OTTAWA -- Rodents can be small, repulsive creatures, the type of irritating pests that gnaw on anything until fleeing at the first sign of trouble. To Tie Domi, that description fits Marc Savard to a tee.

"He's a little rat," Domi said of Savard, who was slapped with a one-game suspension yesterday for chomping on the hand of the Maple Leafs' Darcy Tucker.

"I wish (the NHL) would give more suspensions to these people, the guys who don't back up their antics on the ice."

Domi's salvo came the day after the pesky Savard bit into Tucker's left glove during a third-period melee in the Leafs' 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers at the Philips Arena.

In an effort to dig up the real tooth truth, NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell conducted a hearing yesterday morning. Thrashers general manager Don Waddell, in an attempt to seek mercy from the court, said that Savard never had been suspended before.

Waddell also backed up Savard's comments suggesting Tucker had shoved his glove into the Atlanta player's mouth.

"(Savard's) hands were tied up (by the officials) and (Tucker) was trying to put his fingers in his mouth," Waddell said.

Tucker refuted that claim.

"I can't really comment (on the suspension) because that's not my call," Tucker said. "The only thing that bothers me is he says I had my fingers in his mouth. I had my hands around his neck. (On the videotape) when I turned around you could see I didn't have my fingers in his mouth."

Tucker and Savard were involved in a scrum near the boards when the incident occurred.

"Stand up and take your punishment," Tucker said. "Be a man about it. Don't shy away from it."

Asked if he has tossed out the gloves, Tucker replied, "Nah, I just got them washed." He said no tetanus shot was required because Savard's teeth did not pierce his glove.

Normally a one-game suspension creates few ripples across the NHL landscape. Then again, the concept of an athlete attempting to bite an opponent is hardly common, unless your name happens to be Mike Tyson.

One tale often recounted by scouts involves Chris McSorley, brother of former NHLer Marty McSorley. They claim Chris McSorley chewed off a chunk of an opponent's nose in a fight during an American Hockey League game.

The Leafs have not been involved in such a biting brouhaha since then-Toronto defenceman Dave Manson was accused of biting the Detroit Red Wings' Martin Lapointe during a pre-season game at Joe Louis Arena on Sept. 28, 2000. No punishment was handed out by the league because television replays proved inconclusive.