London Knights forward Ryan Rupert has been suspended five games for his stick-swinging slash to the midsection of Sault Ste. Marie forward Nick Cousins on Nov. 11, the Ontario Hockey League announced Wednesday.
The incident took place after the final whistle of the Greyhounds’ 4-3 victory, as Cousins taunted Rupert who retaliated by two-handing the Soo forward before dropping the gloves and jumping on him while on the ice.
Rupert was assessed a five-minute major for slashing and a game misconduct. He was later suspended indefinitely.
For his role in the altercation, Cousins, and six others involved, were handed two-game bans.
Based on the violent nature of the incident and the OHL’s expanding crackdown on dangerous acts — including the recent 20-game suspension to IceDogs forward Tom Kuhnhackl for a scary hit to the head on Kitchener’s Ryan Murphy — the mild suspension has many scratching their heads.
The suspension may not come as much of a surprise to several Knights players, who stated earlier in the week that Cousins deserves his share of the blame for his instigating actions.
“I’m not afraid to say it was a gutless act on Cousins’ part,” Knights defenceman Kyle Flemington told the London Free Press. “He skated right up to Ryan (Rupoert) bumped him. He was looking for something to happen. If he just skated to their goalie to celebrate, nothing would’ve happened and both teams would’ve left the ice.
“I have respect for them (the Greyhounds) as an organization and he (Cousins) is a really good player, but you can’t respect someone who does that.”
Head coach Dale Hunter also weighed in on Cousins’ role in the incident and his reputation as an agitator across the league.
“He started something in Kitchener, too,” Hunter said. “The kid (Cousins) skated toward (Rupert), bumped him and was laughing after it. The league dealt with it and gave him two games for inciting.”
The OHL also announced Wednesday that Brampton’s Alex O’Neil and Saginaw’s Dean Pawlaczyk will be suspended for 10 and 15 games respectively for checking to the head infractions.
