Ice Hockey: Norwegian dismissed for striking official

First Edition

Carl Gundersen was dismissed from the game for striking an official as Norway were trounced 6-0 by Germany in the opening match of the World Championship in Dortmund yesterday.

In the 18th minute of an ill-tempered affair, the Norwegian right winger assaulted the Swiss linesman Markus Pfister who was trying to separate a group of fighting players. Pfister was not injured and was able to officiate the remainder of the match.

Bengt Olsson, Norway's Swedish coach, insisted afterwards that Gundersen had struck the linesman by accident. 'Calle is normally a calm player,' Olsson said. 'He seldom gets angry. He told me he just tried to get his hands free. He certainly didn't want to fight an official.'

A spokesman for the International Ice Hockey Federation said Gundersen, who plays for VIF Hockey in the Norwegian First Division, will not be suspended for his country's second game in Pool B against the Czech Republic on Wednesday.

In a separate incident Norway's Trond Magnusson suffered a broken jaw and is likely to miss the rest of the tournament.

Raimund Hilger, Bernd Truntschka, Michael Rumrich, Dieter Hegen, Georg Franz and Stefan Ustorf were the scorers for Germany.