Already agitated by the loss, Rupert wasn’t having any of the ensuing taunt, as he immediately delivered a two-handed slash to the stomach of Cousins before dropping his gloves and pouncing on his wounded opponent.

As you might expect, a brawl between the two teams ensued, resulting in an indefinite suspension for Rupert, and two-game suspensions for three other Knights players and four Greyhound players.

I’d tell you that Cousins got the last laugh in this instance, as his team handed the Knights just their third loss of the season, but I highly doubt that he will be able to do any pain-free laughing after taking that nasty two-hander to the abdomen.

Here is a look at the incident.

Hat Tip – [HockeyWebCast]

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.

Justin scored 3 goals in the first period for the natural hat-trick, and then scored the next 2 in the second period, one of them being shorthanded.  He also recorded 2 assists that night for 7 points in one game, later receiving first star of the game. 

Justin won a Sarina resident “Jen Lyttle”, $10,000 for a contest run by 103.9FM/1070AM CHOK radio and their game sponsor Bond Petroleum for tying the Sting record for goals in a single game.  Jen Lyttle, says she is going to give Justin $500 for her unexpected winnings. 

So far Justin is off to a great start this season with the Sarnia Sting, he has only played 5 games adding 6 goals and 6 assists for 12 points.  He is currently 9th in the OHL in points.

20 year old, Justin DiBenedetto a resident of Maple, Ontario was drafted in 2008 by the New York Islanders in the 6th round, 175th overall.  A steal for the Islanders late in the draft.  Last year with the Sarnia Sting Justin DiBenedetto scored 39 goals and 54 assists for 93 points in 58 games playing alongside phenom and best friend Steven Stamkos. 

Justin DiBenedetto is sure to improve on those stats this year, and recieve multiple CHL Player Of The Week honors.   

Keep on eye on this kid! Islanders pro scout Tim MacLean:

“Justin is very skilled. He put up a lot of points and that wasn’t just from feeding off Stamkos. Justin likes to go in the dirty areas. He has a good shot good and is a finisher. He knows how to get to the open ice and developed good chemistry with his linemates. Justin works hard and plays well with skilled players.”

A future NHL grinder!