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AHL: Indefinite Suspension for Downie |
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The American Hockey League has suspended Steve Downie indefinitely after an incident late in last night’s Norfolk Admirals game in Hershey.
Downie was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct minor and a game misconduct citing rule 41.2, physical abuse of officials. Word is Downie slashed linesman Mike Hamilton during a faceoff at the 19:46 mark of the third period. I can’t offer my opinion on Steve’s intent since I wasn’t there but, naturally, there are differing opinions from those who were in attendance and have reviewed the video of the incident.
Norfolk GM Mike Butters (as told to Tris Wykes, who covers the Ads for
The Virginian-Pilot):
“He was taking a faceoff and the center across from him began chirping at him and (Downie) was looking to swat that guy's stick. There was absolutely zero intent by Steve to make contact with the official and he happened to hit the puck and knock it over the glass.”
Hershey Bears broadcaster John Walton, in his blog:
“Instead of trying to win the face-off, Downie took a baseball-like swing with full wind-up and struck Hamilton across the right shin. Watching the replay no less than 20 times myself during the postgame, I was appalled not only at the lack of respect for an official, but the sheer violence from one man to another.”
AHL Vice President of Communications Jason Chaimovitch:
“He is suspended indefinitely pending league review, which I don't foresee happening before Tuesday at the earliest. We need to get the video from the Admirals.”
For more, check out
Wykes’ Daily Press blog, who links to both
Damian Cristodero of The St. Pete Times and
Walton for their takes on the incident.
Again, since I wasn’t there, I can’t say a whole lot in terms of my opinion on the incident in question but, given his history, Downie could be facing a severe penalty. As I’ve said many times since he was acquired from Philadelphia, I like Downie a lot. I like his game, for starters, and my impressions of the kid as a person are overly positive, having spoken with him many times since his arrival.
That said, if the American Hockey League’s front office determines that Downie intentionally slashed Hamilton, the heavy suspension they’ll levy, in all likelihood, needs to be paired with some overdue therapy before his career is derailed completely.
Stay tuned later tonight or early tomorrow for my pre-trade deadline thoughts on the Lightning approach to Wednesday and beyond.
JJ
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