Funny how this incident hasn’t become a You Tube cause celebre. From TSN (link courtesy Laure and I’m Sorry I Had To Kill That Guy)
Pittsburgh defenceman Ryan Whitney (above) has been fined $1,500 by the NHL for spearing Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin in the groin during the Penguins’ 8-1 victory at Mellon Arena Wednesday.
NHL executive Colin Campbell assessed the fine after a telephone hearing with Whitney Thursday morning.
”He was pretty sure by watching it wasn’t your normal kind of spear, where there’s a lot of intent,” Whitney told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. ”At the same time, he said that on the video, you could see my stick bend, which means I did get (Ovechkin) pretty good.”
Campbell pointed out to Whitney that his club would have done the same thing if their star player Sidney Crosby had been speared.
”He’s one of the young stars,” Whitney said, ”and Colin Campbell said, ‘I’m sure Craig and the Penguins would be calling, just like Washington was, if someone did that to (Sidney Crosby).’
Whitney’s alma matter, B.U., beat no. 1 ranked Boston College 4-3 last night at Chestnut Hill’s Conte Forum. Eagles goalie Cory Schneider (above), a Vancouver Canucks draft choice, saw his run of clean sheets snapped at 5 games, coming just 12 minutes short of beating the NCAA record for the longest scoreless streak.