Family of HS hockey player seeking charges for hard hit

KINGSTON (WHDH) -- A hard hit on the ice could lead to some legal trouble for a Scituate High School hockey player.

The parents of the hurt Duxbury player want the Scituate teen to be charged, after he checked the Duxbury player so hard he suffered a concussion causing him to miss five weeks of school.

A clerk magistrate will look at video of the hit in court on Friday to decide whether criminal charges should be filed against the Scituate hockey player.

“I think it's kind of ridiculous -- I've been coaching for 14 years and I haven't seen anything like this happen,” said Mike Breen, Scituate High School Hockey Coach.

Coach Mike Breen reacted to news that the Duxbury family is trying to have one of his co-captains criminally charged for a hard check.

“It might have been a second late or so, and he did hit him below the head, he didn't target his head. He’s not even a player that would do something like that,” Breen said.

The hit took place in January during a Scituate-Duxbury game at a rink in Kingston. The Scituate player, much bigger than the Duxbury player, knocked him to the ice after the smaller boy took a shot. The Duxbury player reportedly suffered a concussion.

“He's in my math class. He was out for a wicked long time,” said Rachel Burke, a student. “I think [the Scituate player] should be charged.”

But should a high school hockey player be prosecuted for assault and battery for a hard check?

“You’ve got to understand, it’s hockey. And there are legal checks,” said Greg Samos, a Duxbury resident.

The Scituate coach says everyone is concerned for the welfare of the Duxbury player, but the threats of lawsuits loom large for the family of the boy from Scituate -- who's a three-star honor student planning to attend Williams College.

“He’s just a great kid and he feels bad about it. It was damned if you do, damned if you don’t. If we sat down and apologized, it’s admission that we’re guilty about something so he really didn’t want to go either way I guess,” Breen said.

The MIAA is not investigating because the referee did not call a penalty after the hit.