Ice, Cougar linebrawl the topic of conversation in BCMMHL
By Bruce Fuhr
The Cariboo Cougars made it look easy, waltzing into the NDCC Arena to grab all four points in a two-game B.C. Hockey League Major Midget League series against the Kootenay Ice this past weekend.
However, the game was not what everyone was talking about after the weekend set concluded Sunday.
Instead, everyone’s favourite topic of conversation was the line brawl that ensued following Saturday’ 8-2 triumph by the Cougars.
“I think it was an unfortunate set of circumstances,” Ice head coach Mario DiBella told The Nelson Daily after Sunday’s 8-3 loss against the Cougars.
“The game was over and all the players had filed out onto the ice when a Cariboo player decided to he was going to start some extracurricular activities.”
DiBella said both teams were on the ice after the final game buzzer sounded when one of the Kootenay players was slew footed by a Cariboo Cougar and everyone teamed up with a partner.
Several Kootenay players had their helmets removed during the melee before a few fights broke out.
The line brawl lasted for just over a minute before on-ice officials were able to restore order and the players left the ice.
No other fights occurred off the ice.
As many as ten players were suspended for Sunday’s game along with DiBella and Cariboo coach Trevor Sprague — both receiving two-game suspensions.
Sprague and DiBella were both allowed to coach Sunday, as both teams assistant coaches were unavailable for the weekend series.
While DiBella was eager to give his assessment of the incident, Sprague was less committal.
“Guy went on the ice, they all has some fun and we all went back into the dressing room and went to the hotel,” Sprague said when asked to comment about Saturday night’s shenanigans.
When pressed to comment about the fights, Sprague continued to remain tight lipped.
“The boys had some fun . . .. It’s something that happened,” Sprague said.
B.C. Hockey is now involved in conducting a full-scale investigation of the incident.
“We had five guys sitting out,” Sprague said when asked if any of the Cougar players were suspended.
“They exchanged phone numbers on the ice and went and sat in the stands. It was good old-time hockey . . . it’s all good.”
DiBella said one of his players was taken to hospital after the brawl.
Kootenay had five players — Brandon Sookro, Kyle Hope, Tristan Pagura, Justin Post and Joel Wells — sitting out Sunday’s game.
Cariboo entered the weekend tied for second spot in BCMMHL standings with Okanagan Rockets.
Kootenay holds down last place in the 11-team league, more than 38 points behind Cariboo.
The Cariboo Cougars professed to be the first BC Major Midget League team to broadcast games.
However, the game video from Saturday was removed from the playfullscreen.com website as of Sunday.
“The Cariboo Cougars videoed the game and I believe it was online,” DiBella said. “It’s something that’s out there that can be reviewed by B.C. Hockey and I hope that that is the case.”
