Following Saturday night’s 7-1 loss to Peoria, the Southern Professional Hockey League suspended Columbus forward Craig Simchuk and coach Jerome Bechard on Sunday.
The Peoria goalkeeper Kyle Rank was stretchered out of Columbus Civic Center after the game on Saturday night, and the SPHL said in a news release that Bechard and Simchuk would be suspended while the incident was reviewed.
It is yet unknown how many games Bechard and Simchuk will miss in total. The next game for Columbus is on Wednesday in Fayetteville.
After coming off the bench in the middle of the second quarter on Saturday, Bechard was expelled from the game, and Simchuck was sent off for attempting to hurt Rank.
After coming off the bench in the middle of the second quarter on Saturday, Bechard was expelled from the game, and Simchuck was sent off for attempting to hurt Rank.
When the puck went to Rank’s left, Rank could be seen on camera peering behind his net. Simchuck smashed into the net post, causing the net to come loose, coming from his blind side.
After the hit, the game was stopped for fifteen minutes while Rank was carried to a nearby hospital on a stretcher.
According to a source close to the Cottonmouths, Rank had a concussion on Sunday, but he was discharged from the hospital and made the trip to Huntsville on Sunday night with his team.
