A Texas high school club ice hockey player has been suspended “indefinitely” after a vicious stick attack on a rival during a game at the weekend.
The shocking incident occurred during the clash between the Arlington/Midlothian Attack and the Grapevine/Colleyville Ice Hockey Association, who were meeting in the private AT&T Metroplex High School Hockey League.
Footage shows the Grapevine/Colleyville player getting up following a collision behind the goal, before lashing out with his stick at his grounded rival, first connecting to his lower back and the second time appearing to narrowly miss his head.
Officials then race over to restrain the player from inflicting further strikes on his downed opponent.
The teen was immediately handed a match penalty and removed from the game, and was later slapped with an “indefinite” suspension, pending a disciplinary hearing in January.
The league is sponsored by the Dallas Stars and is backed by the Texas Amateur Hockey Association (TAHA), which is an affiliate of USA Hockey.
TAHA vice president Lucas Reid told WFAA that the scenes were “the worst thing that I’ve seen on video.”
His colleague Reggie Hall, TAHA president, said: “We are disturbed by the actions seen on the video from this weekend’s high school game and have taken immediate steps to suspend the offending player indefinitely pending a disciplinary hearing in January.”
“These actions are not part of our game and have no place in our sport. Such acts are extremely rare and not representative of the players and families that participate in the thousands of games we oversee each and every season."
Responding to the footage online, some social media users branded the attack “criminal.”
The suspended player has not been named due to his status as a minor, WFAA reports.