The brawl between the UCLA and USC hockey teams during the
decisive game for the 2006 Crosstown Cup will have a fallout. The
repercussions might not only affect the UCLA and USC teams,
either.
Pac-8 Commissioner Roger Kulpa, who oversees all operations of
the hockey league, has a self-imposed deadline to hand down
punishments to both teams by this afternoon.
Kulpa has yet to address which players will be punished and to
what extent.
“Yes, there will de disciplinary actions,” wrote
Kulpa in an e-mail sent Wednesday. “It will be another day or
two before I issue them.”
The fight, which came only two weeks after the collision between
UCLA goalkeeper Adam Kubalski and USC defenseman Matt Lewis, has
left Kulpa wondering if the incident should be handled differently
from other on-ice fights.
The standard penalty for a player fighting in collegiate hockey
is an automatic disqualification from that game and the next
one.
The game in which the fight took place was the last of the
season, and the penalty is expected to be transferred to the first
game of the next season.
But there is a possibility that Kulpa might not just penalize
Bruins and Trojans for the incident, but also make permanent
changes to Pac-8 procedures.
Following Kubalski and Lewis’ collision and prior to the
Crosstown Cup finale, USC coach Mark Wilbur contacted Kulpa via
e-mail in hopes of having four referees on the ice for that game,
rather than the three that is standard for most collegiate
games.
The fight started after USC scored a goal. As two USC players
were celebrating, junior forward/defenseman Jeff Sanka skated up
and cross-checked two USC players from behind, smashing the Trojans
against the boards.
Four players from each of the teams began a series of one-on-one
fights that escalated to a point that the three game referees could
not control.
UCLA’s Kubalski, Sanka, Carlos Cazares and Niki Kollar
were all ejected.
USC’s Lewis, Shon Smith, Jonny Baron and Ryan Farias were
also kicked out of the game.
It was news to UCLA coach Mike Kelly that the commissioner could
possibly be issuing punishment outside of the automatic game
suspensions.
“I’m surprised to hear that,” Kelly said.
“The commissioner hasn’t contacted me regarding
that.”
Wilbur has voiced questions as to how to equalize the penalties
for both teams.
All four of USC’s disqualified players were underclassmen,
while two of UCLA’s four were seniors.
“It wouldn’t really be fair to give extra penalties
to a senior who’s not coming back anyway,” Wilbur said.
“In that case it would mean that only one team is penalized,
and that wouldn’t be fair.”