Fife Flyers' Carlo Finucci hit with two-game suspension

He will miss the return match in Kirkcaldy tonight (Thursday) and Saturday’s road trip to take on Nottingham Panthers.

Finucci was ejected for slashing a Stars’ player just minutes after the game started.

The Elite League’s Department of Player Safety (DOPS) has ruled his actions as “careless” and decided they merited supplementary discipline.

It said a body check occurred between Finucci and his opponent.

DOPS noted Finucci “took exception” to the check, and it ruled that “he made a choice to create a form of retribution using his stick illegally.”

The safety panel stated: “Considering the opposing player was skating away and with his back to Finucci, the stick foul is considered ‘unsuspecting’.

“Finucci brought his stick back to create a baseball-like swing. The location of the slash was targeted at the back area of the opposing player’s leg where there is minimal protection.”

It considered “the two-handed swing” as “both aggressive and forceful” noting: “Although there appears to be no injury, the potential of injury is high. A hockey stick is not meant, or permitted to be used, as a ‘weapon’, and in this case the stick was used as such in a retaliatory action.”