I'll be honest, it happened so long after the buzzer that I didn't see how it started.
By the time RT Rice slashed Tad Kozun, it was a good six, seven seconds after the buzzer sounded. Lots of people were out of their seats already. You can guess what the Twitterholic in me was doing.
What we have is a match penalty for a slash to the head, and a coach who says it made contact with Kozun's arm.
Bruins head coach Chris Lewgood said Monday that the team had sent in video and was filing an appeal, and while Rice would miss Tuesday's game, the club was "confident (the suspension) will be overturned or reduced significantly."
One would think that if the club is going to that much effort, they must have good reason, and maybe the video will make their case for them.
If you're keeping score at home, this is the second time in as many years that an incident involving Kozun between periods was the turning point in a Hawks win over Estevan.
I doubt many people have forgotten the Curtis Martinu episode last year. That got him suspended for three games.
For the Bruins' sake, the faster Rice gets back, the better.
An early-season find out of B.C., Rice is one of those rare players who can play both wing and defence. Not only that, he was arguably the Bruins' top blue liner during his recent stretch on the back end. It took the acquisitions of Nick Egan and Tanner Clark to compel the Bruins to finally send him back to the forward ranks.
At 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, Rice has size that he's not afraid to use and a big shot, and he's been a bigger contributor than most people probably expected.
Austin Roesslein missed Friday's game with the flu and will draw back in, but that still leaves the Bruins with only 12 forwards until Rice and Ben Johnstone return. With the run of injuries they've had so far, that's not ideal.
Contact Josh Lewis at 306-634-2654 or sports@estevanmercury.ca. He is begrudgingly getting behind the Riders this week, if only because of their opponent. Don't even bring up the Argos.
