It was another full slate of OHL games this past Friday, and what began as an entertaining night turned out to be a scary one for the Kitchener Rangers, their fans, and the family of Ben Fanelli.

With his team up 2-0 eight minuted into the second period, Fanelli skated the puck behind his own net.  As Michael Liambas of the Erie Otters came bearing down on him, the Rangers defenseman attempted to reverse the flow by playing the puck back to his partner, but that didn’t stop him from receiving a vicious hit to the head, which sent his helmet flying into the air and knocked him to the ice where he lay unconscious for the next 40 minutes.

The Kitchener players began a prayer circle as trainers attended to Fanelli, who lay motionless beside a pool of blood created from a cut he sustained on his head.  His mom, who was in attendance with some other family members, reportedly fainted from the sight of her injured son and had to be revived.

Fanelli would eventually be taken off the ice and airlifted to the hospital where he remained in critical but stable condition.  He was diagnosed by doctors at the Grand River Hospital as having sustained a fractured skull and orbital bone, as well as facial lacerations, but has been making progress.

The latest news coming on Sunday states that he remains in intensive care, in critical but stable condition.  Our thought and prayers go out to Fanelli, his family, and friends during this tough time.

As for the culprit, Liambas has been suspended indefinitely by the OHL as the incident is under review.  Such aggressive behavior is nothing new for the Otters forward as only a week ago he was featured in two separate fights during a rough affair with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.  This time his actions were nothing short of barbaric.  Although he was reportedly very shaken up by the incident, that should not overshadow the lack of respect and utter disregard for the health of Fanelli he displayed on this scary play, which truly has no place in the game of hockey.

Let the debate on head shots continue. (Here is the replay on CBC HNIC Saturday Night)

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Two struggling clubs faced off in Tullio Arena when the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds visited the Erie Otters Saturday night and it didn’t take them long to let out some frustration on each other.

Things got heated early after a hit in the Greyhounds’ end sparked a fight between Dylan King and Michael Liambas (we’ll give this one to Liambas).  That was just the beginning.

Less than a minute later, a check from behind in the neutral zone by Sault Ste. Marie’s Daniel Catenacci resulted in a giant skirmish with several fists being thrown.  As the refs moved in to break things up, goaltenders Robin Lehner and Ramis Sadikov (of the Greyhounds and Otters, respectively) met at center ice bringing the already raucous crowd into an absolute frenzy.

They exchanged punches for the following 30 seconds or so before things were broken up.  It is tough to make a decision on this one, so I think we will call it a draw.

With the Greyhounds up 3-0 in the third, Liambas would drop the gloves once again in an attempt to spark his club.  He exchanged haymakers with a much larger Brian Shaw, but it was his final right hand that would put an end to this bout.  The Otters would get one back, but it was not enough as Sault Ste. Marie added two more to take this unfriendly affair by a score of 5-1.

Although the fans in Erie did not get to see their club earn two points in the standings, they did witness them accumulate several on the fighting scorecards.