybe to send a message, which i wish they would do more of. headshots are not good. or maybe even to protect him and avoid a Bertuzzi/Moore like outcome.
He definitely saw the hit coming and spun away from it like a moron. The only reason we are even talking about it is because of the injury.
Same thing with the Bertuzzi/Moore incident. Yes it was dirty and unnecessary, but if Moore was not hurt, we would have forgotten about the incident hours after it happened.
It sucks this kid who was hit is hurt, but the suspension is just to make an example.
additionally the guy who did the hit was 20 years old, which means not only was he suspended the year, he was for the most part kicked out of the league, cause he can’t play next year…
I played and coached hockey.I love the game but those who play it need to realize other people think the game is violent and vile.
This young man’s suspension is the result of a poor hockey decision and someone getting hurt.Actions have consequences and the league has decided to act severely to wake players up with this consequence.
This is no doubt a vicious hit. Was it intent to hurt? Only Liambas knows the answer to that question. You have to be very careful when by the boards, true. But some player’s just have to know when to let off of a hit, especially when the puck isn’t around anymore. Everyone want’s to make a highlight reel hit. But in doing that you are going to possible kill someone. Yes hockey is a rough sport and I love the game and play the game. I belive had he not ended up in the condition he was in Liambas would still be playing. But Liambas has a histroy of cheap shot’s. Anyone remember the check from behind on Taveres?? Some players should use there head more often out on the ice instead of letting emotions rule them. He is no doubt the poster boy of things to come when it comes to hits. OHL or NHL.