Last Thursday during a game between the Richmond Sockeyes and the North Vancouver Wolf Pack of the Pacific Junior Hockey League, chaos broke out late in the third period of the Sockeyes 6-1 win. North Vancouver's goalie Evan Paul froze the puck before getting into a scuffle with Sockeyes defenseman Eithan Grishin.
The two began to square up before all other players on the ice join in creating a pileup. The pile forced Grishin and Paul to the corner and onto the ice, but eventually the two emerge standing where Grishin appears to have Paul in a headlock. As officials looked to seperate everyone, a linesman began to try to break the headlock, and upon doing so, Paul fell to the ice, motionless. As it turns out, Grishin had Paul in a guillotine choke.
On the play, Grishin received a slashing minor, a match penalty for a blow to the head, a 10-minute misconduct, and a game misconduct. Paul received a roughing minor and didn't finish the game after being helped off the ice.
According to Steve Ewin of The Province, Grishin had been suspended twice on the season already, most notably a 13-game suspension in November. He is currently suspended indefinitely pending league review of the incident Thursday. Paul, on the other hand, is recovering at home with what the team is calling a "severe" neck injury.
It is an absolutely unacceptable act by Grishin, especially on a goaltender. Grishin's junior career will likely be over once the league completes their review as the 19-year-old has already missed 16 games this season due to suspension. He has 147 penalty minutes in just 25 games this season.
