Calgary, Chicago Fined $10,000 Each for Brawl

The Calgary Flames and the Chicago Blackhawks were fined $10,000 each Monday by the National Hockey League for a fight at the end of their playoff game at Chicago last weekend.

The incident started when Denis Savard of the Blackhawks and Calgary’s Joel Otto raised their sticks as the game ended. That prompted other players to move in, among them Chicago goaltender Alain Chevrier, who tackled Otto.

At one point, Jim Peplinski of the Flames punched Chicago defenseman Dave Manson. Referee Bill McCreary listed Peplinski as the instigator of the brawl, which made him subject to a 10-game suspension.

But Brian O’Neill, NHL executive vice president, determined that Manson was equally responsible, so Peplinski escaped possible suspension.

Under the NHL’s new rules for fighting, the teams could have been fined $25,000 for engaging in a bench-clearing brawl, but in announcing the fine, NHL president John Ziegler said that players had not left the bench.