Sarnia Sting's Josh Chapman nails Ottawa 67's Ben Fanjoy with elbow to head

The Sarnia Sting's quest to stay up in the top half of the Western Conference probably took a hit, since overage defenceman Josh Chapman committed a suspendable offence on Friday.

On a penalty kill in the waning minutes of the Sting's loss to the Ottawa 67's, Chapman levelled winger Ben Fanjoy with a no-doubt-about-it elbow to the head, which left Fanjoy with a brain injury. The defender's elbow was extended from his body and Fanjoy's head was the principal point of contact, which is typically means at least a 10-game suspension in the Ontario Hockey League. It might even be more. The headshot might seem all the more inexplicable in light of the fact Chapman was in only his seventh game back from missing a month with a brain injury sustained in an altercation with Sault Ste. Marie's Michael Bunting (who for his part, was also suspended 10 games).

Here's a replay of the hit, captured by blogger Kathryn Jean (@msconduct):

"That's the stuff that I talk about all the time ... I'm so passionate about it because I lost my career because of it," Ottawa coach Jeff Brown, whose NHL playing career was shortened by lingering effects from brain injuries, told reporters after the 67's completed their 5-0 win. "It's got to get out of the game. Good strong hard battling is fine but ... the gutless stuff to the head has got to get out of the game.

Fanjoy was down on the ice on the ice for several minutes; he replied to the 67's Instagram video of the hit that he was "good," but sat out Saturday's Ottawa-Peterborough game with a reported brain injury. That could factor into the severity of the supplementary discipline.

The 6-foot-4, 214-pound Chapman is a rugged player who's amassed 224 penalty minutes over 91 games since the start of 2013-14, but has never had a significant suspension. 

Still, it's hard to imagine any outcome that doesn't lead to Chapman not playing for a few weeks.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.