2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup: ‘I like’ being punched says Grandmaison

SHAWINIGAN, Que. — To some, it was an embarrassing display of sportsmanship at the Memorial Cup, but to Shawinigan forward Alexandre Grandmaison, it's just part of his job.

In the final seconds of London's 6-2 loss to host Shawinigan, Grandmaison was pushed from behind, right up against the Knights bench. It was then that two Knights on the bench — Greg McKegg and Matt Rupert — started throwing punches at Grandmaison's head. But as far as Grandmaison is concerned, that all comes with the territory of being an agitator.

"I didn't expect it," said the fourth-line winger, of being hit from the bench. "But I'm doing my job. They punched me and that's OK."

"I like to receive a punch in my face — that's my job," added Grandmaison, trying his best to find the right words in English. "I'm a pest and that's my job for the team."

Late Monday afternoon the Canadian Hockey League had fined the London Knights $1,000 for the incident.

Grandmaison job is not unlike that of the Rupert twins — Matt and Ryan — whose goal on ice is to cause as much havoc and chaos as possible for the opposition. It was, however, an uncharacteristic display from McKegg who is one of the Ontario Hockey League's more skilled forwards. McKegg, a third-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2010, says it was just general frustration coming to a head at the end of the game.

"I think for me it was (frustration)," said McKegg. "It's pretty out of character for me … but I think it was just frustration for the whole team. It was a heat of the moment thing, I definitely don't usually do that — I probably should have relaxed a little bit."

The incident set off another skirmish, though there was nothing put into the official gamesheet regarding the bench blows.

Shawinigan head coach Eric Veilleux said that kind of behaviour is part and parcel when you play like Grandmaison does and he doesn't expect his diminutive winger to back down anytime soon.

"He takes the punishment, he gets hit and he can go (fight) too," said Veilleux. "He's smart about it. He plays his role within the rules and he's not an undisciplined player... he's just willing to take punches and hits for the team."

Not only is Grandmaison willing, but says he actually enjoys taking a beating.

"I get a lot of punches, hits and fights — but I like it," said Grandmaison. "It's fun."

Sunaya Sapurji is the Junior Hockey Editor at Yahoo! Sports.
Email: sunaya@yahoo-inc.com | Twitter @Sunayas