AESHL Hockey Player Suspended For Fighting With Hockey Fan
PUBLICATION
Ryan Hall
November 7, 2024 (11:47 PM)
A news report from CBC News revealed that AESHL hockey player Justin Pender was suspended for fighting with a fan outside of their locker room.
The incident took place in Harbour Grace NL to which Pender was suspended for three games. He is the assistant captain of the Clarenville Ford Caribous and was ejected from their game after taking multiple runs at their opponent.
Shortly after the game was over, he was taunted by a fan which led to his attack on the patron. CBC had released their report along with the video showing what had happened.
CBC News has obtained a copy of security camera footage, which shows four male fans making their way to the hallway entrance beneath the arena bleachers, where the dressing rooms are located.
One of the fans, John Drover of Bay Roberts, can be seen gesturing at Pender as the player enters the hallway from the ice surface.
Pender stops and throws the broken shaft of his stick at the fans from a distance of nearly 10 metres, and it lands harmlessly at Drover's feet.
Pender then starts walking aggressively toward the fans, fully clad in his hockey gear and already incensed from an earlier outburst on the ice in which he confronted the CeeBees' bench and smashed his stick on the leg of an opposing player as an official was escorting Pender off the ice. Video of that on-ice skirmish has been shared widely on social media.
Meanwhile, a young boy can be seen on the security video entering the hallway entrance, but quickly retreats when he sees Pender - who stands six feet four inches, weighs 215 pounds and has a reputation for playing an edgy, tough style of hockey - storming toward him.
However, Drover stands his ground as Pender reaches the end of the hallway. It's at this point that Pender, wearing his bulky hockey gloves, starts throwing punches at Drover.
Pender's teammate, Thomas Hedges, who was also ejected from the game, can also be seen running down the hallway behind Pender.
Some of the fracas is not captured by the security camera, so it's not clear if Hedges is throwing punches or trying to extricate his teammate from the melee. Caribous' general manager Ivan Hapgood is also seen walking down the hallway and out of the camera frame.
Click this link to see the video
POLL |
Do you think a three game suspension is enough for a hockey player who fights a fan? |
Yes | 21 | 39.6 % |
No | 32 | 60.4 % |
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