Canada hockey star ejected from Winter Olympics match as NHL-style fight breaks out

Canadian Tom Wilson and French defenseman Pierre Crinon dropped the gloves during Sunday’s Winter Olympics clash, and both were immediately sent off for fighting on the ice.

Team Canada winger Tom Wilson was ejected from Sunday’s 10-2 win over France after fighting with Pierre Crinon, and could face another suspension.

Canada has won the first three games of the Winter Olympics, but Sunday’s 10-2 victory was its biggest victory of the competition. North American fans are dreaming of a gold medal game between Canada and the United States after the NHL finally allowed players to travel and compete.

However, unlike the NHL, fighting is not allowed at the Olympics and players are subject to instant ejection. Wilson, a serial enforcer for the NHL’s Washington Capitals, got physical and threw hands at Crinon on the ice.

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Wilson had an eventful afternoon in Milan, scoring, assisting and leaving the ice after a fight. The incident occurred in the third period when Canada was already leading France 10-2.

A frustrated French group was overwhelmed, but Crinon delivered a forearm to the head of Canadian star Nathan MacKinnon. A few minutes later, Wilson dropped the gloves with Crinon.

Officials frantically attempted to break up the fight and separate the two players before sending them back to the team locker room. In the NHL, players are given a five-minute penalty if they fight, but in the Olympics, it’s an automatic ejection.

Players who participate in fights are subject to harsher disciplinary measures and the International Ice Hockey Federation could take action. However, Wilson now faces an automatic one-match suspension, which some fans feared.

Suspensions in hockey at the Olympics are rare but usually stem from incidents such as hits to the head and fights. In this case, Crinon and Wilson were found to have committed both violations.

It remains to be seen whether Wilson will be disciplined, but despite being the first hockey player to provoke a fight at the Milan-Cortina Games, one player has already been suspended. Italian winger Cristiano DiGiacinto has been handed a one-match suspension for hitting Slovak defender Martin Fehervary in the head.

DiGiacinto was initially given a two-minute minor penalty for his hit, a standard decision. However, the footage was reviewed and the IIHF intervened to increase the sanction after the match.

The IIHF could do the same with Wilson and Crinon, as Canada waits to find out its schedule for the remainder of the Winter Olympics. Canada won all three matches in the preliminary round and will now move on to the next stage.

Canada opened the Milan-Cortina Games with a 5-0 victory over the Czech Republic, before beating Switzerland 5-1. The humiliating victory against France was the most impressive yet, as 15 players scored a point.

Connor McDavid, considered the best hockey player in the world, already has nine points in three games for Team Canada. Star prospect Macklin Celebrini leads the Olympics in goals, already netting four in Milan.