BLAZERS FORWARD CAUGHT WITH COCAINE IN BANFF BAR

A peek under a bathroom stall door by an RCMP officer in a Banff night
club has yielded a drug conviction for Luke Hanna, a forward for the
Lloydminster Blazers.

Hanna, 20, pleaded guilty in Banff provincial court this past Monday
to one charge of cocaine possession. He was charged after an incident
on June 8, 2003. Court heard that on that date, Const. Phil Penny was
patrolling a Banff night club in the early morning hours. Penny
noticed a man was in a bathroom stall for a period of time, but hadn't
pulled his pants down. Penny peaked inside from under the door and
found Hanna with cocaine.

Hanna was sentenced to six months probation and was ordered by Judge
John Reilly either to perform 100 hours of community service or to
donate $500 to a suitable charity of his choice.

Hanna, originally from Red Deer, was arrested with 0.5 grams of
cocaine.

Reilly said crimes committed to obtain money for cocaine and crimes
committed under the influence of cocaine make it a very serious drug.

"Use must be discouraged," he said.

Reilly ruled in favour of a request for a conditional discharge in the
case if Hanna meets the terms of his probation. Reilly also ordered
Hanna to attend counselling on the dangers of drug abuse during his
six months' probation.

"As far as the Blazers were concerned, we had no prior knowledge of
what happened to Luke Hanna this summer," said Blazers coach Dale
Jackson. "We're not allowed to comment on the situation any more than
that until we've discussed it with (AJHL president) Kim Marsh and the
league."

Marsh said a chemical abuse policy was adopted by the Alberta Junior
Hockey League, but has never been put into action prior to this incident.

"We'll go through the steps as best we can, support the player and
that's all we can look at right now," said Marsh. "There's obviously a
suspension for the player, but the first important thing before the
suspension is, is the player recovered? We have to put him through
counselling and things like that. Our first thoughts are with the
player right now."

In a letter to the court, Hanna expressed remorse for his actions and
said he hadn't touched cocaine since being caught.

In a letter of reference for Hanna's character submitted as evidence,
a hockey coach from Red Deer wrote "he is one of those kids you always
dream of coaching."

Hanna's father expressed unhappiness at his son's actions in a letter
to the court, but said his son has aspirations to continue his hockey
career.

Hanna broke his leg in September, but is expected to return playing
for the Blazers in February, said his lawyer Eric McAvity.

Peeking under washroom stall doors is not a common investigative
technique for Banff Mounties.

Cpl. George Edwards, acting commanding officer for the Banff
detachment, said, "It's not something we do every day."

But if a suspicious situation occurs an officer will investigate. A
male officer would search a men's restroom and a female officer would
search a women's restroom, he said.

- - With notes from Sean Rooney