Ontario Hockey League suspends Swick, Kyrzakos until playoffs

The Ontario Hockey League has suspended Rangers forward Trent Swick and assistant coach Jeff Kyrzakos.

This stems from actions during Tuesday night’s game against the Guelph Storm where the Rangers fell 5-2.

Guelph’s Max Namestnikov delivered what the Rangers believed to be a dirty, blindside hit to Rangers defenseman Cameron Reid in the first period.

“That’s blindside boarding,” said Jussi Ahokas, head coach of the Kitchener Rangers post-game. “When the hit came, he doesn’t even touch the puck. That was a dirty hit for sure.”

Reid left the game after the hit and did not return. It is not clear if he’ll be back for the Rangers game on Friday against Oshawa.

After the hit, Rangers forward Trent Swick followed Namestnikov around the ice and delivered several shots to the head of Namestnikov in retaliation. He got the gate for fighting and was tossed from the heated matchup with a game misconduct.

For that, Swick has been suspended five games by the league and can return in game 4 of the first round of the OHL playoffs.

Kyrzakos was also suspended two games and can return by game 1 of the first round of the OHL playoffs.

The Rangers are back on the ice Friday night when they welcome the Oshawa Generals. Catch the pre-game on CityNews 570 at 6:35 p.m., with puck drop at 7 p.m.