On Thursday afternoon in Peterborough, the Holy Cross Hurricanes lost an A/AA OFSAA hockey tournament game to the Kincardine Knights; and, by the end, both teams lost their minds.
In the last seconds of the third period and with Kincardine on the way to victory, Knights player Keegan McLelland fired a shot past Hurricanes' goalie Aaron Poast. He then taunted the goalie by sliding on one knee and pumping his fist at the netminder. Poast dropped his gloves and went after him. As the video shows, things got really ugly from there, in a 5-minute brawl before refs got control.
Hurricanes head coach Mike Burgess said after the game, to MyKawartha.com: ""I am completely ashamed and it isn't reflective of how our school operates and what we teach these guys. I am very disappointed with the way it ended and I am not impressed with my players' behaviour."
From the Peterborough Examiner:
McLelland skated by Poast and taunted him with a fist pump prompting Poast to drop his gloves and jump him. That sparked about five separate fights, one including a Knights player who left his bench to join the brawl, which lasted for about five minutes.
A clearly irate Burgess suggested after the game he would bench his team for their fourth and final round-robin game, but tournament convener Steve Stanlick said that wouldn't be allowed. Stanlick said each team will lose one player to suspension as a result of the fighting.
Wow … and the NHL Dept. of Player Safety's the one that gets called lenient.
Despite their coach saying "right now I am not of the mind to come back tomorrow. I am more of the mind to forfeit tomorrow's game," the Hurricanes played on Friday and advanced in the tournament. Update: Or maybe not.