Two fans get banned from arenas after mocking goaltender who was passed in tragic plane crash

The SHL has decided to ban two fans from attending games after they mocked goaltender Stefan Liv, who was killed in the tragic 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash.

This is one of those incidents that really make you wonder why someone would do something like this and what they thought it would accomplish. Two fans who attended a recent Swedish Hockey League (SHL) game have been punished for mocking a goaltender who was killed in a tragic plane crash in 2011.

Goalie Stefan Liv played several years with SHL team HV71 before coming to North America to play in the AHL and ECHL in 2006-07. He returned to Sweden for a couple of seasons, and was then signed with HC Sabir of the KHL in 2010. Liv was supposed to play for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in 2011. The entire team, including coaches and four members of the youth team, were killed when the plane they were travelling in to their season opener went down.

Fast forward to last week, and a game between HV71 and Linkoping in the SHL. Two fans of Linkoping flashed pictures of Stefan Liv to members of the HV71 team during the game in a move that can only be described as ghoulish. They have both been banned from SHL games for two years, the maximum the league allows. The two were identified using video from the rink.

The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crash rocked the entire hockey world, not just Russia. Some very well known names were included on the passenger list, including Brad McCrimmon, Igor Korolev, Pavol Demitra, and several others. Why anyone would use this as a way to try and get to a hockey team is unthinkable and inhuman. It's unfortunate the rules didn't allow for a lifetime ban, because these two certainly deserved it.

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