Former NHL Goalie Suspended for Attacking Referee After a Goal
A crazy scene unfolded in a recent French professional league when former Senators goalie Matthew O'Connor attacked a referee.
After a significant scrum in the crease that blocked the goaltender's ability to make a save, the puck found its way into the net, and the referee actually called a good goal. O'Connor became livid, and started pushing the net to back the referee into the boards. The referee fell over as a mob formed around him, but then it quickly dissipated when more refs arrived.
"Whether physical or verbal, nothing justifies a violent reaction towards a referee," said the president of the Ducs d'Angers.
- Mikael Lalancette, translated to English
O'Connor was suspended internally by his team, the Ducs d'Angers, instead of the league's as a whole. It's almost certain that any league would issue a harsh suspension to O'Connor for this incident, and given the fact that Angers did not provide a timeline on the suspension, it feels like it could potentially be indefinite. It's a blatant and aggressive lurch at a referee that knocked the official over, which quite frankly should be grounds for expulsion from the league.
Matt O'Connor is a 32 year old goalie from Sault St. Marie, Ontario that's played a full hockey career in several minor leagues and professional leagues. O'Connor made one appearance for the Ottawa Senators when he was 24 in the 2015-16 season, and actually had a decent game with a .912 save percentage. Still, he never found a way back to the NHL, and played out the rest of his career in North America mostly in the ECHL, before moving overseas in 2019.
It's certainly strange to see a team announce an internal suspension with no additional details, so it may not be a good sign for the remainder of O'Connor's career.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 26 | 43 ANSWERS Former NHL Goalie Suspended for Attacking Referee After a Goal Do you think O'Connor will be allowed back into the French Pro League? | ||
| Yes | 11 | 25.6 % |
| No | 25 | 58.1 % |
| See Results | 7 | 16.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
