Message from Branch a little too stern this time around

The memories of Don Sanderson are far too fresh in these parts to feel anything but sick when seeing a player lie on the ice unconscious, as was the case with Kitchener Rangers defenceman Ben Fanelli last Friday.

Thankfully, unlike Sanderson, it seems Fanelli will get up again, although the fractures he sustained to his face and skull will keep him out for at least the rest of this season.

We can only hope the 16-year-old rookie will play again in the Ontario Hockey League.

We know, however, that Michael Liambas will not, as the 20-year-old Erie Otters forward has received the harshest punishment possible for delivering the hit that caused the injury, suspended for the balance of his final season by OHL commissioner David Branch.

The question everyone is grasping with now is this: does the punishment fit the crime?

As much as Branch should be admired for the stern messages he's been known to deliver, surely this one has gone too far.

Branch, who hails from Whitby, admitted during a radio interview Wednesday that the hit may well have been legal under the rules.

Unfortunately, Fanelli turned a bit at the last moment, and he went crashing head first into the end glass, losing his helmet before his head hit the ice.

One wonders if Liambas would have been suspended at all if Fanelli hadn't been hurt.

This is not to suggest, by any means, that a suspension of some sort isn't warranted considering how it did turn out.

Branch and others have used the word 'respect' when dealing with this and other damaging hits in hockey, which are much more prevalent these days given the speed and strength of today's players.

Certainly, it seems at times the respect level isn't there anymore, as some players feel the need to obliterate an opponent more than simply taking him out of the play.

Branch should be applauded for tackling the issue head on, and sending a clear message this will not be tolerated.

The decision in this case was made easier by the fact Liambas has been suspended before and has scored only five goals while racking up 357 penalty minutes in 124 career games.

But it seems he is being used too much as a scapegoat for a problem that exists well beyond what he did last Friday.

Surely 20 to 30 games would have sufficed.

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Brian McNair's column appears every second Friday.