Grande Prairie Herald Tribune: May 21
Junior A hockey is supposed to be in the spotlight these days as playdowns to the national championship to be held in Victoria, B.C. continue to unfold. And it is. But thanks to an incident involving our Grande Prairie Storm Saturday night in Vernon, B.C., it’s not necessarily for the right reason. As the Doyle Cup series shifts to Grande Prairie starting tonight, hockey talk about the first two games could have been – and should have been – about the pace of the play, or what the Storm need to do to get back in the series after dropping the first two games. Instead, though, much of the discussion among fans and media about the series over the last few days has centred on the actions of Storm defenceman Elias Grossman, who by all accounts, manhandled linesman Brandon Liefke after starting a melee with 26 seconds to play in a 6-2 game. But Grossman’s actions weren’t just a matter of roughing up a linesman – not that that’s not bad enough.
The 20-year-old, whom the Storm acquired from Penticton at the trade deadline to add some toughness to the lineup, capped his disgraceful performance by spitting in Liefke’s face. For that indiscretion, he was given a match penalty by referee Andrew Guest with the distinct possibility of further punishment to come. Media reports note that Liefke, a veteran official who does WHL games regularly in Kelowna, was visibly shaken as he collected himself near the timekeeper’s box after Grossman left the building. Exactly what punishment fits this crime – some who have been around junior hockey for years and have seen similar type occurrences suggest 30 games would not be out of the question – had yet to be determined as of Monday night.But whatever the punishment is in terms of a suspension should also carry with it a requirement that Grossman apologize to Liefke.
And not by email. If Liefke happens to work any of the remaining games in the series – which isn’t likely because of what happened Saturday – Grossman should be forced to deliver the apology in person. If that’s not doable, he should, at the very least, pick up a phone and tell Liefke that what he did was wrong, out-of-character (Grossman doesn’t appear to have a track record of doing this sort of thing), and won’t happen again. He could also apologize to the Vipers, and to his own teammates while he’s at it. What he did has put a black eye on what should be a series known for young hockey players playing their hearts out in a quest for a national championship.
It’s a shame.
– Jeff McCoshen
1 comment:
Grossman should be suspended for a minimum of a year and the series should be awarded to the Vipers.
In as much as this is a team game, the coach and players of the Grande Prairie team made no effort to stop Grossman and his hooligan team mates, they should forefit the series.
This type of suspension by the league grovenor would put an end to this display of kindergarten mentality.
But then the owners of the hockey teams would not be able to bank the playoff money. They pay the players next to nothing, couldn't careless what happens to them and trade them on a whim.
So why should one be surprised at the antics of Grossman.
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