The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Waywayseecappo forward Ronald Vermette may require eye surgery after he was allegedly assaulted last weekend in a game against the Southeast Blades that has RCMP investigating. Right winger Ronald Vermette was taken to the hospital Saturday night with severe injuries and doctors have told him there is a 90-percent likelihood surgery will have to be performed. Vermette was hurt about the eye and eye socket, as well as the nose, forehead, and cheekbones. Vermette's father, Roger, told the Winnipeg Sun that Ronald was attacked in a three-on-one fight near the end of the game against the Blades on Saturday. "They attacked him. It was a gang attack," said Roger, a former Saskatchewan Junior A player who was at the game to watch his son play. "I've never seen anything like it before. You hear about it on hotel parking lots, but not on the ice. This is going beyond hockey." There was 34-seconds left in the game when Vermette skated back to the players bench. It was at that point when he became involved with a Southeast player also going for a line change. "And then two guys attacked him off the (Southeast) bench," Roger added when interviewed by the Winnipeg newspaper. "That part is true. The rest, we'll have to wait until the investigation is over." According to the Sun, MJHL commissioner Kim Davis is overseeing a separate investigation that is being conducted by the league. "I don't want to say or do anything that would jeopardize any investigation," Davis said. "When I have something to say, I will communicate it to the media." According to the official score sheet, Waywayseecappo's Tyson Friesen and Southeast's Nathan Blackwater received five-minute fighting penalties with 34 seconds left in the game. Southeast's Blair Sinclair received a double-minor for leaving the bench and a gross misconduct. Sinclair's teammate, Dean Shade, was also penalized for leaving the bench while also receiving a match penalty for attempting to injure, along with a game misconduct. The final 34 seconds of the game were never played. The Manitoba Junior Hockey League has handed down the following suspensions as a result of an incident in a game on October 18, 2003, between the Waywayseecappo Wolverines and the Southeast Blades. Southeast Blades Player Blair Sinclair is suspended for thirty games for receiving a match penalty for attempt to injure and for leaving the players bench to enter an altercation. This suspension will be reviewed after 30 games with the possibility of it being extended. Sinclair must also enroll in an anger/violence management program suitable to the MJHL before returning to play in the League. See 'Suspended' P.# Con't from P.# Player Dean Shade is suspended for five games for leaving the player's bench to enter an altercation and two games for receiving a gross Misconduct. Coach Troy Kennedy is suspended for five games for not having control of the player's bench. Player Darcy Weaselhead is suspended for two games for participating in a line brawl. Player Nathan Blackwater is suspended for two games for participating in a line brawl. The Southeast Blades are fined $1,500. Waywayseecappo Wolverines Player Robert Grochmal is suspended for two games for participating in a line brawl. Player Tyson Friesen is suspended for two games for participating in a line brawl. The Waywayseecappo Wolverines are fined $200.
