QMJHL Suspends Cormier for the Season

Patrice Cormier of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will not be allowed back on the ice in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this season or for the playoffs. The league issued the suspension this morning. This is the penalty for his open-ice elbow to the head of the Quebec Remparts' Mikael Tam on Jan. 17.

Cormier, 19, could come back to the league next season as an overage player. The ban does not extend to next season. Cormier is a prospect of the New Jersey Devils, and there is no word on whether the terms of the suspension would be honored by the Devils or the minor pro teams they have working agreements with Lowell of the American Hockey League and Trenton of the East Coast Hockey League. This is part of the story being discussed on the Puck Daddy blog.

Lou Lamoriello, the Devils general manager, could have the option of sending Cormier to a minor pro team in a league that does not honor the QMJHL's ban.

Early this season, Michael Liambas of the Erie Otters was suspended for the year and the playoffs by the Ontario Hockey League after a hit from behind on Ben Fanelli of the Kitchener Rangers.



The OHL recently issued a 20-game suspension to forward Zach Kassian of the Windsor Spitfires for his head shot on the Barrie Colts' Matt Kennedy. TSN and Sportsnet offer reports on the situation.



Say what you will about the borderline hits and the over-the-line actions of the National Hockey League, but all of the actions detailed in the video clips above are by teenagers, basically. And actions learned or tolerated there will come up again should they graduate to a minor pro league or the NHL.

That is why the debate about how the juniors deal with these issues is important to hockey at all levels.

THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 2, at Philadelphia 1
At Carolina 5, Boston 1
At Colorado 4, Dallas 0
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Manchester 6, Hartford 1
At Chicago 5, Grand Rapids 1
Norfolk 1, at Lowell 0
Milwaukee 4, at San Antonio 3 SO
Syracuse 4, at Toronto 3 SO
At Providence 3, Springfield 0
At Rochester 3, Adirondack 1
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Kalamazoo 6, Toledo 3
Wheeling 3, at South Carolina 2
Bakersfield 5, at Stockton 2
At Idaho 8, Las Vegas 5
The standings are here.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Chicoutimi 5, Cape Breton 2
Moncton 5, at Quebec 2
Prince Edward Island 2, at Halifax 1 SO
Saint John 8, at Gatineau 0
Shawinigan 5, at Rimouski 0
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Guelph 5, Erie 3
At London 8, Peterborough 2
At Mississauga 5, Sudbury 3
At Ottawa 3, Kingston 0
At Windsor 5, Niagara 2
At Oshawa 3, Saginaw 0
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Calgary 6, Lethbridge 2
Medicine Hat 2, at Edmonton 1
At Portland 3, Vancouver 1
At Everett 3, Spokane 2
Kootenay at Regina PPD
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

All the Usual Suspects, Welcome to the Lounge

The Lounge is open and the first shot goes out to Sean Avery, who brought his entire game to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, leading the New York Rangers to a 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars.

His goal, three assists, 12 penalty minutes and a snarl gave Dallas problems all night. Well, good for him, although he did admit to the the maven, Stan Fischler, that he needed to have this kind of presence every game rather than once in a while.



Next at the bar is Michael Liambas, and his tab is closed until he can tell us what makes him think he has an unlimited number of second chances to burn before he is out of the game or playing le ministre anglais de la douleur in the LNAH. Do you think he could earn some penalty minutes (punitions) like these?

Liambis, 20, who was tossed out of the Ontario Hockey League this season for a punishing hit from behind that left Ben Fanelli with a fractured skull and orbital bone, has drawn a five-game suspension in the International Hockey League for a hit from behind.

Liambis, who fell into the welcoming arms of the Bloomington PrairieThunder, hit Muskegon's Jason Lawmaster from behind on Dec. 29. Lawmaster sustained a ruptured spleen on the play.

Now any number of people can say the result was not the intention, but when you hit from behind, you cannot control the result. And if you have been in this situation before, you should know better. At least, you should know what you need to do without putting someone in the hospital. The minor leagues and the juniors are there for a player to learn.

Like I said before, if you cannot learn, you can always graduate to the LNAH. But that's a rough crowd over there and I don't think they will take too kindly to frapper par derrière, either.



And finally, Dany Heatley, you've made some progress on settling your tab. Here's a short one for you.

Heatley, who seemed to be invisible in the San Jose Sharks' 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night, had the game winner in overtime on Wednesday as San Jose topped a woeful St. Louis squad, 2-1.

The folks doing the postmortems on "On the Fly" gave Heatley some praise, saying that when things are tight, you need your star players to come through, which Heatley did. So, I'll slide the glass his way. But there's no refill until he shows up at the beginning and takes over a game.

The Sharks' game against the Kings was a divisional challenge, one that you need to respond to. The Comcast Bay Area rinkside interviewer noted after the game that the Sharks will face everyone's A game this season. True, but that means the Sharks have to present a similar game. And that means you, Mr. Heatley.

So enjoy your shot. But I, like the good folks in Ottawa and Atlanta, remain somewhat skeptical.

THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Buffalo 5, Tampa Bay 3
At N.Y. Rangers 5, Dallas 2
At Philadelphia 6, Toronto 2
At Minnesota 4, Calgary 1
N.Y. Islanders 3, at Colorado 2
At San Jose 2, St. Louis 1 OT
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Adirondack 4, at Albany 3 OT
San Antonio 3, at Grand Rapids 2
At Lowell 3, Hartford 2
At Manchester 2, Springfield 1
Norfolk 5, at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4
At Hamilton 3, Chicago 1
At Rockford 4, Toronto 3 OT
At Texas 3, Houston 2 OT
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Charlotte 5, South Carolina 4 SO
Kalamazoo 4, at Johnstown 3 OT
At Cincinnati 5, Trenton 2
Las Vegas 2, at Ontario 1
At Alaska 5, Utah 3
The standings are here.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Victoriaville 7, Acadie-Bathurst 3
At Shawinigan 4, Baie-Comeau 2
Moncton 5, at Saint John 3
Montreal 4, at Cape Breton 1
At Rimouski 5, Chicoutimi 1
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Erie 7, Plymouth 3
London 4, at Owen Sound 3
At Sault Ste. Marie 5, Sarnia 4 OT
Oshawa 5, at Belleville 4 SO
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Brandon 6, Lethbridge 1
At Moose Jaw 5, Medicine Hat 1
At Kootenay 8, Saskatoon 1
Vancouver 6, at Red Deer 2
At Chilliwack 5, Prince George 2
Everett 6, at Kelowna 2
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

The Junior Watch and a Moment on the Soapbox

The Windsor Spitfires have retained the top spot in the Canadian Hockey League rankings, with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League contributing four teams to the rankings. Windsor leads the Ontario Hockey League contingent on the poll. The Western Hockey League has three teams in the top 10.

1. Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
2. Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)
3. Barrie Colts (OHL)
4. Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
5. Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
6. Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (OHL)
7. Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
8. Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
9. Tri-City Americans (WHL)
10. Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)

The other junior news of the day -- or at least slightly related to junior hockey -- is that of Michael Liambas reaching a deal to play minor pro hockey for Bloomington of the International Hockey League.

Liambas, according to TSN.ca, is expected to be with Bloomington for its Dec. 11 game with Flint. Liambas was a member of the Erie Otters of the OHL when he hit Kitchener's Ben Fanelli from behind on Oct. 30. Fanelli's helmet came off; the Ranger sustained skull and facial injuries.

The OHL suspended Liambas, 20, for the rest of the season. Liambas would not be eligible for junior hockey next season as a 21-year-old.

My take here is rather simple. He's eligible to play because the IHL does not recognize the OHL ban. What needs to be said now is that the IHL and Liambas' coaches must illustrate what needs to be done to keep this player in hockey.

It's too easy to just ban a player and let them fend for themselves. Lessons need to be taught. It might have been better to ban Liambas as a player in the OHL, but offer him a position within the league working on player safety issues and rules. A pipe dream perhaps, but it seems like working in the league's administration would help the young player learn more about how to play the game with more responsibility, which would make the game better in the long run.

Just a thought. Now, on the with report.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Rimouski 4, at Victoriaville 3 OT
Saint John 4, at Prince Edward Island 1
Shawinigan 6, at Drummondville 5
The roundup is here and the standings are here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
Ottawa 4, at Belleville 3
At Plymouth 6, Saginaw 2
The roundup is here and the standings are here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Brandon 7, Saskatoon 2
At Prince Albert 7, Swift Current 4
At Kamloops 5, Edmonton 0
Calgary 6, at Prince George 5
Kootenay 6, at Vancouver 2
Kelowna 6, at Everett 2
The roundup is here and the standings are here.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE
No games scheduled
The standings are here.