Berard to sit two

By LANCE HORNBY -- Toronto Sun It's Bryan Berard's first National Hockey League suspension, but it may be the last NHL game that the St. Louis Blues' Geoff Courtnall plays.
The Maple Leafs defenceman last night was assessed a two-game suspension and was remorseful that his forearm to Courtnall's face on Saturday has put the father of two's future in doubt. The Blues forward suffered a Grade 2 concussion (on a 1-3 scale) and will stay in bed 10 to 15 days before being re-evaluated by doctors.
"You don't want to see anyone's career ended," Berard said yesterday after an NHL hearing conducted by phone. "That makes me feel worse. I wasn't trying to kill him."
Berard stepped into Courtnall as he came through open ice, raising his forearm at the last second. But there was some question whether Courtnall, 37, had put his head in a vulnerable position for impact. No penalty was called on the play.
"I've had a lot of thoughts the past few days," Courtnall said last night. "I don't know why it's happening right now. Maybe somebody is sending me a signal, I don't know."
Leafs general manager/coach Pat Quinn called the suspension disappointing, "even though I know the league is trying to crack down on head injuries."
"From the bench, it looked like a bodycheck," Quinn said. "In slowing the replay down, Bryan's arm comes into contact, but they were both chasing a loose puck and Geoff is a low skater to begin with."
Berard said he tried to make sure Courtnall was out of the play, believing he was preventing a breakaway.
"His head was coming at me lower than normal and his chin hit my forearm. I'm not trying to hurt anyone. The last thing I want to do is miss games, but I respect that (director of hockey operations) Colin Campbell and (vice-president) Mike Murphy have a job to do and do what's good for the game."
Campbell said in a release that the manner in which Berard struck his opponent was unnecessary and inappropriate. "We continue to monitor closely all contact with the head."
Berard will miss games tonight against Carolina and Saturday against Montreal, forfeiting $17,187 US in salary.
It was Courtnall's second concussion in less than a year, having missed 41/2 months and 58 games last season. He recently signed a guaranteed two-year contract for $7 million US.
"Maybe I'm naive but I don't believe (Berard) tried to deliberately injure him," Blues general manager Larry Pleau said. "However, players have to be responsible for their sticks and elbows."
Courtnall and his wife, Penni, have two children, Adam, 12, and Justin, 10.
"I am worried about him," Blues defenceman Marc Bergevin said. "I can see his point, that it's hard to walk away, but this is not a leg or an arm. It's his head. He has 40 to 50 good years ahead of him. He doesn't want to wake up one morning and not be able to talk."
Post-concussion syndrome has ended the careers of several players in the past few seasons -- most recently, Jeff Beukeboom of the Rangers. Toronto's Alyn McCauley was just activated after six months of fighting post-concussion syndrome after a series of head injuries the past six years.
In addition to Saturday's blow, Courtnall was dazed on a punch to the face by Dallas' Brad Lukowich in a brief scuffle during an exhibition game on Sept. 18.
-- with files from AP

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