Michael Liambas
Encyclopedia
Michael Liambas is a Canadian
professional ice hockey
left winger
who currently plays for the Cincinnati Cyclones
of the ECHL
. Liambas is most notable for the highly controversial check he delivered to Kitchener Rangers
defenceman Ben Fanelli while playing for the Erie Otters
on October 31, 2009, a move that resulted in severe injury and brain damage to Fanelli (who later made a full recovery and rejoined the Rangers) as well as a suspension that ended Liambas' junior career.
career in the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League
(OPJHL) with the St. Michael's Buzzers
. He joined the major junior ranks in 2006–07 with the Erie Otters
of the Ontario Hockey League
(OHL). Liambas underwent hip surgery in December 2008 and was subsequently sidelined for much of the 2008–09 season
. He appeared in just five games during his third OHL season before the injury, not returning to the Otters lineup until the playoffs. Following the Otters' elimination, he was signed to a professional contract with the Bloomington PrairieThunder of the IHL
on March 31, 2009. Liambas played the final eight games of the 2008–09 season for the PrairieThunder, scoring one goal, but returned to the OHL for a fourth season with the Otters as an overager in 2009–10
.
on October 31, 2009, Liambas delivered a highly controversial and devastating check to opposing sixteen-year-old defenceman Ben Fanelli. As Liambas checked Fanelli into the boards behind the Rangers net, Fanelli's head hit a metal partition in the glass, breaking and knocking off his helmet. Fanelli lay unconscious while twitching and foaming at the mouth before being rushed to the hospital in critical condition with skull and orbital bone fractures. Liambas was reportedly in tears while seeing Fanelli on the ice and attempted to visit him in the hospital, but was not allowed in. Fanelli was released from Hamilton General Hospital
a week later on November 6, and he rejoined the Rangers two years later after recovering from the resulting brain injury.
for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs, effectively ending Liambas' junior career. Branch cited the speed and distance to which Liambas skated to deliver the check, as well as the severity of Fanelli's injuries. He commented that the suspension was responding to a "need to take strong steps to ... send out the message to all our players and minor hockey players that we have to be ... more respectful of our opponent."
Otters general manager Sherwood Bassin was quick to come to Liambas' defense following the suspension, expressing surprise at the severity of the penalty from Branch. Bassin asserted that Liambas was not simply a "goofball kid", citing his 95 percent average in high school, as well as volunteer work in initiating a stay-in-school program for kids and at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Erie. Liambas expressed regret during the hearing for his hit and commented that he did not know if he could deliver bodychecks anymore as a hockey player.
to their rookie camp. Liambas then attended the Maple Leafs' training camp on an amateur try-out contract. He was released from camp on September 23, 2010.
In October 2010, Liambas joined the hockey team at the University of British Columbia, where he studied Human Kinetics. Following a suspension in late February 2011 for instigating and fighting in an altercation with Alberta Golden Bears
forward Eric Hunter, Liambas signed with the ECHL
's Cincinnati Cyclones
, with whom he finished the season and skated in the Kelly Cup
playoffs. Liambas re-signed with the Cyclones for the 2011–12 ECHL season on July 14, 2011.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
left winger
Winger (ice hockey)
Winger, in the game of hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink...
who currently plays for the Cincinnati Cyclones
Cincinnati Cyclones
The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Founded in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at U.S. Bank Arena....
of the ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
. Liambas is most notable for the highly controversial check he delivered to Kitchener Rangers
Kitchener Rangers
The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that have called Kitchener, Ontario, Canada their home since 1963. The Rangers are a publicly owned hockey team, governed by a 40-person Board of Directors made up of season ticket subscribers. The Rangers hosted...
defenceman Ben Fanelli while playing for the Erie Otters
Erie Otters
The Erie Otters are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League . Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA, they have played their home games at the Louis J. Tullio Arena since 1996...
on October 31, 2009, a move that resulted in severe injury and brain damage to Fanelli (who later made a full recovery and rejoined the Rangers) as well as a suspension that ended Liambas' junior career.
Junior hockey (2004–09)
Liambas began his junior hockeyJunior ice hockey
Junior hockey is a catch-all term used to describe various levels of ice hockey competition for players generally between 16 and 20 years of age...
career in the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League
Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League
The Ontario Junior Hockey League is a Junior A ice hockey league under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The league dates back to 1954 as the Central Junior B Hockey League. In 1993, the Central Junior B Hockey League was promoted to the...
(OPJHL) with the St. Michael's Buzzers
St. Michael's Buzzers
The St. Michael's Buzzers are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of Central Canadian Hockey League.-History:...
. He joined the major junior ranks in 2006–07 with the Erie Otters
Erie Otters
The Erie Otters are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League . Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA, they have played their home games at the Louis J. Tullio Arena since 1996...
of the Ontario Hockey League
Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada....
(OHL). Liambas underwent hip surgery in December 2008 and was subsequently sidelined for much of the 2008–09 season
2008–09 OHL season
The 2008–09 OHL season was the 29th season of the Ontario Hockey League . Twenty teams played 68 games each during the regular season schedule, which started on September 17, 2008 and concluded on March 15, 2009....
. He appeared in just five games during his third OHL season before the injury, not returning to the Otters lineup until the playoffs. Following the Otters' elimination, he was signed to a professional contract with the Bloomington PrairieThunder of the IHL
United Hockey League
The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...
on March 31, 2009. Liambas played the final eight games of the 2008–09 season for the PrairieThunder, scoring one goal, but returned to the OHL for a fourth season with the Otters as an overager in 2009–10
2009–10 OHL season
The 2009–10 OHL season was the 30th season of the Ontario Hockey League . Twenty teams played 68 games each during the regular season schedule, which started on September 17, 2009 and ended on March 14, 2010....
.
Controversial hit on Ben Fanelli
During a game against the Kitchener RangersKitchener Rangers
The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that have called Kitchener, Ontario, Canada their home since 1963. The Rangers are a publicly owned hockey team, governed by a 40-person Board of Directors made up of season ticket subscribers. The Rangers hosted...
on October 31, 2009, Liambas delivered a highly controversial and devastating check to opposing sixteen-year-old defenceman Ben Fanelli. As Liambas checked Fanelli into the boards behind the Rangers net, Fanelli's head hit a metal partition in the glass, breaking and knocking off his helmet. Fanelli lay unconscious while twitching and foaming at the mouth before being rushed to the hospital in critical condition with skull and orbital bone fractures. Liambas was reportedly in tears while seeing Fanelli on the ice and attempted to visit him in the hospital, but was not allowed in. Fanelli was released from Hamilton General Hospital
Hamilton General Hospital
The Hamilton General Hospital is a major teaching hospital in downtown Hamilton, Canada, on the corners of Barton Street East and Victoria Avenue North...
a week later on November 6, and he rejoined the Rangers two years later after recovering from the resulting brain injury.
Suspension
Four days after the hit, on November 4, Liambas was suspended by OHL commissioner David BranchDavid Branch
David E. Branch has served as the Commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League since September 15, 1979, and as the President of the Canadian Hockey League since 1996...
for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs, effectively ending Liambas' junior career. Branch cited the speed and distance to which Liambas skated to deliver the check, as well as the severity of Fanelli's injuries. He commented that the suspension was responding to a "need to take strong steps to ... send out the message to all our players and minor hockey players that we have to be ... more respectful of our opponent."
Otters general manager Sherwood Bassin was quick to come to Liambas' defense following the suspension, expressing surprise at the severity of the penalty from Branch. Bassin asserted that Liambas was not simply a "goofball kid", citing his 95 percent average in high school, as well as volunteer work in initiating a stay-in-school program for kids and at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Erie. Liambas expressed regret during the hearing for his hit and commented that he did not know if he could deliver bodychecks anymore as a hockey player.
Professional/college career (2009–present)
Having been suspended in his final year of junior eligibility, Liambas re-signed with the Bloomington Prairie Thunder (for whom he briefly played earlier in the year) on December 3, 2009. The following year, Liambas was invited by the Toronto Maple LeafsToronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
to their rookie camp. Liambas then attended the Maple Leafs' training camp on an amateur try-out contract. He was released from camp on September 23, 2010.
In October 2010, Liambas joined the hockey team at the University of British Columbia, where he studied Human Kinetics. Following a suspension in late February 2011 for instigating and fighting in an altercation with Alberta Golden Bears
Alberta Golden Bears
The Alberta Golden Bears are the men's athletic teams that represent the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The women's teams are known as the Alberta Pandas.-History:...
forward Eric Hunter, Liambas signed with the ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
's Cincinnati Cyclones
Cincinnati Cyclones
The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Founded in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at U.S. Bank Arena....
, with whom he finished the season and skated in the Kelly Cup
Kelly Cup
The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the play-off champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup. The current cup is named after Patrick J. Kelly, the league's first commissioner. The cup is loaned to the winning...
playoffs. Liambas re-signed with the Cyclones for the 2011–12 ECHL season on July 14, 2011.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2004–05 | St. Michael's Buzzers St. Michael's Buzzers The St. Michael's Buzzers are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of Central Canadian Hockey League.-History:... |
OPJHL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Erie Otters Erie Otters The Erie Otters are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League . Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA, they have played their home games at the Louis J. Tullio Arena since 1996... |
OHL Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada.... |
55 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 169 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Erie Otters | OHL | 60 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 169 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Erie Otters | OHL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2008–09 | Bloomington PrairieThunder | IHL United Hockey League The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States... |
8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Erie Otters | OHL | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Bloomington PrairieThunder | IHL | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 115 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | University of British Columbia UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia in the University Endowment Lands just outside the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are one of the most successful teams in the CIS, though a few of their teams are members of the U.S... |
CWUAA Canada West Universities Athletic Association The Canada West Universities Athletic Association is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, and releases about those programs and... |
25 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 82 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Cincinnati Cyclones Cincinnati Cyclones The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Founded in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at U.S. Bank Arena.... |
ECHL ECHL The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States... |
15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 72 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| ECHL totals | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 72 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||||