With blood stained on his hands and shirt, and holding a bloodied towel to the back of his head, Thunder head coach Dave Allison spoke about one of the ugliest incidents ever witnessed at the Ice for Kids Arena.
The Thunder won the game 3-1 against the visiting Dryden Ice Dogs here last night, but the real story revolves around what happened after the final whistle had blown.
A scrum erupted along the boards in which a Thunder player punched an Ice Dog in the face while he was being held by the referees.
That’s when a stick was thrown from the Ice Dogs’ bench, which landed near Allison.
“We didn’t do anything, there was nothing wrong, and then at the end of the game [Dryden head coach Larry Wintoneak] throws a stick at our bench,” noted Allison.
“And then he comes out of the doorway and starts coming towards our bench.”
Allison stepped onto the ice. Wintoneak did the same and then threw a punch that missed Allison’s head, but Allison slipped and found himself knotted up with Dryden’s trainer Kevin McCallum.
“That’s when all hell broke loose,” as Allison put it.
The coaching staffs were entangled in fisticuffs, and so was almost every player from each team all over the ice—while fans in attendance rose to their feet with disbelief in their eyes.
The incident lasted for close to 10 minutes, and led to the OPP being called to the arena.
“As a professional, I’m not happy about losing my cool, and I’m sure Dave feels the same way,” Wintoneak said, holding a towel of ice over his bloodied head while an OPP officer waited at Dryden’s dressing room door to get his version of what transpired.
So what did happen?
According to Wintoneak, he saw Clayton Windigo “sucker punch” Jamie Davis, an Emo resident who plays for the Ice Dogs. Davis had been involved in a second-period altercation with the Thunder’s Ian Lockman, with both being handed slashing penalties.
“And then [Andrew] Dault [of the Thunder] butt-ended [Shaun] Newman. That’s kind of how it started,” added Wintoneak. “Newman went down and then there was a little scrumble on the side of the boards.
“The game ended, and they were after Jamie Davis and then Windigo suckered him,” he remarked.
Thunder assistant coach Greg Madill has a different version.
“Well, as far as I can see, Davis took a run at [Ian] Lockman and then the next thing I knew, there was a stick flying in from their bench to our bench.
“That’s when we started looking at them, and that’s when they started coming towards us.
“[The stick] came from their bench, I’m positive about that,” Madill stressed. “I didn’t see who threw it, but it was somebody standing on their bench.”
Tensions seemed to alleviate, but when Allison turned his back, Wintoneak “suckered Dave and that was a mistake,” Madill noted.
Madill also said he didn’t regret the incident.
“Do I regret it? No, because they’ve had it coming for a long time,” he remarked. “They’ve been jamming our guys, and you’ve seen them when they score a goal—they go right by our bench.
“I don’t understand why the referees allow that.
“The referee turns his back and they try and try and try to egg us on all the time. We’ve been holding back for a long time, and then it just boils over,” added Madill, holding a bag of ice to his hand that appeared to be broken.
The Thunder and Ice Dogs are scheduled to play again tonight, this time in Dryden, but Allison and Madill, along with Wintoneak and McCallum, won’t be behind the benches after receiving gross misconducts stemming from last night’s brawl.
It’s still uncertain what steps the SIJHL will take in terms of suspensions, but 10 players were given fight and game misconducts last night by referee Stephen Kontzie.
They include Tyler Barker, Martin Kloucek, Windigo, Lockman, and Dault for the Thunder, and Rheal Assie, Blair Oversby, Kyle Schroder, Sean Bassingthwaite, and Davis for Dryden.
Allison and Wintoneak gave the impression last night they both regretted the incident. Yet both also made it clear they felt they had no other choice but to act the way they did once the situation reached a certain point.
“Well, we’re trying to break it up and [Wintoneak] comes over and suckers you when you’re not looking,” said Allison. “I’d pretty much say we were put in a corner.”
“That’s not right. I’m the coach, and I shouldn’t be fighting,” said Wintoneak. “It’s one of those scenarios where it’s survival. This is my team, these are my boys, and I didn’t like what was going on.
“As a professional, I’m not happy about losing my cool, and I’m sure Dave feels the same way,” he concluded.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
