The ECHL Department of Player’s Safety has announced that they have suspended Trois-Rivieres Lions forward Jonathan Yantsis for nine additional games for his actions on Saturday Night as he cross-checked Norfolk Admirals defenseman Darick Louis-Jean. Originally, the league had suspended Yantsis indefinitely pending a hearing. Yantsis has already served one game of his suspension and will serve the remaining amount the next time he is on an ECHL roster, as the Admirals eliminated the Lions in six games. The Ontario native put up two goals in 13 regular season games, taking only one minor penalty; during the Kelly Cup Playoffs, he had an assist and 24 penalty minutes in five games.
Despite being a rookie in the ECHL, this is not the first time that Yantsis has gotten himself in hot water. He racked up 24 minutes in penalties, including a 10-minute misconduct in the opening game of the OUA Playoffs and two 10-minute misconducts during the regular season. He finished the regular season in USports with 62 penalty minutes in 26 games; the year prior, he had 53 penalty minutes in just 16 games. Yantsis also had 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points in 26 games during his last year in USports.
This is the second time this season that the league has suspended a player indefinitely. Adirondack Thunder forward Zach Walker ended up getting eight games for an abuse of officials penalty. This is obviously different from the Walker incident, as the penalty was against a player and not an official.
