Hockey game ends early after 20 fighting majors, nearly 600 penalty minutes handed out

Referees handed out 20 fighting majors and nearly 600 penalty minutes, according to game statistics, in a junior hockey game played Saturday in St. John’s. (Pexels)

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Officials for a junior hockey league in Newfoundland and Labrador say severe suspensions are coming after a chaotic, fight-filled playoff game that was shut down after constant ejections.

Referees handed out 20 fighting majors and nearly 600 penalty minutes, according to game statistics, in a junior hockey game played Saturday in St. John’s.

The game was abandoned minutes into the third period, when teams ran out of eligible players left on the bench.

“It became very unfortunate, disgusting for us as a league,” Jim Hare, president of the St. John’s Junior Hockey League, said on Wednesday.

“It’s a bit of a black eye, I guess, if you want to call it that, to the league,” he added. “It happened and now we got to deal with that.”

Saturday’s game between the St. John’s Junior Caps and the Southern Shore Junior Breakers was the third in a best-of-five series. The Caps were heavy favourites, having won the previous two playoff matches and 25 of their 28 games this season.

Penalties started early in the game. Just moments after the Breakers scored the first goal , two players were ejected after a fight less than two minutes into the first period.

By the end of the night, all four goaltenders dressed for the game were ejected. A total of 572 penalty minutes were given over the course of the game.

“This is the first I can remember of having such an incident like this occur,” Hare said.

The Junior Caps won the match, leading 5-2 at the time the game was abandoned. They are moving on to the league’s semifinals, but will be without some players.

Hare said suspensions will be delivered shortly to the Caps. Suspensions will also be levied against Breakers players, who will serve them next season or in other N.L.-regulated leagues.

“We have minimum suspension guidelines that we basically follow, and as a league, we can impose a greater penalty if we feel it suits the situation,” Hare said.

The league features players between the ages of 16 and 21. Only eight teams compete in the league, and Hare said for the most part, the players know each other from previous teams or competitions.

“They battle hard at nighttime when the game is on, and the next day, they’re having a pop or whatever at university, they’re best of friends again,” he said.

A coach for the Junior Caps told CTV News the team was focused on their pending playoff series and wouldn’t make any comment on the incident. The Junior Breakers, similarly, did not reply to CTV News.

Hare said he’s been tied up with phone calls with parents and other league officials Saturday’s game, and he wants the Newfoundland and Labrador hockey community to know that the game’s behaviour will not be tolerated.

“We take this seriously,” he said. “Very seriously.”

“I hope we don’t see it again.”