Miramichi News: Senior League Mulls Action After Brawl

By Darcey McLaughlin

MIRAMICHI - The president of the North East Senior Hockey League has issued an apology for what happened at Friday night's hockey game between the Tracadie-Sheila Alpines and the Miramichi Phantoms.

The game, played at the Miramichi Civic Centre instead the Phantoms usual home at the Lord Beaverbrook Arena, was called off at 6:59 of the second after a brawl that spilled over into fights amongst fans, some of whom tried to engage players from both teams. Police were called in and at least one fan was seen being escorted from the building.

The brawl began after Tracadie-Sheila goalie Charles Austin was run, bring Alpines players in to defend their goalie. This lead to players squaring off in several fights, many featuring unwilling Alpines participants. Then players on the bench and coaches began to get at it, getting up and over the glass between the benches.

Just when it appeared the brawl was over and fans were gathered around their benches, Miramichi’s James Scott noticed Austin on his knees by himself just outside the crease. Scott, who was brought in specifically for the game and his participation touted by the Phantoms, skated from the benches to the goalie and began throwing punches, starting another round of pushing and shoving and more fights.

For his part, Scott was handed three fighting majors, a major for goalie interference, a match penalty and a gross misconduct penalty.

To sort out the other penalties, officials called for an impromptu intermission but the game never began again. League president Roger Brun was in attendance and made the decision to call off the game.

On the league website, Brun posted a message apologizing for what happened.

"The North East Senior Hockey League is sorry about the turn of event that occurred during the game between Tracadie-Sheila and Miramichi on Friday night. The league is against that type of performance and it’s not the type of hockey we want to offer to our fans. We are taking this situation extremely seriously.

"The league’s president, Roger Brun, decided to call the game off after the brawl that occurred at 6:59 of the second period. A decision regarding the result of that game will be taken at a later date.

"As soon as we’ll receive the official report, there will be disciplinary sanctions for the player engaged in that brawl. The security of our players is our main concern and we cannot accept such behavior from some players.

"We will have a discussion with Hockey New Brunswick and the Senior Hockey Director before taking our decision to ensure we are within their rules.

"To our fans, we are truly sorry about this situation. Every efforts will be made to ensure this kind of incidents stay out of our league," Brun posted.

Following the game, officials from both teams were observed in a heated exhange in the dressing room area. Officials for the Phantoms said tempers boiled over after the Alpines refused to participate in at least one fight during the game. But officials for the Alpines said their enforcers were either injured (one with a broken hand) or not available for the game.

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