Hockey players, coaches involved in brawl during post-game handshake

Some hockey fans are calling on leagues to eliminate the post-game handshake after both the coaches and players got into an altercation at a high school hockey game on the weekend.

It appears a play at the end of the game between the host Riverview Redman and Dalbrae Dragons of Mabou, N.S. carried over into the handshake, and both players and coaches started to fight following Saturday’s game at the County Recreation Centre.

“We just kind of lost our temper and both teams got into it,” said Redmen player Michael O’Reilly.

“Our trainer is a cop and he tried to break it up and then their coach went after him, so our players just all went in on it.”

The incident resulted in both teams being ejected from the Red Cup Showcase high school hockey tournament.

Observers said it was disturbing to see coaching staff join in the brawl, no matter how it started.

“It’s bad enough when you have students getting involved, or players, but when you have an adult involved with a kid, that’s pretty drastic,” said junior hockey scout Brent Desveaux.

“Well, it’s all about the kids and it’s not about the coaches,” said hockey fan Jack MacKeigan. “Bottom line is, win or lose, you lick your wounds and move on. It’s only a game and once that game’s over, that’s it.”

Desveaux said emotions often run high in tournaments and both he and MacKeigan felt the players shouldn’t have shaken hands after the game.

“All these kids are feeding off this emotion and kids are kids, right? The handshake happens like, two to three minutes after the game, and you can’t go from an emotional high to a low to be settled down,” said Desveaux.

“They should be sent to the dressing rooms instead of having to shake hands because it was pretty chippy at the end of the game,” said MacKeigan.

O’Reilly said this isn’t the way the Redmen wanted to end their tournament.

“It’s definitely not good, especially for the fans and the little kids watching too, it’s not a good experience for them,” said O’Reilly. “Some of them look up to us.”

“The bottom line in all this, it taints the Red Cup, it puts a bad name on the Red Cup,” said Desveaux. “We all know the Red Cup is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the Maritimes…but it puts a black mark on the Red Cup, which is really unfortunate.”

An official with the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation said the organization is investigating the incident.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Sarah Ritchie