PENALTY BOXERS
NHL ‘goons’ in NYC bash bust
They really pucked up. Two hot-headed pro hockey players dropped the gloves inside their Greenwich Village apartment early Sunday, beating up an acquaintance in a spat over a fourfigure club tab, cops and police sources told The Post.
Sonny Milano, a forward with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and A.J. Greer, a winger for the Colorado Avalanche, were arrested at around 6:30 a.m. for the dust-up, which began when their victim purportedly tried to upcharge them for a night out at 1 Oak, sources said.
Milano and Greer — along with a male roommate, his pal and at least one other person — had hit the trendy Chelsea nightclub on the promise that the roomie’s buddy could snag them table service for $1,200, sources said.
But when the group took the party back to the players’ place on West Houston near Sullivan Street at around 5:30 a.m., the roommate’s pal, 28-year-old Stephen Vaneyck, told the NH Lers that their tab actually came to $2,300, the sources said.
Milano, 23, and Greer, 22, refused to cough up more than their previously agreed-upon share of $600 a pop, and the dispute turned physical, according to the sources.
Vaneyck suffered jaw and rib pain, as well as injuries to his neck and bicep, authorities said.
He declined to go to the hospital but called the cops, who led Milano and Greer to the penalty box.
The pair was charged at the Sixth Precinct station house with misdemeanor assault, then released with summonses to appear in court in September.
While the skaters refused comment as they left the station house and again as they returned to their apartment, the father of Long Island-native Milano admitted that the brawl happened — but insisted to The Post that it had nothing to do with money.
“It wasn’t over a bill,” he said outside the family’s Massapequa home, refusing to give his name but identifying himself as Milano’s dad.
“The guy was getting rowdy in their apartment.
“They asked him to leave, and he wouldn’t. That’s it,” he said, adding that his son “is a good kid.”
According to public records, Vaneyck lives in Long Island City, Queens. No one answered the door to the home Sunday, nor the phone number listed for him.
While Milano has mostly kept his nose clean on the ice, amassing only 10 penalty minutes across parts of four seasons in the pros, Greer is a self-professed enforcer.
“I’m a big body out there, and I have to disturb people to get under their skin,” the 6-foot-3, 210pound Quebec native told The Denver Post in 2017. “It’s my job, and I play better when I’m able to get under their skin.”
Both players are restricted free agents. Milano netted $832,500 last season, while Greer pulled down $750,000, according to the sports-contract site CapFriendly.com. Their teams declined to comment.