Hockey P.E.I. stiffens penalties for unacceptable behaviour

Hockey P.E.I. has increased penalties for poor conduct at games played on the Island, citing what it calls a "disappointing increase in incidents at all levels of minor hockey."

Under the new rules, team officials will have their suspensions doubled if they receive a penalty that involves disrespect, abuse or harassment.  

Guilty players will receive an additional one-game suspension on top of the minimum two-game suspension. If the behaviour includes discrimination, people will face indefinite suspension pending a hearing. 

Mark Connors, a goalie from Halifax who was the victim of racial slurs last November on P.E.I., welcomed the changes.

"My incident caused this, well in a good way, to bring light about racism and to fix problems that we have in hockey in general," he said.

"The younger generation, they're all interested in learning about how my experience went and some of them want to know how they can stop this, how they can fix this during the games and how they can prevent this as being the younger generation."

Keith Ford, president of the Charlottetown Minor Hockey Association, said the new penalties are a sign the hockey community is clamping down on unacceptable behaviour.

"Maybe in past years people have let it slide and thought they could get away with it," he said.

"Now that things are coming to the forefront, we're trying to stay ahead of it, and there's no place for it. So we want to stay ahead of it before it gets out of hand."