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Posted on 03/17/2026 8:59:24 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
An investigation into a Newfoundland junior hockey game that exploded into three brawls and racked up 572 minutes in penalties has resulted in sweeping suspensions, according to a league official.
Boyd Hillier, vice-president of the St. John's Junior Hockey League, said the violent game on March 7 between the St. John's Junior Caps and the Southern Shore Junior Breakers was a "black eye" on hockey in the region. The league has since handed out suspensions to 18 players and coaches worth a collective total of 53 games, Hillier said Saturday.
Video appearing to show footage from the night of roiling tangles of players shedding their gloves and throwing punches has raised eyebrows across the country.
"It's just downright embarrassing," Hillier said in an interview.
"Yes, there are going to be fights every now and then, but not this type," he added. "We don't want this in our league, so we had to try to come down hard on it."
The match on March 7 was the third quarterfinal playoff game between the Caps and the Breakers, both of which are junior teams, whose players are mostly between 18 and 21. The Caps were up 2-0 when the fists began swinging, Hillier said. The game had to be called off early in the third period because all four goalies had been tossed out for fighting, he said.
A game summary on the St. John's Junior Hockey League website initially said referees doled out 568 minutes in penalties, but the total was since updated to 572. Breakers' players were penalized 324 minutes and the Caps got 248.
By comparison, there was an average of 45 penalty minutes in the 15 games before March 7, according to tallies on the league's website.
Hillier pointed at the Breakers, saying the team decided it "didn't want to play hockey anymore and wanted to get physical."
However, the Breakers disagree with his assessment. A post on the team's Facebook page Friday said Hillier's comments do not reflect the efforts or intentions of the coaches, players or organization.
"Our organization is also dismayed by the events that took place during (the game) and recognizes the impact that these actions, and the portrayal of them through media coverage, are having on the game of hockey in our province, as well as on the families and fans who support and enjoy the game," the post said.
The post said the team has requested a meeting with the league's executives.
Hillier said 12 players and coaches from the Breakers received suspensions totalling 45 games, while six Caps players got suspensions totalling eight games. Three of four goalies got suspensions, he said, adding that the fourth — with the Caps — was found to be an unwilling participant in the ruckus.
"Some of these guys are going to sit out next year for the first five games in the year," he said. "That's almost one quarter of the schedule."
The Breakers' post said the team plans to appeal several suspensions, adding that some were "disproportionate based on the level of penalties assessed during the game."
The team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2023, amateur hockey in Newfoundland and Labrador attracted national attention when the province's governing body for the sport temporarily banned post-game handshakes, citing "issues" that had led to suspensions.
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<< “It’s just downright embarrassing,” >>
Not at all. They just needed to blow off an unusual amount of steam. That’s hockey.
Hope they filmed it!
Me too!!
Its the playoffs, the coaches get the guys amped-up for the game, and they probably remembered a cheap hit or slash from a previous game
things devolve from there
There is a particular girl “involved”?
And espirit de corps...gotta put a halt to that!
I’ve read interviews with players who represented the NHL and WHA back in the early to mid 1970s in international tournaments against the Russians and other European nations and they could not get over the amount of butt ending, elbows, stick work, and even kicking of players with skates that those players engaged in. But fighting was banned.
These young men will grow up to be respectable citizens, and in 20 years they’ll all get together over a beer and have a laugh about it all.
The prissy Canadians need to unwad their panties.
“a ‘black eye’ on N.L. hockey”
Clever headline
Looks like the Left still hasn’t pussified the sport of ice hockey...yet, although the helmets are definitely gay.
I went to a hockey game and a Carnival cruise broke out
I was so disappointed, I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.
“That’s hockey.”
More like an excuse to change our position on the food chain. At the top of the scale are meat-eaters that don’t have any predators themselves, such as polar bears and orca whales. Instead, we sit somewhere between pigs and anchovies. Not a strong level of position to maintain our existence.
If it was supposed to happen, then why did people get thrown out and fines and suspensions are coming? Not everyone in the league is a goon. Fighting is man’s inability to reason not a replacement for it. You fight if you have to to protect yourself. And if you have the mentality to recognize the need. A hockey game expects fights? So did the gladiators. This game resembled them.
wy69
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