This summer the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced harsher penalties for fighting, the decision effectively banned it completely from the sport at the Major Junior level. Fans were outraged and assumed this would actually have a negative impact on player safety. It didn't take long for those fears to become a reality.
On Wednesday night, the Cape Breton Eagles took on the Halifax Mooseheads in a preseason game that saw the Eagles win 7-1. Late in the third period of what was a already a pretty chippy game, a Halifax player stuck his knee out on an Eagles player, who ended up being seriously injured. What followed of course was no penalty and no retaliation. This this is the end result; take a look.
While you can still fight, the penalties for doing so range from a one game to a 3 game suspension depending on the aggressor, instigator and so on. As a result teammates can no longer stand up for one of their own should a dirty play like this happen.
Never mind the fact that it was a preseason game in which 15 penalties were called. If this is any indication of how the rest of the hockey season will play out, we're going to see a lot more dirty plays with no retaliation. If the referees don't call these infractions the right way, a lot of young players are going to be very badly hurt.
