Hammer set to fall over university hockey brawl in Nova Scotia

HALIFAX — A decision regarding automatic suspensions stemming from a wild weekend hockey brawl between the

Acadia Axemen and St. Francis Xavier X-Men is expected to be released Wednesday morning.

Atlantic University Sport, which oversees university sport in the region, said Tuesday that men’s hockey commissioner

Dave McLean and AUS executive director Phil Currie were still examining video footage and reviewing the numerous infractions from the game in Wolfville, N.S., last Saturday.

Following the automatic sanctions, the AUS disciplinary process will continue and further supplementary discipline will be handed down once the review has been completed, AUS said.

“On the whole, this egregious incident flies in the face of our regulations, our policies and our values,” Currie said in a statement. “Our student-athletes are students first and as such, our conference does not tolerate violence. Both Acadia and StFX have been and will continue to be consulted throughout this process. We are aware of the allegations that have been brought forward by St. FX concerning comments made by involved parties during this incident.”

Suspensions will be in place for the teams’ next scheduled games, AUS said.

On Monday, St. FX issued a statement alleging the brawl was instigated by a derogatory comment related to a sexual assault survivor that was made to an X-Men player. A few hours later, Acadia stated that information it had gathered was not consistent with allegations made by St. FX.