Entire coaching staff suspended after ref punched
The entire coaching staff for a New Tecumseth (TNT) Tornados team has been suspended in the aftermath of an incident during a minor hockey game at a Newmarket arena on Dec. 22, an Ontario Minor Hockey Association official confirmed.
Peter Harmsen, an OMHA regional director for York-Simcoe Minor Hockey League, said on Friday that the minor midget team’s coaches are suspended indefinitely after the incident, which included an on-ice official being punched by an individual allegedly connected to the Tornados.
The incident occurred during a minor midget double-A game at the Magna Centre in Newmarket between the Newmarket Redmen and TNT. It is alleged an individual punched a 21-year-old linesman in the head in a hallway as the official returned to the ice following an intermission prior to the third period of a regular-season game. A York Regional Police investigation is ongoing.
Harmsen said the OMHA must await the outcome of the police investigation before it decides whether to proceed with further internal penalties. Until that time, he said, the OMHA will not have further comment.
“We can’t supersede the police investigation,” Harmsen said. “The bench staff has been suspended indefinitely, pending the police investigation.”
Harmsen said the mass suspensions are justified because the head coach is responsible for the actions of the team and personnel, but did not elaborate on that statement. He added the team can continue to play games with alternative coaching provided by its organization.
TNT president Donna Horan confirmed via email Friday evening that volunteer coaches will provide their services for practices and games so the players do not lose any of their season.
Earlier in the game, a member of the TNT coaching staff was ejected. That infraction usually carries an automatic suspension of at least one game.
After the incident, the linesman was taken to Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, where he received facial stitches and was observed for symptoms of concussion. He returned to the Magna Centre before the end of the evening to retrieve his belongings.
Harmsen said incidents of this nature are not common on minor hockey rinks.
“This is my fifth year on the board and the first time there has been an incident of this significance,” Harmsen said. “Thank goodness there were no more serious injuries and that the game official is OK.
“The OMHA has done all it can under the process that we can do, pending the police investigation.”
Horan said incident has shaken the hockey team.
“The players and parents are very upset about the whole coaching staff being suspended for one individual’s actions,” she wrote, noting the incident happened away from the players’ view. “We are waiting to hear from the police and/or the OMHA as to what has been found out and proven to be true.
“I think when the investigation is over there will be more to the story than what has been told. I hope that in the end the truth has been told and the person/people responsible who have done wrong face consequences for their actions.
“This is a great group of players and parents and it really is unfortunate this has put such a bad impression of everyone out there.”