Referees condemn a college hockey player who was able to play his final game of the season three weeks after shooting the puck at one of his own, who was seriously injured in the face.
“It is an act that we consider random, but the consequences of it are very significant. This judge will probably have lifelong consequences. We should have ended the player’s season, said Olivier Gouin, who refereed for Hockey Quebec for about ten years.
Official Antoine Huot received the puck in the face after the whistle, as seen in the video of the intercollegiate that took place in Thetford Mines on April 16.
In the sequence on the left, we see lineman Antoine Huot move forward to retrieve the puck before the player shoots it and hits him in the face, slowing his progress. The man collapsed bleeding in the faceoff circle above, a photo taken in the officials’ locker room afterward.
Screenshots taken from TVA Nouvelles
The Boomerang player from Cégep André-Laurendeau who fired the shot was suspended for four matches.
He could therefore return to the ice on Sunday for his fifth and final game, against the Rebelles du Cégep de Sorel-Tracy.
Not up to par
For Olivier Gouin, the four-game suspension does not live up to the consequences, especially since the player only had five games left in the season.
“He is our colleague, he is our friend. He lost three teeth, a total loss. He has a broken gum bone, he has damage to his sinuses. He needs surgery on his face. He is a policeman, a family man. He will be off work for at least a month,” laments the man who is now refereeing in the Maritime Quebec Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
Olivier Thériault, a referee with more than 25 years of experience, did not want to comment on the number of suspensions that should have been given.
A lost opportunity
However, he believes that this is a missed opportunity to provide an exemplary sanction to send a strong message to the players in a context of a lack of officials.
“Even if it’s accidental, the consequence is so serious that you can’t brush it off by saying that he didn’t want to do it on purpose, especially for a stupid gesture like that,” explains the special referee in the QMJHL.
Lack of respect
“There is a lack of respect for all the officials who give time, money and energy to ensure that matches can be played properly, especially in a context where there is a shortage of officials,” he added.
Hockey Quebec did not want to comment, but believes the four-game suspension is sufficient given that it was a random gesture.
The Quebec Student Sports Network could not be reached Sunday evening.
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