Bourret suspended two games; Wildcats won’t appeal Johnston ban

Gatineau Olympiques defenceman Gabriel Bourret refused to simply sit in the penalty box and feel shame after taking a cross-checking penalty in Rouyn-Noranda Feb. 23, and now he’ll have to wait until Sunday before he’s let free.

The 20-year-old blueliner was suspended two games for unsportsmanlike conduct by Quebec Major Junior Hockey League disciplinarian Raymond Bolduc on Tuesday. Bourret threw a water bottle into the stands and hit a spectator in the mouth with his stick, as detailed by Buzzing the Net’s Neate Sager. He was not ejected from the game for the incident.

Bourret will be eligible to return Sunday, when his Olympiques take on the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. He has 32 points, including 5 goals, and 124 penalty minutes in 57 games so far this season, his third in the league with three different teams.

A police inquiry has been started based on the complaint of the fan that was struck with Bourret’s stick. No details have been released. According to Joanne Laucius of the Ottawa Citizen, a spokesperson with the Sûreté du Québec in Montreal said witnesses are being interviewed. The investigation will be conducted by the police and the league, the spokesperson confirmed.

In other QMJHL suspension news, the Moncton Wildcats decided that the $10,000 price tag for an appeal of Ross Johnston’s 15-game suspension was too rich for their tastes, but they maintain that they are weighing their options.

Johnston, 19, struck Halifax defenceman Brian Lovell in the face with his stick Feb. 16, breaking the young defenceman’s jaw. He will have served four games of that suspension after Tuesday’s game against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

The Wildcats had until Feb. 24 to make an appeal on the suspension, as it was announced Feb. 21.

He will sit out the remainder of the regular season and the first two games of the playoffs.

Johnston has 12 goals and 27 points in 53 games this season. He was not penalized on the play.