While it was a sweet win on Monday night in Brantford for the Barrie Colts, the aftermath was costly.
The team was assessed a $15,000 fine by the OHL on Wednesday following actions by head coach Dylan Smoskowitz and captain Kashawn Aitcheson during a strange press conference after their Eastern Conference championship-clinching win over the Brantford Bulldogs.
The league described their answering of each question from the media with the team's motto of "don't care, work harder," as "conduct detrimental to the public perception of the league."
"The OHL holds its member teams and their personnel to the highest standards of professional conduct," the league stated in a news release. "The post-game comments in question were determined to be highly unprofessional and represented a disservice to the dedicated media members who provide coverage of the Ontario Hockey League."
The league did not offer additional comment on the decision.
Smoskowitz apologized for his actions in an interview with Barrie360 and in an appearance on TSN Radio's Overdrive after the post-game antics took the hockey world by storm, overshadowing the Colts' impressive comeback to win the Eastern Conference over the OHL 's top team.
He also said that he instructed Aitcheson to follow suit with the remarks, saying he was a "good soldier" in following through, but still regretted the entire scenario.
Smoskowitz and Aitcheson faced six total questions before the moderator cut off the availability.
The viral comments were reportedly in reaction to the league not allowing more than one player to join him to speak to media, Smoskowitz told Barrie 360 he wanted the entire team to attend the post-game press conference, citing how close the group is with each other in their shared journey.
The OHL Championship Series begins Wednesday with the Colts facing the Western Conference champion Kitchener Rangers.
It is Barrie's first time in the league's final round since 2013 and fifth time overall.
