Rangers’ McEneny suspended two games for biting

KITCHENER — Austin McEneny will sit two games to rest his teeth.

The Kitchener Rangers defenceman was suspended by the Ontario Hockey League Tuesday for a pair of tilts for biting an opponent in Saturday’s 4-3 victory against the Hamilton Bulldogs at FirstOntario Centre.

There was no penalty called on the play, but the Bulldogs sent a tape of the incident to the league after the game for review.

“We were a little surprised to get the call from the league,” said Rangers general manager Mike McKenzie.

McKenzie said forward Bulldog Ryan Moore crashed the Kitchener crease after a whistle in Saturday’s game and then got his glove up in McEneny’s mouth during a scrum.

“It’s a little strange,” said the GM. “If your hand goes into somebody’s mouth you’re probably going to come into contact with teeth. We trust the league’s judgment if they feel it warranted a suspension. There is no room for biting in the game.”

McEneny did not want to comment when contacted.

The suspension leaves the Rangers severely short in the back end for Wednesday’s school day game against the Mississauga Steelheads, at the Hershey Centre.

The team is already without Logan Stanley, who is serving the tail end of his two-game suspension for checking to the head, while veteran Connor Hall is out with an upper body injury. Rookie Jack York has the flu and will also miss the contest.

McEneny has been a workhorse for the Rangers since coming over in a swap with the Windsor Spitfires at the OHL’s trade deadline last month. The overager has seven points in 13 games and has been a calming influence on the blue line.

The Rangers have called up defenceman Alex Peterson from the Elmira Sugar Kings to help, and plan to go with five rearguards in Wednesday’s tilt.

“A few forwards have been lobbying pretty hard to play defence (for the game),” said McKenzie.