A young hockey player charged with assault with a weapon during a London-area game has been suspended by his league for the rest of the season, The Free Press has learned.

The allegation is that one player whacked another in the head with a stick early this month during a Junior C division hockey game in Middlesex County.

Details remain sparse, with Ontario Provincial Police saying little since announcing the charge two days ago.

The charged boy’s identity is protected under Canada’s youth justice law, but police have not identified the teams involved or the community in which the game was played.

Safety is paramount, the president of the Ontario Hockey Association said Thursday.

“Hockey is a contact sport, but safety is of utmost importance to us,” said Karen Phibbs. “If you exhibit high-risk behaviour, the penalties become severe because that kind of behaviour is unacceptable,” she said.

“We recognize that physical contact is part of the game, but violence is not and will not be tolerated.”

Junior C hockey teams have players ranging in age from 16 to 21.

The criminal charges of assault with a weapon stem from an on-ice incident in which a player hit an opposing team player in the head with a hockey stick.

There were no injuries reported, the OPP said. The complainant family decided to contact the police.

The incident happened during a game but was “separate from the game,” the OPP said. During the game, the player got a match penalty, which means he was suspended for three to five games after which the incident is reviewed to see if further penalties are warranted.

Phibbs, as OHA president, makes the final decision about further suspensions.

She said she considered the referee’s report, the player’s past offences within the league and a report from the team, and suspended the player for the rest of the season.

“Hockey is a great game, a skilled game, and it is not one in which bullying or violence is tolerated,” she said.

Hockey Canada, the governing body for the OHA, has been trying to limit violence in hockey, said Todd Jackson, Hockey Canada’s manager of insurance and membership services.

“We’ve been trying to instil respect in the game and we have to have everyone involved — the players, the coaches, the parents,” he said. “Hockey is also about discipline and self-discipline and playing the game the way it’s meant to be played.”

Western University researcher Peter Jaffe, an outspoken opponent of fighting in hockey, said extreme violence has no place in the game.

“Violent behaviour should be condemned on the ice, at home or on the street,” he said. “It’s the kind of behaviour you want to do everything to discourage.”

Research about the effect of hits to the head and the lasting legacy of concussions on players have reduced fighting in hockey significantly in recent years, Jaffe said.

“Hockey is such a part of our culture. I think over this generation, there will be different role models with a focus on skating fast and scoring goals, not fisticuffs.”

kate.dubinski@sunmedia.ca