Saginaw Spirit Defenceman James Guo Suspended Indefinitely for Slash to the Head of Travis Hayes

Saginaw Spirit blueliner James Guo has been suspended indefinitely by the Ontario Hockey League for his slash to the head of Soo Greyhounds forward Travis Hayes.

This play was made by Guo far away from the puck, and it did not appear incidental at all. Guo received a five minute major penalty on this play, and was tossed from the game. This is a play that didn’t appear necessary at all, and now Guo has taken himself out for the series — if not longer.

Now, we know that the OHL took further disciplinary action. Here is the play that resulted in the suspension to Guo:

This second round series between the Soo Greyhounds and Saginaw Spirit has quickly become a vicious one. There have been many violent plays, and potentially other plays that could have been suspendable. It is a very physical series, not one where players can hide.

Saginaw is now without one of their defencemen, but this shouldn’t be too big of a loss for them. They went with seven defencemen in Game 6, and now they will have an even six. The loss of Guo does mix up the defensive pairings, but the Spirit have enough depth to avoid this being detrimental for them.

This suspension tees up a highly emotionally-charged game seven, where both teams will be in do-or-die situations. Saginaw was dominated by the Soo in game six, where the Greyhounds won 5-0. Saginaw will be looking for revenge, and they won’t be afraid to play violently while doing so.