District Opens Investigation Into On-Ice Fight Involving Duluth East Hockey Player

According to the MSHSL guidelines, the discipline for fighting is a one to three game suspension.

DULUTH, Minn. – When the Duluth East and Duluth Denfeld boys hockey teams meet up, it’s always a chippy affair between two rivals. But Wednesday night’s game has now prompted an investigation from the district.

A video from the online stream of the game from late in the third period shows Duluth East junior defenseman Grady Downs go behind the Hunters net and cross-check Denfeld senior forward Cooper McClure. He falls to the ice and Downs continues to throw repeated blows to the head. You can also see a referee and another Denfeld player struggling to pull Downs off of McClure, who laid motionless on the ice. Downs would later be ejected from the game. According to the MSHSL guidelines, the discipline for fighting is a one to three game suspension.

Duluth superintendent John Magas released this statement to FOX 21: “The district is aware of the incident of fighting at the Duluth East and Denfeld boys hockey game Wednesday night. Duluth Public Schools is currently investigating the situation.” He also added: “Duluth Public Schools does not condone unsportsmanlike conduct”.

This isn’t the first time Duluth East has had an on-ice incident like this. Last week in their game against Superior, a fight broke out that included a player from the bench getting involved. Superintendent Magas tells FOX 21 he was not aware of that incident but that the district takes all incidents seriously.

As for Denfeld’s McClure, he was not hospitalized and did end up going home. He did miss Thursday’s game against Duluth Marshall, but was present with the team.