WHL still mulling punchout of Tips’ Beach

Published 6:25 am Friday, January 18, 2008

EVERETT — Everett and Spokane are still waiting to see what kind of fallout there will be from a fracas that left Kyle Beach, the Silvertips’ leading scorer, sprawled unconscious on the ice moments after Wednesday’s game between the teams.

On Thursday, Beach’s condition was still being evaluated and the Western Hockey League had yet to take any action based on the altercation.

“(Beach) is being tested, going through the precautionary measures, and the league will deal with it and we’ll move forward,” said Everett coach John Becanic, who was awaiting news along with everyone else.

The mayhem that led to Beach’s KO ensued following the final horn of Everett’s 2-1 triumph Wednesday in Spokane. It began when Beach got tangled with Spokane’s Mitch Wahl. After the two were separated, Beach was confronted by Spokane’s Chris Bruton. Beach shoved Bruton in the face, and Bruton responded with a haymaker that knocked Beach down and out.

Beach was unconscious for a period Becanic estimated at between 15 seconds and a minute. After laying on the ice for several minutes, Beach was placed in a neck brace, then helped to the locker room. He was not taken to the hospital following the game.

Bruton was assessed a match penalty for intent to injure. Beach received a roughing penalty.

“What I saw was Beach pushed Bruton and Bruton threw a wild punch,” said Everett captain Jonathan Harty, who was on the ice during the incident. “You’ve got to protect yourself. Beach should have had his hands up at least.”

Beach did not take part in practice Thursday, though he was at the arena. The team was still awaiting the results of his concussion test. Beach, who already suffered one concussion this season from a fight, was listed as doubtful for tonight’s game against Portland.

“I don’t know, that’s for the doctors to decide,” Becanic said about Beach’s condition. “They’ll go through the same protocol they normally will. Obviously when you’re unconscious the way he was on the ice you’re going to be a little bit more conservative.”

Beach was not made available for comment.

WHL vice president Richard Doerksen, who handles discipline, said no decision has been made regarding any potential suspensions. Doerksen said a review is ongoing and a decision hopefully will be made this afternoon.

According to the Spokane Spokesman-Review, both Bruton and Spokane coach Bill Peters were confident Bruton, who was playing his first game following a three-game suspension for a checking-from-behind penalty, would not be punished by the league. And Peters sounded unconvinced about Beach, who has a reputation for embellishing injuries.

“I saw two punches — one punch with a glove on and (another) punch with a glove on,” Peters told the Spokesman-Review following the game. “I’d be shocked if there’s (a suspension on Bruton) from that — absolutely shocked. Let’s not kid ourselves, you talk about acting 101.

“You get knocked down, you get up, that’s hockey.”

The Spokane fans also seemed unconvinced as there was a fair amount of booing as Beach was helped off the ice.

“It’s kind of disappointing to hear Peters say that and for the fans to act the way they did with all the boos,” Becanic said. “They’re just kids. It doesn’t matter whether there’s a history or not, when a person’s unconscious it’s dangerous. The sport’s not about players getting hurt like that.”

However, Becanic did not have reactionary words when asked whether Bruton deserved a suspension.

“It depends on how it’s interpreted,” Becanic said. “There’s a lot of pushing and shoving, guys are rubbing their gloves in each other’s faces, so there’s a lot to provoke it. And it’s Kyle. It’s how the league looks on Kyle. If it was any other player I think it would be a no-brainer. With Kyle there’s going to be a reason for them to maybe question it.”

The incident leaves open the question of further altercations when the teams play again Saturday in Everett. However, Becanic was quick to dismiss those possibilities.

“There won’t be any action on our part come Saturday,” Becanic said. “We’ve got to win, we’ve got to play better. We were not a very good team (Wednesday) and we were fortunate we got great goaltending (from Leland Irving), some pretty good penalty killing and won a game maybe we shouldn’t have won. We’ve got to get that better, we’re not worried whether Bruton’s in the lineup or not.”

Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog