One ugly play last weekend has resulted in two suspensions for the players involved. The incident happened in last Saturday’s game between the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and the Sherbrooke Phoenix.
Early in the second period of the game, Drakkar forward Simon Desbiens hit Sherbrooke defenseman Jeremy Roy into the boards from behind. Desbiens had plenty of time to change course but opted to hit him right through the numbers.
Roy, who was hurt on the play, took offense to the hit. Once he was back on his feet, the Phoenix blueliner took two solid whacks at Desbiens.
Jeremy Roy and Simon Desbiens incident, both should be suspended from this. pic.twitter.com/5CrtRy1Itt
— Jérôme Bérubé (@Jerome_Berube) February 21, 2015
Desbiens was given a boarding penalty and a game misconduct. Roy was given a match penalty for slashing. Referees for the game were Olivier Gouin and Jean-Philippe Sylvain. Linesmen were Antoine Leblanc and Eric Poirier.
Desbiens and Roy Suspended
Both players will now get some time off to think about what they’ve done. Desbiens has been suspended seven games for the hit from behind. Roy will sit for four games for his retaliatory attack.
From the QMJHL’s Director of Player Safety, Raymond Bolduc, on the supplementary discipline for Desbiens:
The player at fault left the blue line, accelerated to the red goal line and hit his opponent from behind. His opponent was in a vulnerable position. The player at fault never slowed down and did not try to minimize the contact. He hit him in the back with force. His opponent fell and was propelled into the boards with force.
This is not the first offense of the player at fault.
Jeremy Roy was injured when his knee made contact with the boards.
“I played with Simon three years and this is not the first time I’ve seen him do that,” said Sherbrooke’s Daniel Audette. “It’s part of his game, he plays hard and sometimes it happens.”
From the QMJHL’s ruling on Roy:
After being hit from behind, the player at fault got up quickly and headed towards his opponent. He hit him twice with his stick. The first hit was on the skate and the second one was more violent at the ankle height.
Frustrated, the player at fault wanted to take the law into his own hands. The gestures were unwarranted and could have caused damage. This is not the first offense of the player at fault.
The two teams won’t meet again this season. Desbiens will be eligible to return for his team’s final two regular season games, a back-to-back against Chicoutimi. Roy will miss the remainder of the month.
