AHL player charged in stick-swinging incident

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HAMILTON, Ontario - A minor league hockey player was charged Thursday with assault causing bodily harm over a stick-swinging incident that left his opponent bleeding and convulsing on the ice, police said.

During an American Hockey League playoff game at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum on April 30, Garrett Stafford, a defenseman with the Cleveland Barons, swung his stick at Hamilton Bulldogs forward Alexander Perezhogin, catching him with a glancing blow on the back of the helmet.
Perezhogin retaliated with a two-handed, baseball-like swing to Stafford's face as the Cleveland player was on his knees.

Stafford went into convulsions with blood gushing from his face, and was rushed to hospital. He suffered a concussion and needed 20 stitches to repair the gash on his face.

"In hockey, you are consenting to a certain level of assault every time you step on the ice, but at a certain point you cross the line," Hamilton police Det. Dave Brady said at a news conference. "It was more than a mere trifling injury."

Perezhogin, a native of Kazakstan who was drafted in 2001 by the Montreal Canadiens, was suspended for the remainder of the playoffs and all of next season.

Stafford was also suspended for six games for his role. He is not believed to have suffered any permanent injury.

Perezhogin appeared in a Hamilton court Thursday. He was formally charged Wednesday and is co-operating with police.

Assault causing bodily harm carries a jail term of up to 18 months.

[sparkyzsportz]

HAMILTON, Ontario - A minor league hockey player was charged Thursday with assault causing bodily harm over a stick-swinging incident that left his opponent bleeding and convulsing on the ice, police said.

During an American Hockey League playoff game at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum on April 30, Garrett Stafford, a defenseman with the Cleveland Barons, swung his stick at Hamilton Bulldogs forward Alexander Perezhogin, catching him with a glancing blow on the back of the helmet.
Perezhogin retaliated with a two-handed, baseball-like swing to Stafford's face as the Cleveland player was on his knees.

Stafford went into convulsions with blood gushing from his face, and was rushed to hospital. He suffered a concussion and needed 20 stitches to repair the gash on his face.

"In hockey, you are consenting to a certain level of assault every time you step on the ice, but at a certain point you cross the line," Hamilton police Det. Dave Brady said at a news conference. "It was more than a mere trifling injury."

Perezhogin, a native of Kazakstan who was drafted in 2001 by the Montreal Canadiens, was suspended for the remainder of the playoffs and all of next season.

Stafford was also suspended for six games for his role. He is not believed to have suffered any permanent injury.

Perezhogin appeared in a Hamilton court Thursday. He was formally charged Wednesday and is co-operating with police.

Assault causing bodily harm carries a jail term of up to 18 months.

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League fines owner, suspends referee after fight

DANBURY, Conn. (AP) -- A minor hockey league team owner accused of hitting a linesman was fined Thursday, and the linesman who claims he was punched was suspended for five game.

United Hockey League president Richard Brosal said he could not prove whether Danbury Trashers owner James Galante hit linesman James Harper after a game last week, but issued the fine for Galante leaving the owner's box. Brosal described the fine as significant, but would not disclose the amount.

Harper received a harsher penalty because he got into a shouting match that led up the scuffle, Brosal said.

``We wouldn't be having this conversation if Jimmy Harper had just skated away like any other linesman would have done,'' Brosal said.

Harper's lawyer said the linesman was surprised by the suspension.

``It still looks to me like they're sticking up for the owner rather than the referee, but I don't know the reasoning behind it,'' attorney Joseph Lamendola said.

Galante left his skybox during a particularly violent game between the Trashers and the Kalamazoo Wings. After the game, Harper said Galante met him in the penalty box and punched him.

Brosal said it's unclear what happened because of a commotion in the penalty box.

Prosecutors charged Galante with misdemeanor assault.

Messages left for Galante and his attorney were not immediately returned.

Brosal said he issued Galante a written warning threatening suspension. Harper's penalty will cost him about $500 in lost pay, Brosal said.

Can anyone see GOP doing the same thing if the calls weren't going our way?

Aaryn

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League fines owner, suspends referee after fight

DANBURY, Conn. (AP) -- A minor hockey league team owner accused of hitting a linesman was fined Thursday, and the linesman who claims he was punched was suspended for five game.

United Hockey League president Richard Brosal said he could not prove whether Danbury Trashers owner James Galante hit linesman James Harper after a game last week, but issued the fine for Galante leaving the owner's box. Brosal described the fine as significant, but would not disclose the amount.

Harper received a harsher penalty because he got into a shouting match that led up the scuffle, Brosal said.

``We wouldn't be having this conversation if Jimmy Harper had just skated away like any other linesman would have done,'' Brosal said.

Harper's lawyer said the linesman was surprised by the suspension.

``It still looks to me like they're sticking up for the owner rather than the referee, but I don't know the reasoning behind it,'' attorney Joseph Lamendola said.

Galante left his skybox during a particularly violent game between the Trashers and the Kalamazoo Wings. After the game, Harper said Galante met him in the penalty box and punched him.

Brosal said it's unclear what happened because of a commotion in the penalty box.

Prosecutors charged Galante with misdemeanor assault.

Messages left for Galante and his attorney were not immediately returned.

Brosal said he issued Galante a written warning threatening suspension. Harper's penalty will cost him about $500 in lost pay, Brosal said.

Can anyone see GOP doing the same thing if the calls weren't going our way?

Aaryn

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Bulldogs' Perezhogin reaches plea deal

HAMILTON (CP) - Hamilton Bulldogs forward Alexander Perezhogin pleaded guilty Tuesday to assault causing bodily harm, resulting from a stick-swinging incident in an American Hockey League playoff game last year.

The plea bargain, which was being reviewed by a judge Tuesday, called for a conditional discharge with one year's probation. The deal also called for Perezhogin to pay $5,000 to charity and $2,500 to cover the medical expenses of Garrett Stafford.

The Cleveland Barons defenceman went into convulsions on the ice after being hit in the face by Perezhogin. He suffered a concussion and needed 20 stitches to repair the gash on his face.

"I am happy that this has come to a conclusion," Perezhogin told Hamilton's CH News outside court through an interpreter. "I am ready to start a new beginning in my life."

Perezhogin was charged on Aug. 26, 2004, the same day Vancouver Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi pleaded not guilty in a Vancouver court to the same charge of assault causing bodily harm against Colorado rookie Steve Moore.

During the AHL game at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum on April 30, 2004, Stafford swung his stick at Perezhogin, catching him with a glancing blow on the back of the helmet.

Perezhogin retaliated with a two-handed, baseball-like swing to Stafford's face while the Cleveland player was on his knees.

Perezhogin, a native of Kazakhstan who was drafted in 2001 by the Montreal Canadiens, was suspended for the remainder of the playoffs and all of next season.

His lawyer, David Humphrey, said Perezhogin was simply reacting after being hit.

"This is entirely out of character for him," Humphrey told CH News. "He's never been involved in a hockey fight, he's never had a five-minute major penalty and the only reason he acted in that completely out of character fashion is because of the blow to the back of the head."

Stafford was also suspended for six games for his role in the incident.

"People make mistakes," Perezhogin's agent, Don Meehan, told CH News. "He's a good person. I'll think he'll recover from this."

The Canadiens said Tuesday they had not heard of the plea bargain.

Assault causing bodily harm carries a maximum prison term of 10 years, but such a sentence is considered reserved for the worst offender with a long criminal record.

Aaryn