Jonathan Huberdeau may have played his last game in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and although he didn’t end it with a win, many say he ended it with a bang.
With just minutes left in Sunday’s game between the Halifax Mooseheads and the Saint John Sea Dogs, Huberdeau dropped his gloves.
Huberdeau and Mooseheads player MacKenzie Weegar received five minutes in the penalty box for fighting, two minutes for high sticking, and two for instigating.
Huberdeau has also been handed a four-game suspension.
He received an automatic suspension for instigating the fight and an automatic three-game suspension for abusing an official, after a linesman was injured in the altercation.
“It was his last game,” says Saint John Sea Dogs trainer Terry Blizzard.
“I think he knew it was his last game. I think he wanted to go out winning. He is a champion in so many ways. I think things might have got to him, but like I said, he was just trying to get to somebody and he would never mean to do anything. That’s not his character. So, it was definitely an accident, the heat of the moment, that’s how I saw it.”
The linesman was treated by paramedics after he dragged himself off the ice.
The league says they are treating the incident like any other.
“That’s just part of hockey,” says sports bar owner, Peter Ferguson. “I mean, the fans certainly like a good fight, as long as nobody gets hurt. It’s just part of the game.”
Despite his controversial possible last game in the league, Ferguson says Huberdeau made his mark on the port city and will be fondly remembered.
“Huberdeau is a fine young man and is a good example for all of the kids,” he says. “Everybody wishes him the best, especially playing for team Canada in the World Juniors, wish him all the best.”
Once the final buzzer sounded, Halifax took a 4-2 win over the Sea Dogs in Sunday’s game.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ashley Dunbar
