The Boys Hockey game on Feb. 15 will be one to remember for years to come, but unfortunately not for the level of play through the three periods of regulation.

The now-infamous fight that took place at the end of the game between the Lake Forest and Evanston Varsity hockey teams has gone nothing short of viral over the past two weeks.

Several videos from the game have surpassed over 1 million views on the Barstool Sports Instagram/Twitter page and made their way onto TMZ, as well as  ESPN’s SportsCenter for a brief period of time.

The verdict from the league’s board to end Lake Forest’s season on the brink of the playoffs has left me sick to my stomach for all of the kids on that team, especially the seniors. Yes, I know the fight was drawn out for a long time at the end of the game, and it’s very rare to see such a spectacle in high school sports, but it was wrong to end the team’s season.

While both teams are responsible, it’s fair to say that Evanston instigated the fight. Their bench was the first to clear as soon as time ran out in the game. The Lake Forest players were defending a teammate, who was swarmed by several Evanston players.

“We didn’t deserve to be eliminated because of a fight that we didn’t start,” said senior forward Trevor Mower. “We defended our teammate, and we weren’t negatively trying to affect our team’s future.”

To be fair, there were many over-the-top actions by players from both teams, but the league’s decision to cancel the Lake Forest season is ridiculous. Suspensions to several players would have most certainly been warranted, but it is unfair to strip the entire team of the opportunity to continue their season.

It was no secret that this year’s team was senior-heavy. While a few will be lucky to play at another level in the future, most of these seniors played their very last game that Saturday.

“It sucks,” said senior forward Drew Jacobs. “We compete all season and work hard all year training for the playoffs and to hear we wouldn’t be allowed to play in State was just devastating.”

If the league were to review the fight before it went viral, the outcome would be much different. The videos that surfaced over several nationally known media outlets showed the worst of the fight minutes after it started. Again, it would have never happened if it weren’t for Evanston’s actions. 

The Scouts hockey team definitely got the worst of the punishment considering the tie ended Evanston’s season before the fight could even be reviewed.

While fights of this magnitude are very rare to see in high school sports, I wish the league officials would be much more empathetic in realizing what they are taking away from some of these kids.

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