McSorley Ejected In Return To Ice

Old habits die hard. Ask Marty McSorley, who just can't seem to avoid trouble on a hockey rink.

In his first professional game since being suspended by the NHL for one year for slashing an opponent's head with his stick, McSorley was ejected from an International Hockey League game for fighting.

Hours after signing with the Grand Rapids Griffins, McSorley received a five-minute penalty and two game misconducts late in the game against the Utah Grizzlies Saturday night.

At 17:41 mark of the third period, McSorley joined in a melee involving several players from both teams. Three other Griffins and three Grizzlies also were penalized.

McSorley said he jumped in when he noticed two Grizzlies pummeling a Griffins player.

"With a teammate in trouble, with two men on top of him, I had to get in there," he said after the game, which the Griffins won 3-1.

Last season, the NHL suspended McSorley for a year after he swung his stick into the head of the Canucks' Donald Brashear with 2.7 seconds left in a game at Vancouver. Brashear, who was knocked unconscious and suffered a concussion, missed 20 games before returning to his team.

McSorley, who played for the Boston Bruins at the time and ranks third in the NHL for career penalty minutes, was convicted in a Vancouver court Oct. 6 of assault with a weapon and given 18 months probation.

McSorley said Saturday he felt badly about Brashear's injury but added that his own intentions at the time were good. He bristles at notions that the episode left him second-guessing his decisions on the ice.

"A lot of people seem to think it has been really traumatic for me," he said. "It really hasn't."

Grand Rapids has the IHL's best record and is the top farm team of the Ottawa Senators, who reportedly are interested in McSorley. He will be eligible to play in the NHL on Feb. 21, one year after he hit Brashear.

McSorley said he "expected nothing" in the way of a possible NHL offer and isn't looking any farther ahead than the next Griffins game.

"I'm just appreciative to get the opportunity to play again," he said. "It's really great to get back out there and compete."

About five minutes into his first game with the Grizzlies, McSorley briefly tangled with Utah left wing Jason Shmyr. McSorley said the 25-year-old Shmyr was trash-talking him, something McSorley expects more of from young opponents as the IHL season progresses.

"It's probably something he'll have to live with every game, some young guy challenging him," Griffins coach Bruce Cassidy said.

If McSorley had received three game miscondcts in Saturday's game, the IHL would have automatically suspended him for Sunday's game against the Houston Aeros. As it turns out, the IHL told the Griffins that it will likely rescind one of his two game misconducts, team spokesman Randy Cleves said Sunday.

McSorley said he had no regrets about being kicked out of his comeback game because of fighting.

"If it happens again, I'm going to get involved again," he said. "But I'm not here looking for fights."

©2001 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed