Excessive penalty, the guy had the puck and turned his back. Next thing the OHL will be putting stop signs on the backs of the jersey’s. This is an emotional overreaction.

Posted by Timbits on 11/04/09 at 02:13 PM ET

Excessive penalty, the guy had the puck and turned his back. Next thing the OHL will be putting stop signs on the backs of the jersey’s. This is an emotional overreaction.

It’s about putting respect back into the game, not taking the physicality out of it.

Posted by Nathan from Jonny Ericsson's ice cream truck on 11/04/09 at 02:36 PM ET

Though the outcome of the play was unfortunate - to put the blame completely on Liambas is totally off base.  This is an excessive punishment, and as Timbits mentioned earlier a complete overreaction!

With the game ‘opened up’ due to the removal of obstruction, forwards are able to get in on the D much more quickly and with much more speed.  I think we are seeing the impact of these rule changes having a mixed effect.  On one hand the speed of the game has increased tremendously, on the other hand - by default - the collisions that occur on the ice are happening with greater impact due to this same increase in speed!

More related to this incident, does anyone remember the ‘eat the puck’ sentiment?  In other words, you know you are going to get hit, you prepare for and take the hit as best you can and hope you keep control of the puck rather than say, turn your back and get rid of the puck…

I am sure neither player had time to think this out, as the game happens so quickly and it is hard to anticipate every move the opponent is going to make.  I think it was one bad decision that put another player is a spot where they could not avoid making the hit - unfortunate for everyone involved, but an incident that was avoidable.

Posted by WingMan from The Q C on 11/04/09 at 02:42 PM ET

Yeah, total overreation.  All he did was break the guy’s HEAD with a vicious hit from behind, palnting the kid’s face into the wall.

Two minutes.  That’s all it deserved…

Posted by Garth on 11/04/09 at 03:18 PM ET

I just don’t understand the people who don’t see this check as blatant charging. FULL STEAM FROM THE BLUE LINE TO BEHIND THE NET IS CHARGING FOLKS!

Posted by Jim on 11/04/09 at 03:20 PM ET

...actually it is called forechecking… And turning your back on the guy as he is about to hit you is… okay?  Yea, that worked out well for everyone.

But again, it was all split second decisions made there.  One guy committed to the hit and the other committed to turn his back to the hitter… I am sure neither one though, ha, this will get’em… it was just the result of a situation where poor decisions were made.

Btw, he did NOT get suspended for charging, so that is a moot point.  Anyway, you have to look at the full situation, not just the end result.

All the players have a responsibility to be aware when on the ice, no one person can take the full blame for an incident like this.

Posted by WingMan from The Q C on 11/04/09 at 03:49 PM ET

As Nathan said, it’s about respect.  Basic respect for another person.

The point is that, if you pass the puck, you shouldn’t HAVE to worry about turning your back. 

This was not unavoidable.

Broken orbital bone.

FRACTURED SKULL.

CRITICAL CONDITION.

This is not just a normal hockey hit and Fanelli deserves exactly ZERO percent of the blame.

Posted by Garth on 11/04/09 at 04:09 PM ET

Garth, have you ever played contact hockey?  Just trying to get a feel for your pov…

Posted by WingMan from The Q C on 11/04/09 at 04:14 PM ET

Absolutely, I have.

Posted by Garth on 11/04/09 at 04:21 PM ET

I was actually at this game being a Kitchener Ranger season ticket holder, and I have to say it was one of the most vicious hits I’ve ever seen. As Jim said above, it was charging, maybe not from the blue line...but it was. You can even see from the video that once he sees Fanelli go behind the net he targets him FROM THE FACE OFF CIRCLE. Liambas wasn’t going for the puck, he was going for the player and it was for that reason I’m glad to see him gone. I’ve heard countless ‘experts’ talk about this hit and they all agree, he was intending to hurt him. Maybe not that severely but that was intent. Look at Liambas’ stats and you’ll see he’s been a goon his entire OHL career. He laid a cheap shot earlier in the game even!

The worst is that after he hit Fanelli he pushed Landeskog down to the ground and wanted to fight Morin and Maxwell! I know he apparently showed remorse later on, but he didn’t give damn when he did it.

Posted by Method from Kitchener on 11/04/09 at 04:26 PM ET

i think the fluke was the kids helmet flying off the instant before his head hit the glass.

of course he was trying to hurt him… um hello.... that’s what body checks are for! every checker is trying to hurt every player they check. now, it’s fair to say he obviously wasn’t trying to hurt him that bad. in fact, when you say “showed remorse”, the real story is that after being thrown out of the game, he was back there in tears watching them load the poor kid an ambulance.

i think we need to remember that these are 16 year old kids. he’s not a “goon”, he’s a kid trying to become a professional hockey player and playing the style he has been taught will give him the best shot to attain his dreams. i’ve been a little flabbergasted at the hate being directed towards this kid.

you guys need to face the facts - yes he charged hard, and yes he was trying to put the kid through the glass, but he was NOT trying to board the kid. he turned his back at the last second and took the hit in the back rather than the shoulder. i’m not saying it’s “his fault” or that it wasn’t even a vicious penalty - but, that play happens a million times a season in every hockey league from juniors through the NHL. 99.99999% of the time the guy takes the contact in the shoulder, absorbs the hit, it’s loud and hard, maybe he falls down, the crowd gasps, and the guy gets up no worse for wear. Liambas has probably done that a thousand times himself and only this time did the fluky circumstances of the kids turning his back at the last second and losing his helmet occur.

and Liambas probably still didn’t realize what had happened because he was immediately attacked (as he should have been!) and had to defend himself. but when he was in the back watching them load the kid into an ambulance “frothing at the mouth”, i think it obviously hit him on a human level what had happened. something tells me he wasn’t “in tears” over his game misconduct and future suspension. 

i actually feel sorry for both kids and while i understand why the suspension probably needs to happen, i don’t think this is a result of a lack of respect at all. it’s a result of a kid playing like he’s told and unfortunately, being cursed with bad timing, luck, etc.

really sad.

Posted by perfection on 11/04/09 at 04:42 PM ET

You say we need to ‘face the facts’ yet you say its ok he was trying to put him through the glass, not board. That would still be intent to injur would it not? The point they were making was that he wasn’t going for a clean check, he was going to smash him up against the boards.

Also were you at the game? Are you an Erie fan or watch the OHL? Because if you were any of those you would know that A) Liambis is 20 not 16, Fanelli is 16. B) Liambis is a goon, he has more PIM’s than points and is an overager on bad team. C) He attacked Landeskog as he was approaching him, and he knew what happened being as he was looking right at Fanelli before he moved away.

You say this is his best shot to make it in the NHL is to play this way. that’s funny because he’s always played this way and wasn’t drafted for two years in a row.

Maybe yea this play does happen a lot and these players shouldn’t turn their back to the play, but that’s expected of someone with more experience than a young rookie. You can take the Don Cherry route and say that you shouldn’t turn your back, etc. But it’s getting old as it seems to be happening all the time, and the argument towards players not respecting players has been appearing all season long, not just in this comments section. Look at all the NHL injuries this year, its ridiculous!

You wanna blame the kid for turning his back, but why didn’t Liambis pull up? Fanelli passed the puck out before he was hit, there was no play for Liambis to have except to hit him! So you tell the kid who was laying there on the ice face smashed in blood everywhere with his Mom crying 10 feet away that it was his fault.

Come on.

Posted by Method from Kitchener on 11/04/09 at 04:58 PM ET

Thanks Garth, was just wondering

I think ‘perfection’ nailed this situation (for me anyways).  Well said.

Posted by WingMan from The Q C on 11/04/09 at 05:01 PM ET

actually, liambas is 20 years old. he’s an overage junior.

and, he’s known for throwing questionable hits

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow7csCcRSKs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd5doNDBZ0c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Qo2B7imkI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-sx3rHbhQM

not all of these are bad(in fact the last one is clean, and a solid hit), but i would say the first 2 are pretty bad.

Posted by damji on 11/04/09 at 05:01 PM ET

that’s what body checks are for! every checker is trying to hurt every player they check. now, it’s fair to say he obviously wasn’t trying to hurt him that bad.

Bullshit.  Aaaaaand bullshit.

Spoken like someone who truly hasn’t played contact hockey.  Or did and was thrown out of the league and is bitter about it.

i think we need to remember that these are 16 year old kids.

Wrong again.  Liambas is an overage.

you guys need to face the facts - yes he charged hard, and yes he was trying to put the kid through the glass, but he was NOT trying to board the kid.

Explain how this is a fact.  The kid was right up against the boards, so how was he NOT trying to board the kid?

when you say “showed remorse”, the real story is that after being thrown out of the game, he was back there in tears watching them load the poor kid an ambulance...i think it obviously hit him on a human level what had happened. something tells me he wasn’t “in tears” over his game misconduct and future suspension.

Good.  He showed remorse.  He’s not a sociopath.  Let’s give him a present instead of a suspension.  Let’s let him do whatever he wants and not make him face any consequences because, boo hoo, he was sad that he may have potentially paralyzed another human being.

Too bad he didn’t show that kind of respect for the kid when he was breaking his skull.

Method: Very well put.

damji: Thanks for the links.  After watching those (particularly the first two), any arguments defending this POS go straight out the window.

Posted by Garth on 11/04/09 at 05:17 PM ET

Why did the kids helmet fly off? This is what caused the injury. Was it defective or was it hanging loose? The puck is at the kids feet just before the hit, he turns his back and gets hit. There was no skating motion by Liambas going into the hit to be charging. His arms are down, he doesn’t lunge at the head. The injury should play no part in deciding the penalty. I still believe this is an emotional overreaction!

Here is the Erie statement: They “take note” of the decision.

”The Erie Otters Hockey Club takes note of today’s decision of the Ontario Hockey League to suspend Otters forward Mike Liambas for the remainder of the 2009-10 season and playoffs for the body check that injured a member of the Kitchener Rangers last Friday night.

The team now considers this incident closed. Neither the coaching staff, nor the players, will be made available to the media to respond or react to questions about the incident. We have two important games to prepare for this coming weekend and need to concentrate on what we do best; prepare for and compete in the OHL.”

Posted by Timbits on 11/04/09 at 06:21 PM ET

“Next thing the OHL will be putting stop signs on the backs of the jersey’”

If that will put a dent in hits from behind, then so be it. During world junior practices they sported them and it didn’t take away from the play.

“of course he was trying to hurt him… um hello.... that’s what body checks are for! every checker is trying to hurt every player they check. n”

Then you were taught wrong. Checking is to take a player off the puck and/or out of the flow of the action and to wear that player down. That’s all.

Posted by Shane from Saskatoon on 11/04/09 at 07:16 PM ET

fair enough about his age… so he’s a bit older. i didn’t look it up, just made the assumption based on the fact that it’s juniors and the other kid was 16

still think all of my other points are valid. it was a fluke.

and i’m a bit confused by anyone who says checkers in the game of hockey are not trying to inflict pain. that’s just silly. that’s the whole frigging point. those checks are supposed to take a gradual toll on the opponent physically, not simply hold up the player from proceeding.

what silliness. it’s a tragic fluke, plain and simple. suspend him for it, i don’t care. it sets an example that people need to be careful. but… with that said, he absolutely could have NOT “held up”. the kid turned his back in the final instant. it’s stupid to claim otherwise… but, i shouldn’t be surprised

Posted by perfection on 11/04/09 at 09:19 PM ET

perfection, i agree with you, the kid did turn his back in the final instant, and at that speed it is near impossible to adjust. But I still think it was a cheapshot. Liambas had him lined up from the start, he wasn’t going to play the puck, he was going to play the player.

i also think that a full season suspension is a little much, i think the 25 games downie got last year would get the point across

Posted by damji on 11/04/09 at 09:40 PM ET

and i’m a bit confused by anyone who says checkers in the game of hockey are not trying to inflict pain. that’s just silly. that’s the whole frigging point.

Wow.  Ignorance like this is completely astounding.

I mean...wow… Really?  Honestly?

Ok, I’m going to ask a 100% honest, genuine question here:

Are you conducting some sort of social experiment?  Because if you are, then cool.  Ok, no problem.  But if you’re honestly so ignorant as to think that the point of hitting is to injure then...well...I’m just...wow...I’m speechelss…

I certainly hope you never have children who show an interest in hockey, or any other contact sports.

Posted by Garth on 11/05/09 at 12:05 AM ET

Hockey is a contact sport for sure.
As player size and speed increases, competition for the big salaries intensifies, leagues may need to intervene to protect players from goons who have only one skill by which to make “the show”.

That hit IMO was clearly a head shot. Yes I’ve played hockey, and no you don’t have to hit in that way, unless you’re looking for the big killer hit so you can be the next NHL late hit head hunter like Phaneuf. He could have easily checked him hard without smoking his face into the glass.

And if he couldn’t have checked him cleanly then he shouldn’t be playing hockey at that level.
I like the clean physical play in hockey. I don’t like watching the better player’s career’s being diminished by goons taking cheap shots to keep collecting fat cheques or in hope of getting one.

Should fans have to put up with a thug player like Gary Suter seriously injuring two of the league’s best players and effecting the rest of their careers - Gretzky and Kariya? Do they want to?

Posted by hugo agogo on 11/05/09 at 04:14 PM ET

I’ve read through all of the comments on this page, and as a player in the OHL I am going to offer my opinion.  I strongly believe that this was a freak accident and nothing more. I know Liambas personally and he is one of the nicest and most honest players I’ve met. He had absolutely no intention of hurting Ben and he’s expressed himself publicly to that extent. As for the actual hit itself, one of the cleanest “questionable” hits i’ve ever seen, clearly Fanelli is young and in-experienced, and his reaction clearly depicts this. He gave Micheal his back virtually as the hit was being thrown and in my honest opinion it was too late, all Liambas is guilty of is finishing his check which would of simply rocked Ben opposed to the injuries he sustained. You all wanted a players opinion, now you have it.

Posted by Kyle Tarini from Sudbury on 12/31/09 at 04:03 PM ET