Quebec hockey teen suspended for rest of the season after stick attack on referee

RIVIERE-DU-LOUP, Que. – A teenage hockey player from Quebec has been suspended for the rest of the season after using his stick to attack a referee in the neck area.

The incident occurred Nov. 23 in Riviere-du-Loup, northeast of Quebec City.

A disciplinary committee met with the teenager this week and handed down the suspension immediately.

“For us it’s obviously a severe sanction but there have been precedents,” Eric Turcotte, director of operations at Hockey Quebec-Chaudiere-Appalaches, said in an interview.

“The important thing is we don’t have an incident in the future that is more serious and that leads to serious injury.

”Hockey is a game and, although it’s an isolated incident, we want the sentence to be exemplary enough to serve as a deterrent to other young players.”

The boy attacked the referee after the official had given him a 10-minute penalty.

He later visited the referee in hospital to apologize.

The teen had not played since because he was serving a suspension of several games.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version had the wrong family name for the hockey official in para 4