St. John's hockey league doles out 'unprecedented' suspensions for Caps-Breakers rumble

The St. John's Junior Hockey League has dropped the hammer on the Southern Shore Breakers following a fight-filled playoff game on Saturday night that saw referees issue nearly 600 minutes in penalties.

Twelve Breakers players and a coach received a combined total of 45 games in suspensions, while six players with the St. John's Jr. Caps were assessed a combined total of eight games.

League vice-president Boyd Hillier left no doubt about who was to blame for instigating what he described as an "ugly and embarrassing" scene at the Goulds Arena in St. John's in Game 3 of the quarterfinal series on March 7.

“Unfortunately, we had one team that figured they would be out of the playoffs and they didn’t want to play hockey," Hillier said of the Breakers.

The game featured brawls in both the first and second periods, and was halted early in the third because the Breakers could no longer ice enough players to continue. All four goalies received fighting majors.

The game ended with a 5-2 win for the Caps, and a three-game sweep of the series.

St. John's hockey game turns into 600-penalty minute fight fest

Hillier called it a "one-off" incident, and said the 568 minutes in penalties and more than 50 games in suspensions were both "unprecedented" for a league with nearly a quarter-century of history.

He said the league responded with a heavy hand in hopes of preventing similar outbreaks in future games.

"We must move on now with the playoffs," he added.

Six players on the Breakers — James Stamp, Jaedon Putt, Alex Gentry, Tanner Hawkins, Liam Kelly and goaltender J.T. Tobin — each received a five-game suspension.

Breakers tender Devon Bungay, who was assessed a gross misconduct for removing his mask before a fight, was given a