About OSU-Michigan and center David Smith:
 
Whether or not Smith is a dirty player, if he purposely shot a puck into the
Michigan crowd (as opposed to accidentally deflecting it or something), he
should have been thrown out of the game.  Shooting a puck into the crowd is
nothing less than a deliberate attempt to injure somebody -- an action that
carries an automatic game disqualification penalty (for intent to injure) if
you do it to an opposing player, coach, or manager, or to an official.  I
didn't see anything in the rulebook about intent to injure a spectator (al-
though penalties are spelled out for players who go after people in the
stands), but I can't believe this kind of thing can go unpunished.  Even
though it happened during warm-ups, the officials are usually out there for
at least part of the warm-up period, so they should be able to make any
calls that are deemed necessary.  (I don't know if they were out there or
not when the incident occurred)
--
Bill Fenwick                        |  Send your HOCKEY-L poll responses to:
Cornell '86 and probably '94        |  [log in to unmask]
LET'S GO RED!!
"I'd call you a sadistic bestial necrophiliac -- but that would be beating a
 dead horse."
-- source unknown