Game Misconduct Has Rychel on Thin Ice
Warren Rychel is walking a thin line--assuming he hasn’t already crossed it.
Tossed out of the Ducks’ game against Ottawa a little more than two minutes after the opening faceoff, Rychel will face a suspension the next time he receives a game misconduct penalty.
The early and unofficial assessment of the tangled text of the NHL rulebook is that Rychel won’t face a suspension for this one because it wasn’t stick-related.
Rychel apparently found referee Paul Stewart’s magic button when he shouted at him after Stewart whistled him for hooking call.
“He got a game misconduct for being a jerk,†Coach Ron Wilson said. “It wasn’t stick-related or aggressor-related.â€
Rychel served a one-game suspension Nov. 11 for slashing the Kings’ John Slaney after accumulating two stick-related game misconducts within 41 games. His next stick-related game misconduct will result in a two-game suspension.
Under another rule, any three game misconducts during a season result in a one-game suspension, meaning Rychel is close on two counts.
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