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Attack on hockey ref nets jail time

Official forced to give up sport

By: Mike McIntyre

Posted: 05/3/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

A Winnipeg hockey player is going to jail for an attack on a referee that occurred during a recreational game and ended the victim's officiating career.

Lance Guimond, 25, pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm for the June 2011 incident at the MTS Iceplex. He admits sucker-punching the referee, knocking him out cold, then kicking the man in the helmet with his skate as he lay on the ice. Guimond's stunned teammates struggled to pull him off the victim and get him under control. They held him back repeatedly as he tried to continue going after the unconscious victim.

"Your behaviour almost defies an adjective I can find to describe it," provincial court Judge Ray Wyant said Tuesday. "You were completely out of your mind with anger and rage. This type of behaviour is absolutely unforgivable and indefensible."

Wyant agreed to the Crown's request to give Guimond a year in custody. Guimond had been seeking a six-month sentence. The maximum penalty is 18 months behind bars.

The referee suffered a concussion and has had to give up involvement in the sport he loved, court was told. The man works full-time as an elementary school teacher and was supplementing his income with refereeing. He had previously officiated games in the Western Hockey League. He hasn't been able to return to the ice, suffering from headaches and sensitivity to light and at increased risk of further head trauma.

"When he woke up face-down on the ice in a pool of blood, he says he realized he couldn't do this job anymore," Crown attorney Ari Millo told court.

It was unclear from court documents why Guimond attacked the ref, but the trouble began when the ref was about to pick up the puck. Guimond fired the puck down the ice and shouted obscenities at the referee.

"Basically he says why don't you go get it, it's your job," said Millo. The referee responded by giving Guimond an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and skating towards the scorekeeper area. Guimond followed him, then attacked him from behind.

Millo said the referee is lucky his face or throat weren't exposed when Guimond delivered a vicious kick with his skate blade. The impact shattered the victim's helmet.

"It's almost like having a large knife at the end of someone's shoe," said Millo.

He told court there's been a growing number of incidents where referees are intimidated or assaulted and said the justice system needs to send a strong message for what is likely the most extreme example in Manitoba.

"This is definitely out of the purview of what is acceptable in the sport. An attack on a referee is something that needs to be deterred," said Millo.

Wyant agreed, saying he has played recreational hockey for much of his life and has children involved in the sport. He said the attack could have disfigured or even killed the ref.

"How chaotic and frightening that must have been for everyone involved," he said. "The referees, in any type of league or sport, absolutely deserve the protection and the respect of the participants and the courts."

Defence lawyer Pam Smith said her client suffers from issues including anger management and depression, which likely contributed to the attack. Guimond has previous convictions of violence, including knocking out a man during a dispute at a Winnipeg bar.

"Unfortunately he's had some problems he's bottled up inside him," said Smith. Following his arrest, Guimond told police he was sorry and said he was "better off in jail. I have issues I need to deal with."

Wyant also put Guimond on two years of supervised probation, which includes mandatory counselling. He's also been ordered to abstain from alcohol.

"I'm really apologetic for what I did. I don't go out to hurt anybody," Guimond said before leaving court.

www.mikeoncrime.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 3, 2012 A5

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