Chris Clegg
South Peace News
The North Peace Hockey League was notified on Monday, Feb. 29 about the possibility of the Fort St. John Flyers using an illegal player in Game 7 vs the Grimshaw Huskies on Saturday, Feb. 27.
After further investigation, the NPHL confirmed that the Flyers used 26 different players after the Feb. 10 deadline, which violates a league rule that states only 25 different players can be used.
The 26th different player used was Jeff Fast.
Fort St. John won Game 7 by a score of 5-3 and advanced to the NPHL Final. However, due to the use of the illegal player, it is the ruling of the NPHL that Fort St. John must forfeit the game. NPHL President Jack McAvoy’s statements are as follows:
“Upon further discussion it is the ruling of the NPHL that Fort St. John forfeit Game 7 due to an illegal player, and also forfeits the series to Grimshaw.”
“The NPHL Final series between the Grimshaw Huskies and Spirit River Rangers will now start on Thursday, March 3 in Spirit River.”