Anyone have a link to the video of the hit? I've heard it was a clean hit, but that's hard to believe...

Shouldn't he have only been suspended for half a game?

GooberMcFly: Anyone have a link to the video of the hit? I've heard it was a clean hit, but that's hard to believe...

Youtube has it, search for Michael Liambas or the other guy's name. It wasn't a very harsh hit, just bad timing by both players and a very powerful hit. Looked clean to me though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz9B3aLBW14

In his defense, the guy he hit turned at the last second. It probably wouldn't have been as bad if it hadn't been a shoulder to the back... into the boards...

There's a lot of people decrying the suspension calling it harsh.

Clearly they have no recollection of the hard line the OHL has taken in recent years. Seriously, this wasn't to be unexpected.

I don't think the hit itself warranted Liambas being suspended for the rest of his OHL career. If the OHL is taking into account the kid's reputation as a dirty player + the hit + the results of the hit then you can kind of see where they are coming from.

What should come from this is player's being required to tighten up their chinstraps. Your helmet is there for a reason.

Green. Should be an interesting discussion.

A couple of things now that I've seen the hit a couple of times.

1 - At the very least, this was charging. Liambas had Fanelli lined up from a long way away.

2 - Fanelli is 16 years old and is therefore a child. Like it or not, there was bound to be "OH NOES THE CHILDRENS" outrage, which the OHL would certainly like to avoid. I'm not taking a side here, I'm just saying it's certainly a factor.

3 - As I said previously, the OHL has taken a very hard line on discipline in the last few years. With injuries this severe and given their past direction, I'm really not surprised they came down this hard.

Video

/looks like a savage but pretty much unavoidable hit to me

Nasty hit, but it looked clean from the get-go.

Cuidado! Liambas!

Rev.K: Green. Should be an interesting discussion.

2 - Fanelli is 16 years old and is therefore a child. Like it or not, there was bound to be "OH NOES THE CHILDRENS" outrage, which the OHL would certainly like to avoid. I'm not taking a side here, I'm just saying it's certainly a factor.

I sincerely hope people don't start talking about this in terms of children vs. adults. 16 year-olds can play in the CHL and so can 20 year-olds. It would be unreasonable to expect a player to know the age of the opposing players and adjust their game accordingly.

If the difference in player size due to age is significant enough to affect a suspension decision our whole junior program is going to have problems.

Suspending a guy for the season because the guy he crunched doesn't know how to wear a helmet is weak.

It's called charging, people.

And not letting up when the opponent is turning is one thing, but he possibly finished him with his hands/forearm after he turned. He had to get some piece of him since he skated all that distance to get there. Is this not what we have been teaching kids in youth hockey not to do for at least the last 10 years?

You wanna treat the opposition like a piece of meat instead of a human being? Destroy a life or livelyhood? Go for it.

I've been following/playing hockey the last 30 years. I love the hard hits, blood n' guts, brawls etc. as much as the next caveman fan, but it's just an obvious disrespect to your opponent and their well being. It's one thing to hit a guy and have him turn last second, it's another to charge from the blueline from a players blindside with the sole intention of inflicting as much pain/hurt as possible.

Suspension well earned IMHO. Liambas certainly got his wish of impressing everyone by being the big hitting hero.

Steve Downie imitators deserve to have their draft year cancled out. Make a name for yourself by being a player, not a headunter artist.

Clean hit. Please God let this kid recover to play again. What needs to be addressed is maybe putting boys on the ice with men.

On the league, not the guy who delivered the hit.

...and, if you've ever been hit, even a half shield will not always protect the front of your face from being smashed like a potato chip against the boards/glass, tightened or not tightened.

S.A.S.Q.U.A.T.C.H.: Stuff

Absolutely

Before anyone else comes in with the "but but but he TURNED!" BS argument, this is Junior, not NHL. Golden standard in Junior hockey leagues for boarding and hit from behind calls is that you are in full control, at all times, when you're hitting someone. Liambas was skating at Fanelli to hit him from at least the tops of the circles.

Also, people in this forum calling this a clean hit? Are you kidding? Liambas went for the head on that shot. Wouldn't have mattered if Fanelli was facing him or not - it was an elbow/forearm to the head, which is also rather frowned upon.

Rev.K: There's a lot of people decrying the suspension calling it harsh.

Clearly they have no recollection of the hard line the OHL has taken in recent years. Seriously, this wasn't to be unexpected.

Also this. OHL players are not professional hockey players, many of them are still in developmental stages of growth. They should not and will not be held to professional playing standards, and to do so would be foolish in the extreme.

There's another angle on the hit, from the camera that's behind the goal. In it you can see Liambas' forearm and elbow come up around the guy's head and neck. In fact that's where most of the contact was. It wasn't a shoulder into the back. Just go to :38 in this for the better angle (pops)

And a hit like that, doesn't matter what league, you'll sit for a while.

PowerSlacker: Suspending a guy for the season because the guy he crunched doesn't know how to wear a helmet is weak.

It's how he hit the guy that counts, not that he did.

MonkeyButton: Clean hit.

Far far from it.

WhyteRaven74: There's another angle on the hit, from the camera that's behind the goal. In it you can see Liambas' forearm and elbow come up around the guy's head and neck. In fact that's where most of the contact was. It wasn't a shoulder into the back. Just go to :38 in this for the better angle (pops)

And a hit like that, doesn't matter what league, you'll sit for a while.fark, I hadn't even seen that angle before and I called it a dirty hit...

That was a clear headhunt, Liambas hit him in the head with an elbow. I'm not sure rest of the season is even enough for that bullshiat.

Alright, tag fail there...

Clearly a dirty hit from that angle. From behind, to the head, with the elbow.

Please stop calling it a clean hit ya fools.

CAPS GOAL!

WhyteRaven74: It's how he hit the guy that counts, not that he did.

MonkeyButton: Clean hit.

Far far from it.

Not that far from it. When you're hitting a taller guy you tend to get your arms up. It was still a charge, but I can't see it as intent to injure.

Not that I'm defending the hit, but...

How did the guy that was hit have his helmet fall off so quickly? Was it done up properly? This is OHL right? So should he have had a full face shield on?
Why'd he turn his back to the guy hitting him?

jekostas: That was a clear headhunt,

That and you really don't go for someone behind their own net unless you're right there with them in the first place. Skating from way out to plow into them is just frowned upon. You're not there to check the guy, let him skate out and clear the puck.

caid-bp7: WhyteRaven74: It's how he hit the guy that counts, not that he did.

MonkeyButton: Clean hit.

Far far from it.

Not that far from it. When you're hitting a taller guy you tend to get your arms up. It was still a charge, but I can't see it as intent to injure.

No, no you don't. Why in the bloody hell would you think that?
If you're a smaller player hitting a bigger player you get compact so you can keep your centre of gravity low.