A Massachusetts jury convicted Thomas Junta of manslaughter Friday evening, rejecting claims the hockey dad acted in self-defense when he beat another father to death at a youth scrimmage.

The panel of nine women and three men deliberated more than 13 hours over two days before finding Junta guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the killing of Michael Costin July 5, 2000. Junta, a 44-year-old father of two, faces a minimum of probation and a maximum of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 25.

Junta showed little reaction to the verdict, but some of his many supporters in the courtroom wiped away tears as court officers took him into custody.

The jury did not convict Junta of the top count, voluntary manslaughter, and the reading of the verdict was awkward as the jury forewoman, Delores Feeney, tried to convey that to the judge.

Michael Costin leaves behind four young children.

"What say you, is the defendant guilty or not guilty?" Judge Charles Grabau and his clerk asked her four times. After turning to the other jurors, Feeney finally answered, "Of three, guilty," a reference to "involuntary manslaughter" the third choice on the verdict form.

In a brief news conference after the conviction, Feeney, flanked by other members of the panel, said, "We the jury feel the verdict was reached based on the evidence and testimony presented to the jury. We feel we reached a very difficult but proper decision."

Despite his stone face, Junta was "crushed" by the verdict, his lawyer Thomas Orlandi said.

"The family is obviously upset at the decision of the jury," said Orlandi. He said Junta dreaded being separated from his wife, 12-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter and planned to pursue all avenues to free himself.

The victim's family, present in court, thanked the jury and said they hoped the verdict would prevent similar deaths. Surrounded by the victim's four children, Costin's sister, Mary Barbuzzi, said, "Michael was a loving brother, a caring son, but most of all, he was a dedicated father."

"Our family will never be complete again," she added.

The killing at the Burbank Ice Arena is considered the worst example of the national problem of "sideline rage," parental violence in youth sports. A crowd of children, including sons of both Costin and Junta, witnessed the beating, and several youngsters shouted for the men to stop.

Junta took the stand in his own defense on the final day of testimony in the case and told jurors he only threw "three off-balance punches" to defend himself against an ambush by Costin. A few minutes earlier, the men had exchanged angry words and shoves after Costin, the informal referee of a pick-up game involving their sons, dismissed Junta's concerns about body-checking and other violence on the ice.

"I didn't know what that guy was doing," said Junta, recalling the "sucker punch" by Costin that sparked the fatal fight. "It was so fast. It was like crazy."

His 12-year-old son, Quinlan, and a friend of Quinlan who witnessed the killing, supported Junta's account.

The prosecution, however, called other bystanders who described Junta, a 6-foot tall truck driver who outweighed the 156-pound victim by more than 100 pounds, raining down punches on a flailing Costin.

"It's something I'll never forget. He went on and on, and I kept hollering and saying 'Stop' and I was thinking the whole time he's either going to kill this man or he was going to have brain damage," testified witness Virginia Brings, who was at the rink to watch her grandson practice.

Prosecutor Sheila Calkins in her closing argument used the testimony of Brings and a rink employee, Nancy Blanchard, to undermine Junta's claim that he was a "gentle giant" forced into a fight.

Blanchard testified that Junta threw her into a wall when she tried to prevent him from re-entering the arena before the fatal fight. Junta denied touching her and said he was simply walking into the rink to collect his son, but prosecutor Calkins confronted Junta with a photograph of her bruised forearm.

The prosecutor also relied on graphic autopsy photos showing severe bruising and swelling on Costin's head and neck and hemorrhaging in his brain. The medical examiner testified that there were 15 separate areas of trauma on the victim's body and Costin died after blows to his neck and head severed an artery to the brain.

Jurors apparently did not believe a defense medical expert who said the artery was ruptured by a single punch delivered with minimal force.