OHL ANNOUNCES DISCIPLINARY ACTION – GAME OF OCTOBER 30TH, 2009 – ERIE OTTERS AT KITCHENER RANGERS



For Immediate Release

Wednesday November 4, 2009



Toronto, ON - The Ontario Hockey League today announced the results of its review of an incident which occurred in the game played in Kitchener on Friday, October 30th, 2009 between the Kitchener Rangers and the visiting Erie Otters.



The incident in question involved player Michael Liambas of the Erie Otters who was assessed a match penalty for boarding as the result of his hit on Kitchener Rangers player Ben Fanelli who sustained an injury to the head on the play.



In making the announcement as the result of the review, Commissioner David Branch stated that…”players must understand they shall be held accountable for their actions. We must all work towards improving the level of respect players have towards opposing players and the game in general”.



“It is the position of the Ontario Hockey League that player Michael Liambas of the Erie Otters Hockey Club be suspended for the balance of the 2009-10 playing season including playoffs”.


OTTERS OFFICIAL STATEMENT:
The Erie Otters Hockey Club takes note of today’s decision of the Ontario Hockey League to suspend Otters forward Mike Liambas for the remainder of the 2009-10 season and playoffs for the body check that injured a member of the Kitchener Rangers last Friday night.

As he is a 20-year-old, Mike Liambas’ career in the OHL is over and while the team regrets that this stern response was necessary, as judged by Commissioner David Branch and the league, we respect the decision.

We would be remiss if we did not note in parting that Mike was a popular teammate and an able contributor to the team in his time with Erie. Mike is also an A+ student with an average in the high 90s, and was a selfless contributor to and very involved with local charities in the Erie area in his time with the Otters. He is an exemplary young man and we wish him well in his future endeavours.

The team now considers this incident closed. Neither the coaching staff, nor the players, will be made available to the media to respond or react to questions about the incident. We have two important games to prepare for this coming weekend and need to concentrate on what we do best; prepare for and compete in the OHL.