#i did forget the lundell cross check on head thing

[juhollamago]

Trying to piece together the main points from acts by Liiga’s player safety in the past year to showcase that consistency in suspensions works.

1. Had so many hits on head in 2019-20 season where the suspensions varied from 1-9 games. While pretty much 99% of the hits on heads did get suspended, the differences between suspension lengths varied per each hit making fans question what was the basis.

2. The league then ended up introducing a 5 game automatic suspension for each game misconduct that was because of a hit on head.

3. Didn’t exactly reduce the number of hits on head over the season, and mainly because players while whining about how they are not allowed to play hard. But it still showed purpose of eliminating hits on heads from the league by actually penalizing players every time.

4. Also noticed its flaws when one player was penalized for hit on head game misconduct during game but video review showed it to be shoulder contact. The said player’s automatic suspension was cancelled and 1 game suspension put in its place.

5. Due to that case, for the 2020-21 season, the 5 game automatic suspension rule was modified to no longer being automatic, but each 5+20 penalty would be reviewed by player safety. As well as those missed calls that the main video referee would send for review after games. (Note: this includes any game misconduct, not just the hits on head.)

6. Currently the suspension length takes into consideration the situation the players were in and the use of force. If I checked correctly, so far we’ve only had one suspension for hit on the head this season and it was worth of 2 games despite injuring a player. (Another suspension should be taking place this weekend though because of 5+20 game misconduct in the TPS-Jukurit game.)

7. The 5 game suspension still exists in cases where the hit is deemed very clear attack on the head and is done intentionally. Additional games can be added for repeat offenders.

8. Because of clear policies on the suspensions, the hits on head have visibly reduced as showcased by the lack of them. (The total tally for hits on head suspensions in the 2019-2020 season 22. TWENTY-TWO!)