The head coach of the Windsor Spitfires has been fined and the team's general manager has been sanctioned following the team's playoff game against the London Knights on Sunday.
The Ontario Hockey League announced on Tuesday that Head Coach Rocky Thompson will be fined $7,500 as a result of comments made on social media following the game. In a media release, the OHL calls Thompson's comments "most inappropriate and detrimental to the welfare of the league." The OHL also say the comments are not consistent with the league’s social media policy.
The OHL does not specify exactly which comments resulted in the fine, but in a video posted to the Windsor Spitfires Twitter page, Thompson accuses the London Knights of being "disrespectful to the game."
“There’s certain things in hockey that the NHL is trying to get rid of. For example hooking, holding and obstruction, they don’t want. That’s exactly what London was doing to us all night. And the refs chose not to call it,” Thompson says in a video posted on Twitter. "The other thing the NHL is trying to get rid of is diving. Any time there was the slightest amount of contact with the London Knights, they dove. And they got rewarded for it."
As well, Spitfires General Manager Warren Rychel has been sanctioned by the OHL for "violating league policy concerning interaction with on-ice officials before, during, and after the game."
Rychel has been called to a hearing scheduled for Friday where he may face further disciplinary action.
The fine and sanctions follow a two-game suspension issued to Spitfires forward Jeremiah Addison on Monday.
https://twitter.com/SpitsHockey/status/846117760908378116
