Hershey Bears forward Pierrick Dubé was handed a five-game suspension by the AHL’s Player Safety Committee on Tuesday morning.
Dubé was assessed a two-minute minor penalty for roughing and a game misconduct ejection for “physical abuse of an official” in the first period of Hershey’s 4-2 win over the Charlotte Checkers last Saturday. Under the provisions of AHL Rule 40.4, the penalty, deemed a Category III offense, comes with an automatic suspension of at least three games.
The AHL Player Safety Committee has announced the following suspensions:
Hershey’s Pierrick Dubé – five games for an incident in Saturday’s game at Charlotte.
Rochester’s Nikita Novikov – one game for an incident in Saturday’s game at Syracuse.https://t.co/HdYYEDm1W5
— AHL Communications (@AHLPR) January 14, 2025
The incident occurred with 1:33 remaining in the first period between the Bears and Checkers. AHL TV cameras did not catch Dubé’s contact with the official, but a clip posted by Bears Hockey Nation shows that Dubé was likely upset about a missed slashing call moments before his ejection.
The AHL rule for abuse of officials includes three levels of on-ice punishment: a minor penalty, a 10-minute misconduct penalty, and a game misconduct penalty. Dubé received the latter, meaning the officials determined he “deliberately applied physical force” to an official “in an attempt to injure an official, physically demean, or get free of such an official during or immediately following an altercation.”
While Dubé received the most serious on-ice infraction, he only qualified for the lowest level of supplemental discipline. The latter decision means the league determined that his actions were not intended to injure, and he did not spit on the official in question.
The Category III offense he did receive reads as the following:
Automatic suspension – Category III – Any player who, by his actions, physically demeans an official or physically threatens an official by (but not limited to) throwing a stick or any piece of equipment or object at or in the general direction of an official, shooting the puck at or in the general direction of an official, spitting at or in the general direction of an official, or who deliberately applies physical force to an official solely for the purpose of getting free of such an official during or immediately following an altercation shall be suspended for not less than three (3) games.
The automatic suspension process includes the officials’ verbal and written reports delivered to the AHL’s Hockey Operations Department. The penalty is then reviewed by the AHL President, who can, among other actions, either sustain the minimum suspension outlined in the rulebook, increase the number of games suspended, or reduce the number of games suspended.
In this case, Scott Howson, the league’s current president, added two more games to the minimum three that Dubé was required to sit out per the rulebook. Dubé will miss Hershey’s next five games against the Belleville Senators (Jan. 17, Jan. 24, Jan. 25), Rochester Americans (Jan.19), and Laval Rocket (Jan. 22).
Dubé, who made his NHL debut with the Washington Capitals last season, has recorded 22 points (8g, 14a) in 33 games for Hershey this season.
