Watch: Texas High School Hockey Player Beats Defenseless Opponent With Hockey Stick

High school hockey is still a growing sport in Texas, but adolescent competition is nothing new. Video captured by a high school hockey fan this week shows one area player use his stick to waylay an opponent who's down on the ice.

The video released to TV station WFAA, the ABC affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth, shows a player from the Arlington/Midlothian Attack team lying on the ice behind the net, while a player from the Grapevine/Colleyville Ice Hockey Association stops, looks down and then starts smacking the defenseless player in the back.

The video shows just two hits before one of the referees skates over to push the attacker away. The DFW-area TV station reported the player struck in the back was not injured in the attack. The story was also reported by The Dallas Morning News.

Nasty stick swinging attack at a high school hockey game just outside of Dallas.
Both teams play in the Metroplex High School Hockey league sponsored by the Dallas Stars.
The player swinging the stick has been suspended indefinitely. The kid getting attacked is fine. pic.twitter.com/W86zDjdz4L

— Gino Reda (@GinoRedaTSN) December 12, 2018

The player who hit his opponent has been suspended indefinitely by USA Hockey, and he will have a hearing before the Texas Amateur Hockey Association (TAHA), which released this statement:

"The Texas Amateur Hockey Association and USA Hockey have worked diligently to make our sport safe and enjoyable for amateur hockey players of all ages. This collective effort has been instrumental in the record growth in our Affiliate over the past six years. We are disturbed by the actions seen on the video from this weekend's high school game and have taken immediate steps to suspend the offending player indefinitely pending a disciplinary hearing in January. These actions are not part of our game and have no place in our sport. Such acts are extremely rare and not representative of the players and families that participate in the thousands of games we oversee each and every season."

TAHA is the governing body for high school hockey in Texas, rather than the University Interscholastic League (UIL), which governs most sports played by public schools in the Lone Star State. Texas doesn't have enough student participation statewide to allow it becoming a sanctioned UIL sport like football, volleyball, basketball, baseball and a host of other sports from tennis to swimming and golf.

Both teams involved in the game are part of the Dallas Stars-sponsored AT&T Metroplex High School Hockey League.

The suspended player, who reportedly lives in nearby Euless, will have a hearing on Jan. 8 before a TAHA committee, who will decide on whether to extend the player's suspension or clear his record and let him back on the ice.

This wasn't the first time an Arlington-area team has been involved in extracurricular activities on the ice. This 2011 story shows an ugly brawl break out between Arlington Martin and Keller High Schools in 2011.

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