The case of Colorado Mammoth leading scorer Gavin Prout will be heard today at 9 a.m. by an arbitrator via conference call. At issue is when Prout left the bench – during or after an altercation – in Saturday’s 17-7 victory over the Calgary Roughnecks.
Monday, the National Lacrosse League suspended Prout for Saturday’s single-elimination playoff game against Calgary at the Pepsi Center.
The official in charge of watching the benches ruled Prout left, but his report does not list when, in relation to the altercation between Calgary’s Ken Goundrey and Colorado’s Matt Leveque. An altercation is considered over when the players involved are separated. The Mammoth contends the players were entering the penalty box when Prout took the floor.
The Professional Lacrosse Players Association, which made the appeal on Prout’s behalf, needed little time to determine Prout’s case had merit. Dave Succamore, the PLPA chairman of the internal review committee, said Tuesday that he expected his three-person committee to have a decision by Wednesday afternoon. Instead, he announced his decision early Wednesday morning.
There are 11 other incidents from the Colorado-Calgary game under review, 10 involving Calgary players, including one in which Ryan McNish followed Dave Stilley to the Colorado bench and ripped off his helmet, and several that involve high hits and cross-checking to the head.
Late Wednesday, NLL spokesman Doug Fritts announced an NLL suspension of Calgary’s Jason Wulder for Saturday’s playoff game. His illegal cross-check on Stilley was an “attempt to injure.” But Wulder still may be able to play, if he chooses to appeal, because there might not be enough time for his case to complete the appeal process.
Usually further action stemming from reviews are announced on Thursdays. The PLPA has 72 hours to file, and the arbitrator has 48 hours to render a decision.
“With incident reviews we have to go through all the tapes,” said George Daniel, NLL deputy commissioner and general counsel.
A player losing on appeal would miss the NLL playoff semifinals next week, or if his team is eliminated, he would miss the first game of next season, according to Daniel.
If Prout’s appeal is denied, his replacement is not obvious.
“We haven’t fully decided whether to go more offensive, more transition or even add an extra defensive guy,” Mammoth coach Gary Gait said.
Prout also runs the second-best power play in the NLL. His likely replacement is newcomer Andrew Burkholder, Ben Prepchuk or Brian Langtry.
