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Former player from the Edmonton Oilers system suspended after fighting fans outside locker room

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TJ Tucker
November 6, 2024  (6:57 PM)
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Justin Pender, a hockey player from the East Coast of Canada who once played with an Edmonton Oilers-affiliated team, has been suspended for a fight with a fan.

There was a time when this type of thing wasn't quite so uncommon. It's not as acceptable anymore, though, and a player who was once with an Edmonton Oilers-affiliated team has been suspended by his league for getting into a fight with a fan outside a locker room of an arena in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

A report from CBC News shows CCTV footage of the incident that was released to them. In it, you can see four fans in a hallway, with a player coming towards them. Three of the fans scatter, but one stays in the frame right until the player gets close to him. That's when the fists start to fly. You can view the report here.

"The Oct. 26 game between the visiting Clarenville Ford Caribous and the host HGOE CeeBee Stars turned into a penalty-filled affair in the third period, with the CeeBees running up the score against their rivals.»

The tension spilled off the ice with less than 10 minutes remaining as one of the league's top players, Clarenville's Justin Pender, reacted violently to some taunting as he made his way to the dressing room after being ejected from the game.

Pender has received a three-game suspension from league officials. Pender and one of the fans involved may also be banned from entering the town-owned arena, [Harbour Grace] Mayor Don Coombs confirmed on Monday." CBC News



Justin Pender, originally from St. John's, NL, played parts of two seasons with the Bakersfield Condors, who were then the Edmonton Oilers ECHL affiliate. The 36-year-old also played for the ECHL's Trenton Devils and Toledo Walleye. In all fairness, Pender's three-game suspension by the league seems somewhat light given the circumstances. The fans were obviously wrong for doing what they did, but this is not the best reaction. You can see a teammate coming to grab Pender in the video to try and stop him from getting himself into more trouble than he already was.

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Former player from the Edmonton Oilers system suspended after fighting fans outside locker room

Is a three game suspension enough for the fight with the fans?

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