Rasmus Ahlholm tries to explain why he hit teammate with vicious crosscheck during practice

While it may not be getting a whole lot of press in North America, it's a huge story in Europe, especially in Norway and Sweden. Rasmus Ahlholm, a Swedish player with Storhamar of Norway's GET-ligaen, viciously attacked a teammate with a hard crosscheck to the face during practice this week in a move that has left many confused. Check it out:

Ahlholm, who is now facing disciplinary action from his team, spoke to AftonBladet about the incident. He said there were events leading up to this one, including him having medical examinations on his thumb and upper arm before the crosscheck took place.

"We had been at each other, back and forth, something that had been building up throughout the training," said Ahlholm. "Then I completely misread the situation and everything had a very unfortunate outcome where I went after him and he went after the puck."

Ahlholm added he is remorseful and has apologized to his unnamed teammate for the incident.

Storhamar's sports director Mads Hansen says the team has launched an investigation.

"I can confirm that there has been an event that we take seriously. But I can say no more than that. We work with the matter internally but have not come so far that we have given any disciplinary punishment," said Hansen.

Ahlholm is one of Storhamar's top players, scoring 11 goals and 30 points in 24 games this season. He's been in Norway for the past seven years and with Storhamar for the past three. Ahlholm, 31, has 322 points over those seven seasons.

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