A major brawl has broken out in the FPHL after Reggie Millette took a run at goalie Kyle Penton.
Penton stayed in the game, which is the part of the story that matters most. Whatever happened in that crease, he didn't leave the ice.
Goalie contact is one of the oldest flashpoints in hockey. The crease is supposed to be protected ground, and when a skater plows into the man wearing the pads, the bench reaction is almost automatic.
That's what happened here. One collision turned a hockey game into a brawl, and the FPHL now has a clip on its hands that will get passed around all weekend.
The hit itself is going to split fans. Some will call it a collision that got out of hand, others will say Millette went after the goalie on purpose. Both camps will have a strong opinion by tonight.
Penton deserves credit for staying in. A goalie who takes that kind of contact and keeps tending the net sends a message to his own bench, and to the other one too.
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Will Reggie Millette face discipline for the hit on Kyle Penton?
No suspension or fine has been announced. But a run at a goalie is exactly the kind of play leagues at every level review, and a brawl that follows only adds to the file.
In my view, a deliberate run at a goalie should cost a player games. Intent will be the whole argument, and that's for the league to sort out after it reviews what happened. Penton staying in the game softens the outcome, but it doesn't change the question of how Millette approached the play.
Goalies are the most exposed players on the ice, and every league has to decide how far it lets a collision go before it steps in. A brawl of this size makes that decision harder to put off.
The next thing to watch is whether the FPHL says anything about Millette and what happened to the Penton incident once the dust settles. We will keep tabs on it.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
Was Reggie Millette's run at Kyle Penton worthy of a suspension?
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