The great 100% Injury Rate sent over this clip of Elias Grossmann (Nickname: "Gross") of the Grande Prairie Storm going bonkers during a scrum against the Vernon Vipers in Game 2 of the British Columbia Hockey League Doyle Cup Regional Championship series.
In the final 26 seconds, with his team facing a 0-2 series deficit, Grossmann gets into a jersey-ripping wrestling match with a linesman. We've seen guys determined to get back into a fight before ... just not this determined:
First he left his feet to elbow Vipers forward Bryce Kakoske in the face, then Grossmann proceeded to try and fight everyone on the ice, including a referee. Yes, Grossmann even beat up a ref. Oh, and on top of that, he then spit in the ref's face while he was being escorted off the ice. Man, all I can say is that this guy will be lucky if he ever sees the ice again.
There's a very good chance he's played his last game with Grande Prairie, actually. Don Moon, business manager for the team, told us today that Grossmann is suspended indefinitely by Hockey Alberta.
On top of that, Moon said Grossmann is a 20-year-old player that's aged out of juniors after this season; if his team doesn't advance to the next round of the playoffs -- Game 3 of the seven-gamer is tonight -- it's likely Grossmann's final game in a Storm jersey had him getting it ripped off by a referee.
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Moon also offered some context on this situation, which admittedly looks very much "goon goes nutso" at first glance. He said Grossmann only had one fight before the incident. Grossmann also visited the officials to apologize after the game, and Moon said the player claims what was called "spitting in the ref's face" was actually an attempt to spit his mouth-guard out to argue.
In any case, it's a hell of a hockey clip. And an argument for referee hazard pay.
[H/T FanIQ and Total Pro Sports]
