15 players, head coaches suspended in wake of wild hockey brawl
Posted February 6, 2019 10:18 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – The body that oversees university sports in Atlantic Canada has suspended two head coaches and 15 players after an ugly hockey brawl that spread from the ice to both squad’s benches.
Atlantic University Sport (AUS) announced the suspensions Wednesday after members of the Acadia Axemen and St. Francis Xavier X-Men fought during a game in Wolfville, N.S., on Saturday.
Six Acadia players and nine from the X-Men were handed automatic suspensions ranging in length from two to five games and totalling 39 games. The suspensions also apply to the two head coaches and are effective immediately.
Videos posted to social media show players on both teams hurling profanities, striking each other, and grabbing each other’s jerseys.
AUS executive director Phil Currie has also filed official complaints on five athletes and three coaches involved in Saturday’s incident after reviewing video evidence.
That means they will be subject to a secondary review process, which will involve the AUS sport chair “gathering additional evidence and speaking directly with players, officials and coaches involved to determine where more severe sanctions are warranted.”
