Youth hockey player assaults ref at game, cops say
Posted: April 1, 2014 - 1:57pm
CORAOPOLIS, Pa. (AP) -- A youth hockey player from New York has been charged with assaulting a referee during a tournament near Pittsburgh.
The Beaver County Times reports Moon Township police charged 18-year-old Steven C. Smith, of Rochester, N.Y. with assault on a sports official and harassment for Sunday's incident at the Airport Ice Arena.
Smith was with the Monroe County (N.Y.) Eagles at an all-ages tournament when the referee called a penalty at the end of a game, which upset some fans.
Police say Smith was trying to leave the ice when a referee grabbed Smith's uniform collar. Smith allegedly turned and grabbed the referee's neck, before pushing him into the rink's boards and kicking the referee's feet out from under him.
Smith's team didn't return calls. He's being mailed a summons for a May 13 preliminary hearing.