Lake Superior State freshman Raoul Boilard has been suspended four games by the CCHA for a hit from behind that sent Minnesota State’s Sam Court to the hospital, where he remained four days later.

The Lakers’ freshman had scored his first collegiate goal in the first period in Mankato. By the end of the second, he was ejected. By Wednesday, he was suspended.

The CCHA announced Wednesday that Boilard, a fourth-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2024, has been suspended four games for his check from behind on Minnesota State defenseman Sam Court during the Lakers’ game at Minnesota State on October 31.

The hit came at 19:01 of the second period, with the teams skating 4-on-4 and Lake Superior State leading 1-0 thanks to Boilard’s first-period goal. Boilard drove Court into the boards from behind. Referees Nicholas Bradshaw and Tyler Olson issued a five-minute major for hitting from behind and a game misconduct.

Court was taken to the hospital. As of Wednesday afternoon, four days later, Court had still not been released; his family has released no details on his condition, and Minnesota State lists him as out indefinitely. The junior from Winnipeg, a transfer from Arizona State, had three goals in eight games this season.

Boilard earned the game misconduct, with the CCHA tacking on a four-game ban after a review by Director of Officiating Marco Hunt in conjunction with Commissioner Don Lucia.

“The CCHA is committed to eliminating dangerous and unnecessary contact from the game,” the league said in a statement. “Player safety remains a priority, and actions that put the health and well-being of another student-athlete at serious risk will be addressed appropriately through the league’s disciplinary process.”

Under the NCAA’s current guidance, officials working a hit from behind can choose from a minor, a major, or a major plus a game misconduct or disqualification; upon video review of a major, they can adjust the call up or down. The classification was tightened for this season: checking from behind is now reserved for hits from behind into the boards or the goal cage, with open-ice contact from behind handled as charging, cross-checking, or interference. Boilard’s hit – from behind, into the boards – sits squarely in the former category.

Four Games: Too light?

Online, the verdict was swift: four games is light for a hit that hospitalized an opponent in a 34-game college season, with some calling for Boilard to sit the rest of the year.

The shortened college schedule certainly makes each game more impactful. Four games in a 34-game season is similar to an NHL player picking up a 10-game ban – something we haven’t seen since Minnesota’s Ryan Hartman went headhunting in 2025 (and was reduced to 8 games after appeal).

The CCHA’s own history says something more complicated. Recent supplemental suspensions in this league have almost all been one game – including the closest comparable on record, Bowling Green’s Austen Swankler in December 2022, who drew the identical on-ice sentence Boilard got (a five-minute major and game misconduct for hitting from behind) and received exactly one additional game. One-game add-ons followed head-contact majors for Northern Michigan’s Isack Bandu (2023) and Medrick Bolduc (2025) and Bowling Green’s Ethan Scardina (2024). A four-game suspension that is entirely supplemental sits at or near the top of what the modern CCHA has handed out.

Both things can be true. Measured against Sam Court’s hospital stay, four games feels small. Measured against the league’s own precedent, it’s the league reaching for its ceiling – and factoring the injury into the sentence.

Boilard’s Ban Impact

The suspension covers Lake Superior State’s next four NCAA games: at Michigan Tech on November 13-14 and at home against Bemidji State on November 20-21. Boilard is eligible to return December 4 at Ferris State.

The Lakers, meanwhile, host Maryville – an ACHA program – tonight and Friday. Because the suspension attaches to NCAA competition, Boilard’s availability for those two non-conference games became its own flashpoint when the ban was announced; whether he dresses against Maryville will be visible in tonight’s lineup.

Boilard, 20, came to Lake State from the Cape Breton Eagles of the QMJHL, where he finished a junior career that began with a 62-point rookie season in Baie-Comeau. The Rangers traded up in the 2024 draft to select him 119th overall. Through eight games this season he has a goal and three assists – that goal coming one period before the hit that will keep him out until December.

Minnesota State heads to Northern Michigan this weekend with a hole on its blue line and no timeline for Court’s return.