Hockey has experienced its fair share of unruly behavior, yes, even more so than the usual fights and scrums, within the past month.
Current and former professionals Kurtis Gabriel, Gustav Nyquist, Antoine Vermette and Andrew Peters each were punished for their acts of malice on or around the ice. Now, a college hockey player from Erie Community College in New York is in the national spotlight for the outburst that put him in jail.
Brandon Day, a freshman at Erie, was arrested and charged with assault on Sunday after attacking a referee in the final moments of the NJCAA national championship game.
Video of the incident shows Day charging from the penalty box and checking the ref into the ice. The official remained motionless while the other referees tried to get Day under control.
The refs called off the rest of the game with 39 seconds remaining and Dakota College of Bottineau, N.D., was crowned national champions after the 7-4 victory. Dakota College has two players from Minnesota on its roster: defenseman Jesse Mendel from St. Cloud and defenseman/forward Garrett Rasmusson from Warroad.
The NJCAA issued a statement that read, "The NJCAA national office has been made aware of the incident that occurred during its hockey championship game and will take all necessary steps to gather as much information from tournament officials and local authorities regarding violations to the association's sportsmanship code. This type of behavior will not be tolerated in the NJCAA."
Gabriel, a Wild prospect, attacked a player off the ice on Saturday. Nyquist speared Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon in the face. Vermette slashed a referee during a recent game against the Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Peters was involved with youth hockey fight.
Here is video of the incident involving Day:
