Former National Hockey League forward Nick Ritchie was ejected from a game for repeatedly punching a defenseless opponent. Now he’s awaiting word on a potential suspension.
Ritchie was battling with TPS Turku’s Markus Nurmi in the corner, eventually grabbing Nurmi’s neck and pushing him down to the ice.
He delivered a series of gloved punches to Nurmi, who did not engage. Linesman Markus Hägerström eventually jumped in to end the one-sided scrap.
Referees Sakari Suominen and Antti Boman issued a major penalty for roughing along with a game misconduct.
UPDATE: Ritchie has been suspended eight games for “one-sided, deliberate and non-spontaneous violence” by SM-Liiga.
From the Finnish League’s ruling:
Ritchie and Nurmi stay in the corner of the rink, where Ritchie knocks Nurmi down from the neck, pressing him to the ice. After this, Ritchie hits Nurmi in the neck with his glove, causing Nurmi’s helmet to come off. After this, Ritchie continues to hit Nurmi, who is lying on the ice, with his gloves.
Ritchie hits the trapped Nurmi five times on the neck/head. The hitting ends when the linesman comes between the players. Even after the linesman got in the way, Ritchie hits the rising Nurmi in the head one more time.
The disciplinary delegation states that Ritchie is guilty of one-sided, intentional and non-spontaneous violence with his actions described above. Based on the situation, Ritchie should be banned from the game based on the attacking party clause of the fighting rule (rule 46.4).
Regarding the measurement of suspension, the disciplinary delegation states that such an activity does not belong to hockey to any extent. The disciplinary delegation considers the fact that Ritchie hit Nurmi on the neck, after all, as the reason for increasing the duration of the suspension.
The action in question – hitting the opponent on the neck/head, who does not know to expect the punch at all – is completely against the respect of the opponent, and furthermore, such action is also against hockey’s so-called internal code.
The fact that Ritchie continues to hit several times in a situation where the opponent is lying on the ice only to protect himself from future blows is considered to be a further aggravating factor in the punishment.
Evaluating the situation as a whole, the disciplinary delegation considers that Ritchie should be banned for eight matches.
Ritchie has one goal and four assists in 10 games with Oulun Kärpät – along with 70 penalty minutes.
Ritchie played eight seasons in the NHL, scoring 84 goals and 102 assists in 481 games with the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Arizona Coyotes, and Calgary Flames.
