[soulchoice]

He should not get suspended at all. Clean hit and I have no issue with it at all. Dont try a junior B toe drag while trying to get around a dman. If it was one of our players who gets hit with his head down in this manner, id say keep your head up kid.

Hockey is a fast contact sport. One of the key hockey skills is to keep your head up at all times. Those complaining about such would be better off to watch Womens or kids hockey then, where there is no contact allowed. Part of hockey is intimidation, Gio doesnt need to let up in the contact at all. Make an impact hit, so be it. I hope any Dman on the flames doesnt let up on a player in a situation like this.

However knowing how the league seems to be going further into lowering the integral part of the game(physical play), I can see them giving him a BS suspension. I get intentional head shots and dirty plays should be eliminated. However, when you have your head down in a play like this, any hit you receive like this is legal and I hope every Flames player does what Gio did.

Contact in hockey isnt just about separating the player from the puck. Intimidation and big hits to get in the minds and make the opposing player think twice about making a play for fear of being checked hard is key.