Neil examines the suspensions handed out to Hull and Cardiff and shares David Simms' views.
In his latest blog, our hockey reporter Neil Chiplen examines the suspensions handed out to Hull and Cardiff and shares David Simms' view on the incident.
The verdict's out.
After their brawl behind the benches, Cardiff Devils captain Brad Voth and Hull Stingrays enforcer Adam Knight will not be icing for the next five games. The two players received a five game ban (plus six suspended), as did Stingrays forward Curtis Huppe, who threw his stick into the Cardiff bench.
Joining Voth on the sidelines for Saturday's game against the Sheffield Steelers will be Scott Romfo, Mike Hartwick and Max Birbraer. Nothing like being four imports down against the defending league champions is there?
Here is how it reads for Knight and Voth, according to the EIHL press release issued on Friday:
"One game automatic suspension for a fighting match penalty plus automatic one game suspension for a match penalty for Travesty of the Game. Additional three game suspension awarded for not going straight to the dressing room as per EIHL rules.
In addition the player has a further six game suspension suspended for the remainder of the season. If a match penalty is awarded against the player for Travesty of the Game in the 2009-10 season these six games will be added to any other penalties that may be given."
There's no doubt that both players deserve a ban based on their actions after leaving the ice. But the fact that they received the same punishment is especially confusing when you compare it with previous incidents.
Crossed the line
When Voth received a 12-game suspension last season, again with an additional suspended ban, half of that was for "sucker punching" Sheffield defenceman Randy Dagenais.
In the closing minutes of Sunday's game, Knight jumped Devils winger Tylor Michel, who clearly had no intention of fighting. This wasn't deemed a sucker punch by the Elite League, and therefore didn't result in an additional six-game ban.
Knight may not have used his stick to instigate the fight against Michel, as Voth did towards Dagenais, but he attacked a player who had no desire to scrap and only wanted to cover up on the ice. No six-game ban for sucker punching then. Go figure.
Although the Elite League may have missed the Knight-Michel incident, at least the level of the bans handed out is somewhat sensible. The only other incidents that crossed the line were the fight behind the benches and Huppe's use of a stick as a javelin. Apart from that, it was a good old-fashioned night out at a hockey game.
The length of the bans means that while both Knight and Voth will miss the next meeting between the Devils and Rays on September 26 in Cardiff, they will both be eligible to play at the Hocktoberfest tournament the following weekend.
Before the bans were announced on Friday, I caught up with Sky Sports commentator David Simms to hear his take on the incident.
"I don't have any problems with what happened on the ice," Simms said.
"There was a brawl on the ice, which is part of hockey. But that it spilled over behind the benches is a worry and I think the people at Cardiff will try and make sure that it doesn't happen again.
"But there has to be a question mark about how those two players were allowed to get at each other after they left the ice and that's only something that the Devils management and rink security can sort out."
Scalded cat
Indeed, as Simms points out, the Bay Arena is one of few rinks in the league where a fight like this would be possible. Unless two players went at it in the car park, then it would be much more unlikely for a scrap to continue after they had been ejected. At other rinks, teams enter and leave from different doors at different ends or sides to the rink and only cross paths on the ice.
The locker rooms at the Bay Arena are only a few yards away, which is fine when teams get together after a game to catch up with their pals from back in North America, but presents a problem when things get nasty. Even when there have been bench clearances in Cardiff Bay before though it hasn't reached this level, as teams follow the unwritten code about leaving it "on the ice."
"I can't think of too many rinks where that would be allowed to happen - maybe the old Basingstoke rink or possibly in Newcastle," Simms added.
"I thought Curtis Huppe throwing his stick was probably the worst incident of them all because you can blind somebody like that. The way Huppe threw his stick and then went away like a scalded cat was not something that he should be proud of.
"If he wanted to get involved, he should have got off the bench and skated round towards somebody. He shouldn't have hurled his stick into the opposing bench. I bet the Hull owners would be a bit annoyed - because those sticks cost about £120. If Cardiff had any sense they would have kept hold of his stick - I'm sure he wasn't brave enough to ask for it back."
What do you think about the bans handed out? Does Huppe deserve a bigger ban than Knight and Voth? Did the Elite League get it right? Post all your views on the form below...
