OHL North Bay Battalion

Baird Gets 10 Games After Minor Penalty

Published on February 12, 2016 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - Left winger Mike Baird has been suspended for 10 games for a head check that was assessed a minor penalty, coach Stan Butler of the Ontario Hockey League's North Bay Battalion said Friday.

Baird was penalized at 4:27 of the third period of a game against the host Niagara IceDogs last Saturday night. He made contact with Pavel Jenys in the neutral zone, but neither of the referees, Joe Celestin and Jesse Wilmot, saw the interaction as worth more than two minutes. Niagara won 3-2 in overtime.

Butler said he received a call from OHL vice-president Ted Baker late Friday relaying the information about the suspension.

Baird, who played in a 4-3 overtime loss Tuesday night to the host Ottawa 67's, was scratched for a 4-1 home-ice victory Thursday night over the Saginaw Spirit after the Battalion was told that he'd been suspended indefinitely. He's eligible to return March 5, when the Troops visit the Windsor Spitfires.

Baird, an 18-year-old resident of Cayuga, Ont., has five goals and 11 assists for 16 points in 43 games this season while accumulating 74 penalty minutes. A second-round pick in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection from the Southern Tier Admirals minor midgets, he has played 124 OHL games, scoring 10 goals and earning 13 assists for 23 points with 182 penalty minutes.

Baird has served two three-game suspensions this season.

The first followed a fracas in a 7-2 win Dec. 13 over the visiting London Knights that was precipitated by Baird being crosschecked into the London net by Brandon Crawley, who received no penalty for the act. The second was for spearing Rasmus Andersson in a 12-2 loss Jan. 2 to the host Barrie Colts.

The Battalion has two games on the holiday weekend, visiting the Kingston Frontenacs at 7 p.m. Friday and Ottawa at 2 p.m. Monday. Both games can be seen live in North Bay on TVCogeco Channel 12 and heard on Country 600 CKAT.

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