McSorley suspended for attack on Brashear

Tuesday, February 22nd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) -- The NHL indefinitely suspended Marty McSorley on Tuesday for knocking out Donald Brashear with a stick-swinging hit so savage that police are investigating. The Boston defenseman, known more for his fists than his finesse, struck Brashear, another renowned tough guy, across the right temple and he crumpled to the ice.

Brashear's head struck the ice as his helmet came off, his body twitching and blood oozing from his nose. He sustained a concussion and will be out for at least two to three weeks, the Canucks said Tuesday after he was evaluated overnight at a Vancouver hospital.

Brashear was released from the hospital and came to GM Place to meet with team trainers Tuesday, but did not comment. The NHL will convene a hearing Wednesday to determine how long the suspension will last and any further punishment.

With only 2.7 seconds remaining Monday night, and the Canucks holding a 5-2 lead, McSorley skated up -- out of Brashear's view --and swung his stick with both hands against Brashear's head. "I apologize to Donald Brashear and all the fans who had to watch that," McSorley said Monday. "I embarrassed my hockey team.... I got way too carried away. It was a real dumb play. "I'm still in shock at what I did," he said. "I have to come to terms with what I did. There's no excuse. It was so stupid, I can't believe I did it."

Police, deluged with calls from angry fans, are investigating and said they will consult with the NHL. "We have a situation here where it would appear, or that it's been alleged, that there was a fairly vicious attack by one person on another," said constable Anne Drennan, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver police.

She said police have not yet interviewed Brashear or McSorley and she doesn't know how long the investigation will take. The findings will be sent to a prosecutor, who will decide whether to file charges.

Canucks general manager Brian Burke, once the NHL's chief disciplinarian, said the police should stay out. "Leave this stuff on the ice; leave it to the National Hockey League," Burke told Vancouver radio station CKNW. "We don't need the Vancouver police department or the RCMP involved in this."

Referee Brad Watson declared the game over with the remaining seconds unplayed. "We couldn't believe what we saw and didn't know what to do," Canucks left wing Brad May said. "It was crazy out there. I have no respect for that guy ever again. Anybody who has ever had respect for him should lose it. "He's our big brother out there," May said of Brashear. "He sticks up for our team, he's the toughest in the league. To get hit like that, it's just uncalled for."

McSorley, who received a match penalty for attempt to injure, has lasted 17 years in the league because of his ability to fight and protect his more skilled teammates. He has been suspended at least five other times in his professional career.

"It's a shocker," Boston captain Ray Bourque said. "I've never been a part of anything like that or witnessed anything like that. There is no way to justify it."

The longest suspension the NHL has even imposed for an on-ice hit was a 21-game banishment given to Washington's Dale Hunter for a blind side check of the New York Islanders' Pierre Turgeon after a goal in a 1993 playoff game. McSorley is best known for serving as Wayne Gretzky's protector with the Edmonton Oilers and then with Los Angeles as the two were traded together in one of hockey's biggest deals.

"Marty has always been an honest player," said Vancouver captain Mark Messier, a teammate of McSorley's on the Oilers' Stanley Cup teams. "He has always been a tough player and he's always played the game hard and played the game tough. "I've never recalled him doing anything like that before. It was tough to watch knowing him and watching Donald, a teammate. It was a dangerous play. We can't allow that to happen in the league."

Brashear, 28, fought with McSorley just two minutes into Monday's game and clearly got the best of his 36-year-old opponent. He landed several hard lefts before dragging McSorley down to the ice. McSorley challenged Brashear again in the first period, but Brashear skated away, leaving McSorley with a double-minor for cross-checking and roughing and a 10-minute misconduct.

Brashear also was involved in a goal-mouth tangle that caused a knee injury to Bruins goalie Byron Dafoe. As on-ice policemen, Brashear and McSorley are natural rivals by job description. "Brash fought him one time and beat him and beat him bad like he always does against him," Vancouver's Markus Naslund said. "I don't know if he was so embarrassed and gutless that that is the way he's got to take it out."

McSorley, who has only two goals and three assists, said he was again trying to goad Brashear as the game was ending. "I've done that with so many guys, so many times, but I don't know what happened," he said. "There's no excuse."

In only 27 games this season, McSorley is second on the Bruins with 62 penalty minutes. With 3,381 career minutes, McSorley trails only Dave "Tiger" Williams and Hunter on the NHL list.

Police have gotten involved in several previous on-ice conflicts in the NHL. In 1970, Wayne Maki of the St. Louis Blues and Ted Green of Boston were the first NHL players taken to court after a stick-swinging duel at a September 1969 preseason game. Green, who fractured his skull, and Maki, who was not injured, were acquitted of assault charges.

In the most recent, Minnesota's Dino Ciccarelli was sentenced to one day in jail and fined $1,000 in 1988 for striking Luke Richardson several times in the head with his stick.