McSorley Found Guilty

Marty McSorley was found guilty of assault with a weapon on Friday for smashing an opponent in the head with a stick during an NHL game.

McSorley had contended that the hit that sent Donald Brashear sprawling to the ice was an accident.

"He (McSorley) had an impulse to strike him in the head," Judge William Kitchen said. "Brashear was struck as intended."

The trial was the first for an on-ice attack by an NHL player since Dino Ciccarelli, then with the Minnesota North Stars, was sentenced in 1988. He received one day in jail and a $1,000 fine for hitting Toronto's Luke Richardson with his stick.

McSorley, who has played for six team during a 17-year career, hit Brashear Feb. 21 during a game between the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks.

Brashear's head struck the ice after McSorley hit him. He briefly lost consciousness and sustained a concussion and memory lapses. He returned to play after several weeks and has fully recovered.

Bill Smart, McSorley's lawyer, argued that NHL players give "explicit consent" to the risk of on-ice contact and McSorley's hit was not an assault.

McSorley, a defenseman and one of the league's notorious enforcers, testified he didn't intend to hit Brashear in the head. He contends he was instead trying to hit him in the shoulder to provoke him into fighting.

"If Marty McSorley had skated up the ice and slashed Donald Brashear in the upper shoulder, there would be no criminal assault," Smart said. "It's within the norms of NHL hockey."

McSorley was suspended by the NHL for the rest of the season after the hit and is an unrestricted free agent. He must meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman before he resumes playing.

The league maintained it took adequate action when it handed McSorley the longest suspension 23 games in league history.

Even Brashear admitted in testimony that he didn't want to be in court.

Brashear, a left wing who had 11 goals and 136 penalty minutes in 60 games last season, re-signed with the Canucks on Sept. 19. Vancouver opened its season Thursday at Philadelphia.

The weeklong trial featured evidence from McSorley and Brashear, on-ice officials, Canucks coach Marc Crawford, New York Rangers executive Glen Sather and others.

Even Wayne Gretzky made a cameo appearance. He did not testify but sat in the courtroom in support of MSorley, his friend and once his on-ice protector.

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