Teen Hockey Player Found Guilty

W A U K E G A N, Ill., Aug. 7 -- A 16-year-old hockey player charged withgiving a rival player a paralyzing injury was found guilty todayof misdemeanor battery.

The player, whose name reporters have been ordered not torelease because of his age, had originally been charged with twocounts of felony aggravated battery. But he entered into a pleaagreement on a charge of simple battery, which carries a maximumpenalty of one year in jail.

The Glenbrook North High School student agreed with prosecutorsthat he used his stick to push New Trier High player Neal Goss intothe boards a second after the buzzer sounded during ajunior-varsity game in Gurnee on Nov. 3.

Both players were 15 at the time of the incident.

The injury left Goss, now 16, paralyzed below the waist, and hehas limited use of his arms. Goss sat in court in his wheelchairduring today’s proceedings before Lake County Circuit Judge JohnRadosevich.

Fears of Broader Implications

The defendant did not look at Goss as he entered an Alford plea,which is similar to pleading no contest to the charges.

If convicted of the original charges, the youth faced a maximumpenalty of confinement in a juvenile facility until he was 21.Sentencing on the simple battery charge is scheduled for Sept. 29.

Some sports administrators had feared that the criminal casecould affect contact sports.

But Lake County prosecutors, who filed the charges Dec. 7, saidstate law gives them ample discretion to decide which actsconstitute criminal offenses. They contended that the defendantintended to injure Goss, noting that he had hit Goss in the headwith his stick during the final minutes of the game. Goss respondedby pushing him, prosecutors said.

Defense attorney Jeffrey Steinback said the game was extremelyrough, with 16 separate acts that could be described as violent byplayers on both sides. He said his client was charged and theothers weren’t, only because the result was a tragedy for Goss.

Goss’ family filed a civil lawsuit against officials of theIllinois Hockey Officials Association and others.