Blainville-Boisbriand’s Matthew Bursey suffers fractured vertebrae after check from behind; QMJHL doesn’t issue suspension (VIDEO)
The good news is Matt Bursey's injury is serious but not as catastrophic as many might have feared after the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada forward was taken off the ice on a stretcher on Thursday night. The bad news is the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, historically loath to issue long suspensions for checks from behind, decided a check that was surely avoidable and left Bursey with a hairline fracture in his C3 vertebrae should not result in the Rimouski Océanic's Brent Turnbull missing any games.
The play happened 12½ minutes into Game 1 of the clubs' league quarter-final series. Bursey had retrieved a puck along the boards in the Océanic zone and began to turn to his right, but saw that Turnbull had his stick down to cut off his path. The 5-foot-9 forward tried pivoting in the other direction. Bursey was bent over trying to protect the puck, making him even shorter, when Turnbull sent him hurtling into the boards headfirst.
Turnbull got a double minor, but wasn't suspended.
Brent Turnbull ne sera pas suspendu pour sa mise en échec contre Matthew Bursey hier soir. #Océanic
— Mikaël Lalancette (@MLalancetteTVA) April 4, 2014
The QMJHL gave only three multi-game bans for checks from behind during the regular season (in the OHL, three suspensions constitutes a slow week).
It all happened rather quickly, and it doesn't look as if Bursey put himself in a vulnerable position by showing his back to the opposing checker. Even if he did, while there's some licence for Turnbull to use some force, he didn't necessarily need to engage in some risky business by checking from behind so close to the boards.
The 20-year-old Bursey, according to his father's Twitter, will be out for the rest of the season.
Just an update on @mattbursey hairline fracture in c3 vertebrae, neck brace 6 to 12 weeks.
— Greg Bursey (@BurseyG) April 4, 2014
I can't thank the @ArmadaBLB and staff enough for what they have done for Matt and us at this time. Great organization. Bleed Black Boys.
— Greg Bursey (@BurseyG) April 4, 2014
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.