TORONTO - Police have taken the rare step of charging a teenage Ontario hockey player with assault with a weapon for an alleged on-ice stick-swinging incident that didn't even result in a penalty during the game.

The 16-year-old player from the Arran-Elderslie Ice Dogs was charged Thursday after he allegedly slashed an opponent across the neck from behind during a midget-level game in Southampton, Ont., on Jan. 22.

A 15-year-old player from the Saugeen Shores Storm lost consciousness for about 10 seconds and suffered a severe concussion.

While three officials were refereeing the Arran-Elderslie Minor Hockey Association game that night, none of them saw the incident and called a penalty because it occurred behind the play, said Richard Ropchan, the executive director of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association, which governs the teams.

"Based on that, we find it a little unusual and surprising that the police would come and press charges," said Ropchan, who said he didn't know who asked for the charges.

Police don't frequently probe hockey games, but occasionally certain incidents warrant investigation to determine if criminality exists, said Dan Rivett, chief of Saugeen Shores police, which laid the charges.

"Activity that can be considered acceptable on hockey ice certainly would not be acceptable in the streets," Rivett said in a statement. "At what point does activity on the ice cross the line between sport and criminal behaviour?

"Unfortunately in this incident, a court of law will make that determination."

Nobody with Saugeen Shores police was available Friday to comment on the incident.

The injured player was taken to hospital and is still feeling the effects of the incident, Rivett's statement said. Police charged the suspect three weeks after the game following interviews with numerous people.

During his 10 years with the Ontario Minor Hockey Association, Ropchan said he can't remember a midget-level incident where charges were laid without a corresponding league penalty.

Dan Richards, president of the Arran-Elderslie Minor Hockey Association, told the Owen Sound Sun Times that league officials are planning to meet to determine whether further action is warranted.

The association said it is doing its own investigation into the matter, but will make any decision on a possible penalty independent of a court outcome.

With rough play so common to hockey culture, players may be anxious about playing aggressively if there's a chance they could be charged. The implied consent is why police don't often get involved in incidents of hockey violence, said Toronto lawyer Karen Zvulony.

She said this incident is significant because it wasn't game officials who noted an offence.

"How did the event become known to the police?" she said.

"It's the unwritten rule in sports: the victim is not going to co-operate. That's why the courts don't get involved."

There have been several incidents of hockey players being charged with assault with a weapon for stick-swinging incidents.

One of the most high-profile incidents occurred in the NHL in 2000, when Marty McSorley of the Boston Bruins was charged for hitting Vancouver Canucks player Donald Brashear in the head.

Last year, a 17-year-old hockey player in Paris, Ont., was charged after an alleged stick-swinging incident that ruptured an opponent's spleen.