Flyers Prospect Charged With Assault

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

July 10, 1998 / 6:42 PM EDT / CBS Sportsline

In a rare case of a hockey fight leading to legal action, a Philadelphia Flyers prospect faces criminal charges for swinging his stick and leaving an opponent unconscious and in convulsions.

Jesse

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Boulerice, a 19-year-old Flyers draft choice, was charged on Wednesday with "assault to do great bodily harm less than murder" -- a felony that carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years and up to a $5,000 fine, prosecutors said Friday.

The Ontario Hockey League has suspended Boulerice for one year. The American Hockey League, to recognize the OHL's suspension, has declared him ineligible to play until Nov. 15.

"I haven't seen anything quite as vicious as what happened on the ice," said AHL spokesman Will Wolper.

Flyers assistant general manager John Blackwell said the team hadn't been officially notified. He said the dispute was between the parties and had no further comment.

Andrew Long, 19, a Florida Panthers prospect, filed a complaint June 4 with Plymouth Township Police against Boulerice, who played for the Plymouth Whalers. Long, a center for the Guelph Storm in Ontario, was injured in an OHL championship series game April 17 in Plymouth Township, about 25 miles west of Detroit.

Long checked Boulerice into the boards behind the Storm net. Boulerice already was wearing a cast because of a broken hand. After a short shoving match, police said Boulerice hit Long across the face with a two-handed "baseball-type swing" of his stick.

Knocked unconscious, Long went into convulsions and was taken to an Ann Arbor hospital with a blood spot on his brain and a broken nose, nasal cavity and cheekbone. Twenty stitches were needed to close the cut from the tip of his nose to his lip.

James Howarth, Boulerice's lawyer, said he plans to meet with his client for the first time Monday. He expected Boulerice, who is at a Flyers camp in Philadelphia, to be arraigned Tuesday.

olice Sgt. Jim Jarvis said he recently visited Long in Ontario, and Long was looking forward to joining the Panthers when training begins in September.

"His spirits are good," Jarvis said Friday. "His rehabilitation is going along real well. I believe he's about ready to get back on the ice for a little practice."

It was not the first time that rough play during a hockey game produced criminal charges.

In 1975, Dave Forbes of the boston Bruins became the first pro athlete to be indicted for a crime committed during play. His trial ended in a hung jury.

Forbes was indicted for excessive force used on an opponent. His victim was Henry Boucha of the Minnesota North Stars. The prosecution did not seek a retrial.

The Long attack was the second assault charge stemming from a confrontation on the ice this year in Michigan. Last month, University of Michigan player Chris Fox pleaded guilty to an assault charge for high-sticking an opponent during a no-check hockey game in a recreational league.