FITCHBURG, MASS. (WHDH) - A coed youth hockey game in Fitchburg ended abruptly Sunday night after a player attacked an opponent with their stick.
Video of the game captured the incident, showing the player striking the opponent shortly after being checked.
The incident happened at the Wallace Civic Center in Fitchburg. Parents said there had been a lot of checking in the game. But they never expected such an attack with their team up 7-1 with just five minutes left to play.
“It’s pretty shocking,” Christine Walzel, who witnessed the incident, told 7NEWS. “The whole crowd was shocked.”
Walzel said the player was OK. Her daughter plays on the same under 14 team and couldn’t believe what happened to her teammate.
“It was insane,” Charlee Walzel said.
She said the player’s coach apologized right away.
A spokesperson for Mass Hockey said they’re still waiting on the referee report from the game to determine if any disciplinary action will be taken. They said there would be an automatic 30 game suspension if the incident was deemed a match penalty. There would also be a hearing to decide if the suspension would go even longer than that.
Parents say they believe some action should be taken.
“In all those years my kids have been playing hockey, pretty much since they were 3, never seen anything like it,” Christine Walzel said. “It was pretty brutal.”
The family of the player who was hit told 7NEWS he is doing OK.
Mass Hockey said they typically get referee reports within 48 hours of the end of a game.
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