Vitucci suspended after tirade

Toledo Walleye head coach Nick Vitucci.

Walleye coach Nick Vitucci was suspended by the ECHL for one game after his tirade in Saturday night's game at the Huntington Center.

Vitucci will not be behind the bench in Toledo's game against Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon.

During Toledo's 4-1 loss to Wheeling, Vitucci took issue with a non-call by referee Joe Sullivan and went ballistic on the Walleye bench. Vitucci hurled water bottles, a stick, and a clipboard onto the ice after a fight between Toledo's Joey Ryan and Wheeling's Ryan Schnell.

Following his rant, Vitucci was kicked out of the game. He was issued a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct and a game misconduct. Vitucci claimed Schnell should have been called for an instigator penalty for starting the fight.

Vitucci also was issued a financial fine for his actions. Joe Ernst, the ECHL's director of officiating, said Vitucci was fined an undisclosed amount of money but that it does not amount to more than “a couple hundred dollars.”