Well, this is certainly one way for a national championship game to come to an end. Erie and Dakota met up on the ice to decide the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship. The title eventually went to Dakota, which won the game, 7-4.
But while Dakota won by three goals, the game did not end because of the final score. Instead, it ended because one player on Erie thought it would be a good idea to leave the penalty box and attack an official. You can watch the incident here.
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/835993158974582784
According to Ludwig Media, this was done by a freshman, and the referee stayed down on the ice for a bit.
Empty net goal by @DCB_Athletics – then Erie freshman Brandon Day exits the penalty box and smashes the referee, who is on the ice.
— Ludwig Media (@Ludwig_Media) February 26, 2017
The official box score indicated that the score was tied at four heading into the final period, but Dakota scored three goals to go ahead. One Erie player got hit with a 10-minute trip to the penalty box for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with 1:28 remaining, and shortly after, Dakota scored the goal to go up three.
After the final goal with 39 seconds remaining, Erie and Dakota got hit with dual roughing minors. Shortly thereafter, Erie’s Brandon Day went out onto the ice and attacked one of the officials. The game was called after this. Erie’s players committed 12 infractions overall and spent 40 minutes in the penalty box (Day is in the box score as committing a penalty worth 10 minutes).
While Erie would have needed something miraculous to happen to come back and force overtime, you still have to feel for them, because it really sucks that their season had to end this way. Let this be a warning to every athlete out there: bad things will probably happen if you attack a referee. Go figure.
