The hit was nasty and drew a hushed reaction from the crowd at CN Centre Saturday.
Early in the third period, as they headed into a corner, Prince George Cougars centre Charles Inglis flattened Victoria Royals defenceman Tyler Stahl with an elbow that made direct contact with Stahl's face, leaving the 19-year-old from Dumheller, Alta., dazed on the ice.
Inglis, 19, received a match penalty for intent to injure and a game misconduct and will face a harsh penalty from the Western Hockey League in the wake of its crackdown on hits to a player's head.
"Those are the hits we're trying to get out of the game," said Royals head coach Marc Habscheid.
"He got a match penalty and the league will deal with it and they'll do the right thing."
Inglis declined comment on the hit but is aware a lengthy suspension is imminent and he will likely miss the Cougars' roadtrip through the East Division, which will involve seven games over the next two weeks.
"I didn't see it from where I was standing but any time there is a hit to the head the league will review it, and I'm sure something will happen," said Cougars head coach Dean Clark. "If you're going to target the head they're going to penalize you for that, so we'll have to wait and see."
The Cougars were already dealing with an injury to 19-year-old centre Brock Hirsche, who separated his shoulder 21 seconds into Friday's game during a scrap with Royals winger Tim Traber. Now they're without Inglis, who scored 32 goals last season.
"It's going to suck, we're going to miss Charlie, he's a big asset to the team," said Cougars centre Greg Fraser. "Now that we're missing two of our centres, our young guys are going to have to step up and contribute as much as the older guys, and the older guys have to do a bit more now."
