Hockey coaches face assault charges

BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI

Two well-known hockey instructors in the West Island face assault charges after an incident that occurred March 9 at the Dorval Arena.

Lac St. Louis midget espoir head coach François Lacombe and his assistant Gord Armstrong were involved in an altercation at the conclusion of a game against the Eastern Stars that resulted in both being taken away by police. Neither has been behind the Royals bench since the incident.

Lacombe, 60, spent 11 years as a defenceman in the National Hockey League, World Hockey Association and minor leagues during the late 1960s and '70s before turning to coaching at the junior and midget levels for the past 18 years. Armstrong, 54, played professionally in Europe before returning to the West Island where he has coached at the double-letter level for the Lakeshore Hockey Association and most recently with the espoir Royals.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Lacombe. “We don’t have the type of a team that reflects what happened. We’ve been near the top of the league in Fair-Play points over the past few years. I’m not that type of a coach and neither is Gord Armstrong. It happened so fast, that sometimes things get out of control. That is all I can really say.”

Kevin O’Reilly, president of Hockey West Island and vice-president of the Lac St. Louis Hockey Association, who witnessed the entire affair, said the game itself was decided midway through the first period, and things deteriorated after that.

“With his team trailing 4-0, either the Stars head coach lost complete control of his team at that point, or worse, sent them out with deliberate attempt to injure,” he said. “His players proceeded to run the Royals players with headshots, hits to the back and two-handed slashes to the back of the leg. There was a steady stream of players to the penalty box until with about six minutes left in the third period, one of their players attempted to injure a Royal. Understandably coach Lacombe, who almost lives with these kids seven days a week, became very upset. The player went to the penalty box and started verbalizing towards Lacombe, who verbalized back, and then advanced towards the penalty box and kicked a plastic garbage can towards the boy. At that point, some of the Stars players and some of the Stars parents started advancing towards the Royals bench. A few Royals parents then made their way towards the scene and a melee ensured. That being said there were no fisticuffs on the ice, no interaction between players. The game was called at that point.”

O’Reilly said Armstrong, who allegedly speared a Stars player, could be seen with a hockey stick in his hand, simply trying to defend himself as the Stars players and parents began approaching the bench.

Both men are scheduled to appear in court next Tuesday. They allegedly assaulted a 15-year-old player from the opposing team.