Kitchener Rangers’ Givani Smith will not face disciplinary action for physical contact with linesman Dustin McCrank.
Smith shoved McCrank to the ice in an attempt to continue an altercation, as reported earlier this week. No penalty was called on Smith for Abuse of Officials on the play.
After review, the Ontario Hockey League has opted not to pursue any further disciplinary action on Smith.
From the Waterloo Region Record’s Josh Brown:
“The bottom line is that the official didn’t feel Smith’s actions warranted physical abuse of an official,” said OHL vice president Ted Baker. “It was more the position of the linesman. He recognized that he was off balance and on his toes.”
“The way Smith moved makes it look more aggressive (in the video),” said Baker. “But it was a case of him (McCrank) being off balance. If officials at the time felt that it fell within the abuse of an official, a penalty would have been called (during the game), and one was not.”
Smith was facing the possibility of a 10-game ban. He’ll miss no time as the Rangers wrap up their regular season schedule and begin their playoff push.
“I think it was one of those things where there was different opinions on it,”Kitchener general manager Mike McKenzie told the Waterloo Region Record. “At the end of the day Givani has to be responsible for his actions and has to make sure that he doesn’t put himself in that spot.”
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