The OHL has handed down a five-game suspension to Kitchener Rangers forward Riley Damiani.
This follows an incident Sunday afternoon, when the Dallas Stars prospect inadvertently flipped the puck into the crowd following Kingston's empty net goal to make it 4-1.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the suspension was not listed on the OHL website.
Nonetheless, Damiani will be eligible to play on New Year's Day, when the Rangers host the Peterborough Petes.
This follows a five-game suspension handed down to Mississauga Steelheads star Owen Tippett, also not listed on the site.
Tippett, also a Team Canada hopeful for the World Junior Hockey Championship, flipped a foam puck into the crowd at the end of the second period December 7 against Oshawa, the team the Blueshirts host for Teddy Bear Toss Night Tuesday night.
Flipping the puck carries an automatic five games, but it was initially reported that when the OHL took the foam puck into consideration, they lowered it to one game.
The OHL has since posted both Damiani and Tippett on their suspensions page, both receiving five games.
This pucks misses the net, the glass & netting in behind it, and goes into the stands. Judge intent all you want, @OHLHockey is pretty clear on its rule. And Riley Damiani has picked up a 5-game suspension. Eligible to return New Year's Day, home to Peterborough. Just goofy. #OHL https://t.co/6YkXh930in
— Mike Farwell (@farwell_ohl) December 11, 2018
Annoyingly, it looks like it was off-camera. You can see the foam puck land on the ice, and Tippett head towards it, then the camera moves and you see the ref talking to him a second later. pic.twitter.com/tEVPuf1TRv
— caitlin berry (@caitlinsports) December 10, 2018
I’m told a puck into the stands is usually a five game suspension but because Tippett flipped a foam puck, the league took that into consideration and suspended him just for today, meaning it won’t affect his status for the World Juniors. (2/2)
— Iain Colpitts (@IainMissiNews) December 9, 2018
