Jesse Boulerice

Jesse Boulerice (born August 10, 1978 in Rouses Point, New York) is an American retired ice hockey player. Boulerice's notoriety stems from two violent incidents, one when playing junior hockey where he used his stick like a bat and smashed Guelph Storm forward Andrew Long in the face, and the other in the NHL where he cross-checked Ryan Kesler in the face. Both incidents gained much media attention and are often used as examples of extreme hockey violence.

Playing career
He was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, 133rd overall. He has played for the Carolina Hurricanes, St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers. He was charged with assault in 1998 while playing with the Plymouth Whalers after a violent stick swinging incident with Guelph Storm forward Andrew Long.

Boulerice is known for being the victim of an Aaron Downey left hook on February 11, 2003 after failing to land the first punch, which left Boulerice with a broken jaw and a concussion. Boulerice spent the night in the hospital as his Carolina Hurricanes lost in overtime to the Dallas Stars, 2-1.

Boulerice's role as an enforcer was reduced later in his career due to the NHL's stricter penalties for instigating a fight, by a $10,000 fine to the coach if it occurs in the final five minutes of a game.

On October 10, 2007, Boulerice delivered a cross-check to the face of Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler, with his team up 7-2 in the 3rd period. Boulerice received a 25 game suspension as disciplinary action from the league, which is tied for the second longest suspension for an on-ice incident in modern NHL history.

Boulerice started the 2008–09 season with the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL. On November 11, 2008, Boulerice signed a contract with the Colorado Avalanche, and while being re-assigned to the Monsters, was claimed off waivers by the Edmonton Oilers. After playing only two games with the Oilers, Boulerice was placed on waivers again, and was re-claimed by the Avalanche on November 21, 2008.

Boulerice was invited to the AHL's, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, training camp for the 2009–10 season. He made his presence felt and remained to sign a one-year contract with the Penguins on October 3, 2009. In 54 games with Wilkes-Barre Jesse tied his AHL career high with 4 goals and led the team with 124 penalty minutes. On July 29, 2010, he re-signed with the Penguins to another one-year deal. On January 7, 2011, Boulerice was suspended for 10 games for deliberately running over an AHL referee.

On September 6, 2011, Boulerice's wife Jacqueline announced his retirement via Facebook.