All things considered, he's lucky it wasn't a longer suspension. Francesco Pinelli of the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers will not be participating in the next three playoff games after levelling Oliver Peer of the Windsor Spitfires with a hard hit as Peer was changing on the fly. Peer's feet had just hit the ice when Pinelli crashed into him, knocking him to the ice and leaving him woozy as he tried to get back up.
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Pinelli was given a five-minute major on the play. After review, he was booted for the rest of game three. Peer had no opportunity at all to prepare for the hit.
Pinelli was suspended for three games of the regular season back in November in a game also involving the Windsor Spitfires. In that case, it was a crosscheck to the head of Ryan Abraham. Pinelli was a 2nd-round pick of the LA Kings, 42nd overall, in 2021. With the Rangers currently leading the Spitfires 3-0, Pinelli will not return to this series unless a game seven is needed.
Was three games the right call for the suspension?
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