Devils D-Man Suspended From Edinburgh Fixture

Cardiff Devils will be without defenceman Gleason Fournier against Edinburgh Capitals in Scotland this evening (Wednesday).

Fournier has been suspended for one Elite League fixture following an incident during the home game against Belfast Giants.

Welshman Jason Ellery, a former Cardiff Devils equipment manager who now fills that role with Belfast, has been banned for two fixtures, while Giants player Jonathan Ferland has been suspended for three games.

The League department of player safety ruled that Fournier should miss the trip to Edinburgh, saying: “At 0.06 of the first period an incident occurred involving Cardiff Devils player Gleason Fournier.

“Fournier makes a body check on an opposing player. In the course of attempting to make a legal body check, Fournier skated in a normal and proper skating stance in preparing to make body contact.

“Immediately before contact, and the reason for supplementary discipline, Fournier elevated up and outwards at the opposing player making head contact.

“Due to the elevation of his right shoulder the initial and principal point of contact is to the opposing players head.

“With the opposing player releasing the puck immediately before contact, it is concluded that the opposing player was in a natural skating and shooting motion (which was therefore not considered as the cause of the head contact).

“Due to the shooting motion of the player, it is dependent on Fournier to maintain his skating plain (not elevate) and make contact body to body so as to avoid head contact.

“The body check was reported as a reason for an apparent injury. It is not conclusive if the Check to the Head was, in part or entirely, the determining cause of the apparent injury. The opposing player did return to play and did engage in a fight later in the game. The fight may be another probable cause to the apparent injury.”

Fournier’s play has been deemed ‘careless’ by DOPS resulting in the one-game ban.

They also investigated an incident Ellery, who received a bench game misconduct at 56-43.

The incident has been automatically reviewed and DOPS have made it clear Devils did not request it.

“Based on the game officials report and the penalty assessed, Ellery, from the players bench, made comments that have been determined to be abusive and detrimental to the conduct of the game,” says the DOPS report which says it was unsportsmanlike conduct.

Ellery will miss the following games: Saturday, December 2 v Milton Keynes Lightning (away); Sunday, December 3 v Guildford Flames (away).

Ferland was assessed a two minutes plus 10 penalty for checking from behind and the DOPS review says: “This incident is deemed dangerous and needs to be eliminated from game.

“It is not a body check, not a battle for puck and not considered a good hockey play.”

Ferland will miss the next three Belfast matches against MK Lightning, Guilford and Manchester Storm, all of which are away.