Nasty sucker punch in Champions League earns Brock McBride 2-game ban (Video)

In the third period, with his team down 4-1 in a Champions League game against Frolunda, forward Brock McBride of Villacher SV (Austria) allowed his emotions get the better of him; and then allowed his fist to punch an opponent standing next to him in the face, and then several more times while he was down on the ice.

Here’s the incident from Sunday that earned McBride – who played for the AHL’s Houston Aeros and Milwaukee Admirals, as well as in the ECHL – a two-game suspension from the CHL tournament.

You know, if you’re going to sucker punch someone, best not do it roughly 10 inches away from the referee. Just sayin’:

The punchee was Mathias Olimb of Norway, who spent 60 games with the Rockford Ice Hogs back in 2010-11, and let’s not completely ignore his role as a catalyst here. Olimb crunched McBride from behind and then appeared to slew-foot him as McBride was getting back up from the ice.

Does that excuse McBride from yanking his sweater, pulling Olimb back like a yo-yo, sucker-punching him and then continuing the assault while he’s face down on the ice?

Of course not, and that’s why he got two games.

However, we might be burying the lede here a bit.

Yes, it was a brutal attack and all, but isn’t the real story here that the leading scorer for Frolunda not only gets to wear a special helmet but a jersey that reads "TOP SCORER"?

You'd think with all the pandering to casual fans the NHL would have hooked up this gimmick years ago, just to make their star players that much more obvious on NBC. You know Ovechkin would be in favor of it ...