A hard-fought battle at the IIHF Men’s Worlds between France and Slovakia devolved into a game-ending scrum with fighting penalties handed out. 

Slovakia’s Pavol Regenda and Patrik Hrehorcak were both given fighting majors and game misconducts, as was France’s Jordann Perret.   Yes, that’s correct, three fighting majors were handed out. 

Roughing penalties were issued to Slovakia’s David Mudrak and France’s Alexandre Texier. 

 


 

Fighting is not permitted in the IIHF — which defines fighting much differently than the NHL. From IIHF Rule 46:

‘Fighting’ is not part of international ice hockey’s DNA.

Players who willingly participate in a ‘brawl/fight’, so-called ‘willing combatants’, shall be penalized accordingly by the Referee(s) and may be ejected from the game. Further Supplementary Discipline may be imposed.

A ‘fight’ shall be deemed to have occurred when at least one player punches or attempts to punch an opponent repeatedly or when two players wrestle in such a manner as to make it difficult for the linespersons to intervene and separate the combatants.

Any player who persists in continuing or attempting to continue a ‘fight or altercation’ after they have been ordered by the referee to stop, or who resists a linesperson in the discharge of their duties shall, at the discretion of the referee, incur at least a major penalty (‘Fighting’) plus an automatic game misconduct penalty in addition to any additional penalties imposed.

Slovakia defeated France 2-1. Officials for the game were referees Michael Campbell and Andre Schrader, with linesmen Jake Davis and Tommy Niittyla.

Check out the full game highlights: