North America On Top

The rise of Colorado forward Chad Costello continued over the past two weeks.  He now leads all leagues I cover in points and also with it earned a promotion to the AHL.  Costello is also joined by teammate Jack Combs in the top ten, who coincidentally also earned an AHL promotion and coincidentally again moves up to the same team as Costello.  The rest of the list looks similar except in the NHL department.  Malkin is back in while Seguin moves out.


It was a race to see who would get to 100 penalty minutes first.  It seemed like a European would be a sure thing except it never materialized.  The first European made it this weekend in the German league.  It would not have been my first or second guess.  However, both the AHL and ECHL have been on a run since the last time I posted.  In fact, out of the now 14 players now above 100, only two got there on a minor penalty.  Every other player received some sort of combination or a major, misconduct or game misconduct.  Got to get there in style.

In other notes my next race would have been to see which team will get two players above 100 but that already went to Bridgeport with Gallant and McIver at one and three.  Seems a bit early to ask for three guys on one team.  Maybe the next race can be to 150 since they have been rocketing since getting past 100.

Here is the new list.

He Did It

With a lot of players within the range, one player stepped up last night to become the first player to go beyond 100 penalty minutes this year.  The first to do so was the AHL's own forward from Providence, Bobby Robins.

Robins is no stranger to the penalty box.  Last year he managed to go over 100 penalty minutes twice.  Once in the AHL with Providence and once while playing in the ECHL.  Robins also accomplished the feat in the true typical style of a guy who gets a lot of penalties.  Robins picked up a boarding, fighting and game misconduct all at the same time.  That's how you do it.

Last night was not without another interesting accomplishment.  I call these accomplishments but they are really just a little something for myself to combine the skill of the game with the aggressiveness.  Anyway, last night while playing for Evansville in the ECHL Nathan Moon picked up a hat trick.  Nice work.  He also got into a fight.  Not that is a Gordie Howe hat trick.  Except it isn't.  Which is why in my stat book it goes under the Danny Boy.  The reasoning is simple.  The first and only time I saw that done in the AHL or NHL was by Daniel Briere.  Now there have been two (since I've been paying attention).

I tried waiting for videos for both but so far nothing.  If they get posted I will get them up. 

Radulov Dropping

Another installment of the league leaders from all the leagues I keep daily a daily tracking of are in.  For the first time since we began, Alexander Radulov is finally dropping.  He is out of the top ten in penalty minutes and has slipped in points as well.

One big change came from North America as all but one spot in the penalty rankings now belongs to the local professional leagues.

Now for my two cents.

• It would have been interesting to see what Brunner could have done in a North American league.  Never pegged him for those kind of numbers.  He had been sent to the AHL this year in the Detroit organization.  Now he is playing with one of Detroit's best players in Henrik Zetterberg.  Maybe chemistry for the future?
• Luciano Aquino came on very strong.  His teams 11 goal performance on Sunday certainly helped.  Speaking of coming on strong, I'm surprised to see four guys from Sweden in the top ten.  Not really a high scoring league.
• Look at Chad Costello climb the charts.  He made the bottom of the list last time and now just four points behind.  Keep representing until some other players from North American can start making a push.  But as Costello climbs we are losing other NHL guys.  Malkin is off the list leaving only Seguin as the only NHL representative.

Clearly penalties will be dominated by the AHL and ECHL where fights and physical play will dominate many games.  I still think a European or two could stay in the mix maybe until the next update.  After that who knows.

Last time I posted the list I wondered who would get to 100 first and went with a European.  I also put out Graz as my team and Gallant as my North American league player.  Well nobody has made it yet (haven't looked at the KHL scores today).

Stancescu becomes a likely, or high unlikely depending on how you take it, candidate as he plays tomorrow.  Adam Huxley sitting at 85 plays both tomorrow and Wednesday and leader Brett Gallant is the only player from the AHL leaders playing through Wednesday.  Who gets it first?

Board of Leaders

Took me an extra night to update the leaders this season thanks to an uncooperative scoreboard from the Austrian league, but do not fear the board has been updated.  Biggest movers?  The North American leagues are stepping up and closing the gaps.  Last update there was nobody.  Not the same this time.

Radulov for the last time still holds places in both the top ten's.  Still very impressive but he will easily be out of the mix next update in early December.

The top point getters are pretty much the same.  Luciano Aquino made a big move into the top five with a strong weekend.  We also get the first North American NHL player to climb the point rankings with Tyler Seguin.  Hoping he can continue to climb as I'm not expecting many North Americans to make the list from the NHL for various reasons.

What do we see at the bottom of the list?  We have our first AHL-ECHL player to crack the top ten.  I'm not shocked who it is, but I am surprised how fast he got there.  Only 15 games to already be one of the top point scorers in hockey.  He was also very impressive last season with Colorado.

Off to the penalty charts where the North American leagues made big jumps.  Five of the top 10 are now from American leagues compared to none during the last update.  By the next update it could be 8 or 9.

Lefebvre and Artyukhin are still holding up well and as documented have strong AHL ties.  Bobby Farnham?  If you are surprised, that makes two of us.  Never had this guy on my radar even in the slightest.  Not only is he at the top for local leagues but he is doing it in both the AHL and ECHL.  That is normally something you see towards the end of a season.  Joining him are Adam Huxley, Brett Gallant and Bobby Robbins all of whom are well known fighters.  Andrew Conboy cracks the list with the accumulation of many penalties.

Now the question is who gets to 100 first?  I will guess a European player as they can rack minutes up quickly.  A player in the German league got 59 minutes in one game this weekend and if you notice he isn't even in the top ten.

My guess is somebody on Graz in Austria and let's go with Gallant for North America.

AHL Action

Lots of action this weekend in the AHL.  Here are two of the more interesting videos.  First we have a dust up during the Binghamton - Adirondack game that starts off small.  Then we get a little goalie action with Toronto.

Geoffrion Hit

Friday was a busy night in the AHL.  Lots of scoring, which has been extremely present so far this year in both the AHL and ECHL, as well as a lot of the rough stuff.  The Syracuse - Hamilton game was no exception.  And there's nothing quite like being the main show in town when you are playing the game in Montreal in front of almost 20,000.

Blake Geoffrion might have been playing their regularly had it not been for the lockout.  He was traded to Montreal last season, a place he was almost destined to be.  His great-grandfather, grandfather and father all played for Montreal and last year he did too.  Now the question is asked if he will ever play again.

The other party involved in the unfortunate play was Syracuse defenseman Jean-Philippe Cote.  Cote would be considered a bit of a rugged player with a solid AHL past.  Oddly enough, five of the seven seasons he has played in the AHL were with Hamilton and the only NHL action he has seen was with Montreal.  If there was ever a game to show yourself this was the one.

Geoffrion received a short outlet pass and started up the boards.  What he didn't notice was Cote sizing him up for a classic hip check.  When he does notice it is a bit too late and because he tried to hold up the hit sent him flying awkwardly into the air.




It is hard to see much after the scrum but we do see Geoffrion eventually get up and skate off the ice by himself, apparently bleeding heavily.  It's the part afterwards that gets scary. 

After deciding he needed to go to the hospital, Geoffrion apparently started convulsing.  Tests revealed that he actually fractured his skull on the play.  Emergency surgery was required to alleviate the pressure the fracture was causing on his brain. 

The last replay shows it the best.  As he took the hit the momentum of his body torques so that his feet are moving up and around while his upper body is moving down.  It just so happened that a part of his head with little protection took the worst of the hit to the ice.  Might as well have landed on concrete.  I have hope that he will return at some point and continue to play.  Take a hit, land on your head, fracture your skull, skate off to the bench.  Hockey. 

Goalie #2

Hoping that every goalie scrap this year will be documented on video.  Here comes one from the Southern league that starts off with a scrum.

Leaders Updated

European hockey is in full swing and continues to get better and more exciting as leagues continue to add NHL players.  This could be a great season in many leagues in terms of point totals and overall scoring.  The nastiness is also heating up.  And away we go.

Only have the AHL and ECHL of course and most teams have yet to play ten games yet.  I wouldn't have been shocked if somebody cracked the leaderboard, but as of now they are still trailing.

The lockout players have easily made their way up the list.  It was only a matter of time even though most started the season late.  Both Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk have been on fire lately.

Alex Radulov is still hanging on to positions in both categories.  My guess is he will be knocked out of the penalty minute race by the next update.  Also I should mention that Damien Brunner who made the list in points last update technically qualifies as a lockout player.  He has never played in North America but was signed by Detroit this year.

Penalty list got a whole lot tighter and represents all five leagues.  Artyukin has kept his cool recently.  Ledin picked up half of those in one game.  The Austrian league is getting very physical.  In fact that is the league I would look to continue to see players climb the list.  Check this shit out.  The four players on the list that play in the Austrian league are all on the same team.  Have fun playing that squad.

For a little bonus feature, last year Barry Brust while playing in Germany put up the incredible total of 109 penalty minutes with an additional 29 in the playoffs.  He is a goalie.  I've never seen anything even close to that since I've compiled stats.  Hextall was the king of that in his day, but I was too young.  Brust ranked sixth in the entire league for penalty minutes.  Jerry Kuhn might try taking a run at that this season.  Playing for Olimpija in Austria he has 46 so far easily leading the team with a lot of the season yet to go. 

Vids

A little action worthy of a post.  Couple of tough ass Canadian boys playing in the KHL and some Quebec junior league fun.  Also love that the apparent test for passing a concussion in standing since they sat him right in the penalty box.  No need to get checked out, he is fine.

Leaderboard

We've progressed a few more games and got the North American leagues up and running.  Nobody has cracked the top ten from those two leagues since the majority of the teams have played less than five games.  Give it a little time.  It won't take long.  Oddly enough, nobody from the lockout playing overseas has made the list yet either. Unless the lockout ends we should start seeing some names climb the point charts.

Here we go:

Guess the biggest difference since the last time we checked is the addition of the other leagues.  Every league is represented now including a good run from the Swiss league.

The leader in points and penalties stays the same though Ryan is tied.  As much as I might not like the guy, Alexander Radulov is tied for the most points and four penalty minutes away from taking that spot too.  Not something you see very often if ever. 

Other noteworthy moves - Brunner, Metropolit and Omark came on strong for the Swiss league.  Brunner is a career European but Metropolit has been just about everywhere in North America including a stint with the Flyers and has always done well in Europe.  Omark spent the last two seasons with Edmonton.  Not sure if he will ever return.  And I have to point out Holloway planting himself nicely into the top ten.  The Swedish league is notorious for not having many North American players but Holloway is showing he belongs in his second season after three seasons in the AHL.

In the penalty area we have a few movers.  Artyukhin can't extend his lead much mainly because he was suspended for the majority of the time since I last updated the list.  Who do we have sitting in third now?  It's that dang pesky Olivier Labelle.  Labelle spent the last three seasons playing for the Royals usually near the top in both points and penalties.  Not going to stop now that he is in Europe.

Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting

Elton John had it right.  Saturday night is indeed a great night for fighting.  Home and home series are common in the minors and players disdain for each other is high.  Last night was no exception.  The AHL delivered even during this time of higher skill sets with the NHL taking a vacation.  Last night there were 21 fights in the AHL.  Feel free to listen to a little Elton or dare I say even put on the Nickelback cover version which I admit is one of the only songs I will listen to from them and watch the fun.

It took a whole two weeks into the AHL season to obtain one of these:  (link to Nickelback song also available to play if you choose to turn the volume down in the first clip)

For Fun

The AHL and ECHL are ready to kick start their season tomorrow.  Otherwise known as the only professionally affiliated leagues to be playing in North America this year.  With the European leagues well under way, I figured it will be interesting to compare all the leagues as they continue to progress.

Here are the current leaders of the leagues that I follow provided by myself personally.  Finland and the Czech league are the only two major ones in my opinion that I do not keep track of on my own, therefore they will not be included.

 

As the season continues I will update the list on a weekly-ish basis and see how long it takes for the list to be dominated by the AHL or ECHL.  Now I know leagues can vary greatly.  Nobody from the Swiss or Swedish leagues made the list.  Some leagues play more games, the style can be different, even penalties are different.  In the end it all balances out.

Let's take a quick look at the above.  For starters nobody from the current lockout has made the list (yet).  The current points leader from the Austrian league is clearly not from Europe though he has never played a game in the NHL or AHL so congrats for doing well overseas. 

Former NHL prospect Alex Radulov makes both lists.  Had the talent to be a solid NHL player but had one of those classic don't-give-a-crap Russian attitudes.  Even when he came back to Nashville last year for the playoffs he was sat out do to lackluster playing.

I won't name everybody who has AHL or NHL experience on the list because it would be most of them but there are a few cool names.  DiBenedetto moved to Europe for the first time after three AHL seasons.  Zherdev was a 4th overall pick and last played for the Flyers before succumbing to that dang attitude problem. 

In the penalty category we get more classic names starting with the first one.  Artyukhin is a big man who played his first professional season in the wonderful town of Hershey.  Elfring has been playing in Germany for 12 years but his first AHL team he played for was Hershey.  Lefebvre started his career with the Flyers before moving to Pittsburgh and bouncing around after that.  He had over 100 penalty minutes in the AHL five times.  And how about Mr. Bartulis rounding out the list.  The former Flyer spent the last five seasons in the organization before leaving for a place closer to home.  And he was never known for accumulating penalties.

First Mini

There hasn't been anything real interesting in the world of hockey hits, fights and other oddities.  Either that or there simply isn't video.  Normally it comes down to video and the majority of leagues are not filming games.  However we did have the first dust up of the season from the WHL.  Surprise, surprise.  It will be the first of probably 30-50 this season.




This one sparked my interest for a couple reasons.  The disagreement was all verbal until the action of one player and a guy on the bench changed that.  And that quickly everybody on the ice was apparently peeved.  I also liked the player at the end pumping up the crowd even though he got his can kicked.  At least he has energy.


OTHER NOTES:

AHL preseason has begun.  I'm sure there will be tons of action in these games though probably not a lot of post game tape of it.  The ECHL also begins action tonight with the welcoming of a new squad in San Francisco.

Nail Yakupov scored his teams only two goals in the KHL and also scored the winner in the shootout against former Flyer Sergei Bobrovsky that went 30 shooters.

Still very early in the season to start taking a look at the top penalty leaders, always one of my favorite categories.  However I did notice through video that former NHL and AHL dipstick Ryan Hollweg has a crisp 91 penalty minutes in seven game in the Czech league.  Though it is his first season in Europe it has nothing to do with the lockout.  As far as the five leagues I am covering, Alexander Radulov appears to have an early lead with 50.  Not even going to get started with this guy.  Classic example of a Russian player with the talent who just didn't feel like competing. 

Probably get a list organized next weekend of leaders before the AHL and ECHL kick off and see how quickly it takes for those guys to catch up even though they will be roughly a month behind. 

GorD

The junior leagues kicked off Thursday so we have officially seen the start of hockey in North America. The western league opened with one game which happened to feature the following fight.



Not much of anything other than two guys coming out of the box from an apparent earlier disagreement.  However, Keegan Lowe did something I just posted about and did it in the first game.  Lowe tallied the rare defenseman Gordie Howe hat trick.  The dude ain't much of a scorer either.  In 212 junior games prior to opening night he had 7 goals.  He is physical though.

As the son of longtime Edmonton player, coach, general manager and current president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe, the Edmonton native and Edmonton Oil King assistant captain could fit in nicely with Carolina some day.  The team that last beat Edmonton the last time they were in the finals.  Kevin passed on his son four times before he was picked directly before the Oilers 5th pick.


QUICK NOTE:

Malkin, Gonchar, Ovechkin and Voracek all had points in their first games in the KHL.  The fun has begun.

Another First

The Fight:




Normally I wouldn't be posting a mediocre fight between members of opposing KHL teams that have no connection to North American hockey.  However, this fight goes beyond a few right hooks.  I have a feeling this season is going to be pretty entertaining with or without the NHL.

I have a fondness for the skill and toughness a hockey player can bring to the ice.  Give me a guy who can score, run you over and throw a punch and I'm happy.  With that being said there is no better irrelevant stat then the Gordie Howe hat trick.  Goal, assist, fight in one game.  Not an extremely common occurrence.

I did some digging and found that including the playoffs there have been 38 Gordie's in the last two seasons in the NHL.  There were about 80 games played in the playoffs last year so double that and add the total number of regular season games and you get 2,620.  Needless to say they don't happen often.  Hell, four teams alone combined for 16 of those.  Watch the AHL and your chances slightly increase.  They have have 62 in the past two years.

Now for some increased insider information.  Of those 100 combined Gordie Howe hat tricks, three times both combatants did it against each other.  Very cool and very rare.

So here we are in a new season with all the European leagues underway.  We've had the first fight of the year and have seen some scraps here and there.  And now we can also say we have the first Gordie Howe hat trick of the season thanks to the fight above.  But wait.  There's more.

In the season of the unpredictable the first Gordie this year was accomplished by both of these players.  If we want to get technical, Lehtera did it first but either way both did it by fighting each other.  Adding more to the story, these teams totaled 8 goals in this game.  Both of these players figured in every one of them.  Lehtera ended with a goal and four assists and Ankudinov a goal and two assists.

What will be next?  In going with the unpredictable I will say an early season goalie fight. 

First of Many

It took slightly longer than I expected, although fighting hasn't been that prevalent in European hockey, but we finally got the first fight of the regular season today.

However, I can say that if I were to predict a fight I would have been way wrong.  I would have said the first would be between either North American players playing in Europe or players with North American training.  Would have been wrong on both accounts.

Here is a little background.  The team that scored was down 6-2 at the time of the goal so apparently the little check in the back set them off.  An instigator was called, as was the cross check and an additional misconduct was handed out.  So if anybody had the first fight of the season coming after a goal, between two Russians, with a total 34 penalty minutes handed out, you win something.  One thing not handed out, game misconducts like in previous seasons.  And they tell me they are trying to get rid of fighting.  It's not even an automatic ejection anymore in most European leagues.  And another thing.  Props to the combatants.  If I didn't know any better it would look like a typical North American type of fight.  They drop the gloves, throw some punches, stay on their feet and both end it on their terms.  And one more fudging thing before I end this.  In some European leagues the penalty for fighting is not fighting major like you see in the NHL, AHL or ECHL.  It is simply fisticuffs.  I propose we use that in all leagues.  It has a nice ring to it.


 

They're Back

Preseason hockey has begun all over the world and in typical preseason fashion, the fighting has been on display. 

We begin with a newcomer to Europe but still an overall dirty player.  Ryan Hollweg takes a preseason run at Duvie Westcott is a match between two different leagues and manages to already get himself suspended. 

Our second video shows former Hershey Bear Evgeni Artukhin in the KHL bloodying his opponent.

Off to England we go for two guys moving over from the AHL for their first seasons in Europe. Both guys should be featured here again during the season.

We end with a classic European player fight where the gloves stay on and it is somewhat like an awkward dance.  Both are former AHLers.

Norfucked

You can add a bizarre, game-winning goal to the list of incredible feats the Norfolk Admirals have accomplished this season.  It's no 28 game winning streak, but it did put the Admirals one win away from sweeping the Calder Cup Finals.

If you missed it, here is a clip.  Remember, this game is in overtime tied at zero.  Of all the things that could have possibly happened, this is what transpired.




Hard to imagine what the feeling is like for the Toronto boys.  No matter how many times you watch it you still can't believe that's how it ended.  And no matter how many times you watch it you see Norfolk is offsides.  Way offsides.

If you pause it at the seven second mark you notice the Marlies players retreating, heads turned looking at the puck.  Meanwhile, a Norfolk forward is still in the process of leaving the zone. 

You could probably count on two fingers how many times something like this has happened.  Unfortunately this once in a million goal decision by officials that have probably skimmed over this buried rule was incorrect.  The goal should not have counted due to the player still being in the zone while the so called shot was taken.  No do-overs here.  Move on and get ready for the next one.

After approaching nine months of hockey or ten if you want to include preseason, we get to what could be a first in at least my memory.  With every league from Japan to Sweden to England to Italy, to juniors or college or minors to majors, two leagues always remain last to finish off the hockey year.  Tomorrow, both the American Hockey League and National Hockey League could crown champions on the same day.    

Stanley Cup Rewind

With the Stanley Cup poised to be knocking elbows with the Hollywood elite and basking in the sun of the SoCal summer for the first time, I figured I would take some time to honor the city and their dedication to the sport.  One request, please do not let me see pictures of the cup on the beach.  Anybody who has been to the beach knows that know matter how many times you shower afterward, you always find sand in unwanted places long after leaving.

Hockey fans (I'm talking fans) are in a league of their own.  We are a different breed and there are not a lot of us out there.  Seriously.  66 shows had better ratings than the first two games of the finals including 34 reruns and, gulp, the NBA draft lottery.  Nothing new here.  The league has fans and some pretty damn passionate ones too, except that this isn't the Super Bowl.  Just because it's the finals doesn't mean millions of fans will watch.  Look at ratings in Canada if you think that all hockey freaks watch every game.  They don't.  You think people in Montreal give a flying fudge who wins this?

But I do know of one town that is pumped.  One town that has never got to drink from the cup.  A town filled with enthusiasm, passion and excitement ever since the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs.  Oh sure they can bring it physically, but even better is their knowledge of the game and team.

Take this for example:




One win away folks!  Wonder where exactly this came in the newscast?  If it's anything like ESPN, I'm thinking somewhere between a Miley Cyrus sighting and a back up on the 10 near exit 16A.  Hey.  Let's face it.  Jonathan Swift has been tremendous this playoff season.  One should not write off team Ireland next Olympics with such a poetic figure tending goal.  And no need to sell me on Hockeywood.  I get that every time the Flyers play the Penguins.

But the insight doesn't stop there from these hockey educators as shown here from the Western Finals:




Always like starting my highlights by checking for celebrities.  Gets me in touch with the true fans.  Let's skip to the first goal and watch the great Anje Kopidor score on the breakaway.  The guy has really blossomed into a star in Los Angeles after six straight 20 goal seasons all while leading the team in scoring in five of his first six years.  Maybe by his 7th season they will figure out his name.

Later we see the Kings controlling the ball in the Phoenix defensive zone.  Oh my.  Did I just type that?  Anywho.  He shoots he scores chuckles the guy that only knows one related hockey line while the third newscaster reveals the problem.  Too many teams.  Can't argue there.  Touchdown!!... WTF?  Thanks for taking the playoffs seriously Fox 11.

Guess what Phoenix?  Not tonight.  Not if Brad Doty has anything to say about it.  That guy is so good he reminds me a lot of Drew Doughty.  You know, the guy taken 2nd in the draft five years ago, finalist for the Norris trophy, one of the best defenseman in the league?  Not ringing a bell?

Think the only person that can save you now is that stellar goalie you have in Jonathan Swift.


Thankfully, Fox isn't the only knowledgeable station in town.  With Los Angeles being the place to be for NBA/NHL playoff action, the local NBC station was on the ball.

Gosh dang it.  So close.  Got to give you 1/2 credit.  It does say Kings in big letters.  Knocking a full point off though since it does say SACRAMENTO above it.  Like literally right above it.  All you had to do was read.

Thank goodness for the CBS affiliate:



MOTHER OF #$@!  Does anything with the word Kings written on it pass for a hockey highlight?  That was a bunch of Sacramento fans at some rally with the SACRAMENTO KINGS mascot.

This is why I always go with the guys who know, like the public address announcer welcoming back the greatest player in the history of the sport:



Hard to believe that historical trade from Edmonton to Los Angeles happened when I was a freshman in high school.  Seemed like it was even longer than that.  Hold on.  1998?  If only you could have done some research before the Great One showed up.


You know what?  Even if we don't exactly know which team or what players are playing in the finals, I do know that it isn't every season where you see an 8th seeded team knock off the 1st, 2nd and 3rd seeds to make it to the Stanley Cup.  It's not often you see an 8th seed come together and win with relative ease, dominating every series they've been in and winning continuously on the road.  And the last thing you could think of would be to see this 8th seeded team sweep the Finals.  Well all of this has and could happen in the next few hours.  It has been a hell of a run with a darn good group of guys.  For that, I am at least pleased to say that even though I haven't seen the match-ups I wanted to, I still am seeing history. 

 Thanks Los Angeles

Pitch Invader

Here is a new way to celebrate hat tricks in soccer.  A random person from the crowd comes out and gives the player a hug before making a few lewd gestures towards what I can only assume are the opposition fans.  All comes to an end when the quick acting security guards point him in the direction of an exit.

Suck It

Got to hand it to the Europeans.  Not only are they creative but they don't give a shit when it comes to censorship or what we would consider inappropriate topics. 

Here they are voicing their opinion about the opposing team using their logo.  Bet you didn't know lions could do that. 

Interrupted Celebration

Nothing like trying to end the season peacefully in the AHL before heading into the playoffs.  Portland takes the game in a shootout and while enjoying their win, the ultimate bad ass Worcester Sharks team decides to invade.  Once again, a first on the year heading into the last week of the season.  And another team on team bench clearer.

Bench Clearer

Anything the NHL can do the AHL can do better.  On the same day the Flyers and Penguins had a minor disagreement, Rockford and Milwaukee upped the stakes.  For the first time this season we cleared the benches.  Can't even remember the last time this happened.  Rare indeed and better yet, not many ejections or suspensions from it. 

Skate Face

The fad of tweeting pictures of injuries continues.  This time it is Ryan Duncan of the AHL who shows us what it looks like when you take a skate across the face.  Almost five hours of work and 45 stitches later, this is what you get.

He did end up missing one game but I believe that still makes him a hockey player.

You Missed

This is why the player normally bends over in front of the net rather than 10 feet away next to a brick way.

Future Baller

This is how you test your children in England to see if they have what it takes to play in the Premier League.


 

Trolling

The Turkish football association decided to ban flares from stadiums.  The fans do not like the decision.  So this is what they did during the game.




Love it.  Chanting and singing non-stop as if they were about to win the World Cup.  And they send a subtle little message to boot.

Glove Toss

High Five

Pure Joy

It's okay little Liverpool fan, I will probably have the same reaction when Mwanga puts one in the onion bag.

Playoff Style

Still have to wait a little while for the playoffs to begin in North American leagues, but some European leagues have been well under way.  Love the intensity and physicality the playoffs bring.  Oddly enough this is game one of this series.  Don't think it can get much more interesting than this.

Joey Mac

Believe this has been the only goalie scrap in the AHL this season.  Boy what a difference a few years makes.  Even the AHL isn't quite as tough as it used to be.  Put it this way.  Joey MacDonald in the 07-08 season had 3 fighting majors.

Some History

A goalie fight is pretty exciting but if you go back and look at all the games, you realize it happens more than one would think it does in a season.  Maybe not always in the NHL, but in leagues across the country goalies don't want to be left out.  Case in point, Tyler Plante, who likes to throw once in awhile.  Except he finds himself fighting a forward on the other team.




The announcer has never seen anything like this before.  Funny because I have and the two guys have pretty similar names.

Cousins

This might be one of the more remembered skirmishes.  It involves the OHL which seems to be considered the best junior league for hockey.  It's the end of the game and Nick Cousins decides to celebrate the win in front of his opponent.  Something he is apparently known for along with really pissing people off.  After a swing to the stomach the benches empty.  If things go right, Cousins could be pissing people off in the NHL while wearing the orange and black.  He also has 71 points in 54 games this season which puts him 7th in the league.

All 12

Has to be mentioned as it has the one principle rule of a great brawl in that every player on the ice picked up a fighting major.  Add it to the list of candidates.

Didn't Take Long

Five seconds into the game and then six seconds later.



Would have been interesting to see the backup goalies fight and get ejected.  Not sure what they would have done.  I assume one of the forwards or defenseman would have had to put on the pads.  Not candidate worthy as it was a bit odd.  The one team clearly looked more interested than the other.

East Coast Western Style

I could probably post a number of these from teams that play in the west.  Some of the games become crazy especially compared to the east.

Battle of New York

Have to include some AHL action in here once in awhile.  Problem is most of the recorded video never makes it to the world of the internet.  Half of the action in this dust up was Binghamton goalie Robin Lehner tussling with the officials.

Rewinding

If we truly are going for a brawl of the year candidate (of course the one issue is there must be video) then we should really go back in the archives before this blog started and show some from early in the year.  Over the course of the next few days/weeks I will post some of the earlier action this year as we head towards the home stretch.

Here is a look at another North American junior league and at least one player lacking respect.

6 vs. 6

We have ourselves another one.  Candidate for Brawl of the Year thanks to the United States junior league.  Must say they are putting on some good shows.  Every player on the ice picked up fighting majors and a goalie picked the wrong guy to start a fight with.



Part of the reason I like this one is it looks like things are going to be ugly right off the face off.  Lots of talking.  Guys lined up like they have picked their opponent.  Instead nothing really happens.  Then all of the sudden it explodes.

Not to mention, I am fine with a pat on the back or a way to go after a scrap but don't shake the hand of the guy that just punched you in the face.  It's like saying, "oops, my fault."  "You are clearly tougher than I thought."  Now I will skate around with a bloody face to show I am not hurt.

A First

I've talked before about the joke of a team in Russia that has a bunch of former goons from the North American professional leagues.  They were back at it again attacking their opponents.  I have no clue how they are not either suspended for half of the season or just kicked out of the league.

It starts with Kip Brennan, a nasty dude when he played in the AHL and NHL.  He actually even played for Hershey twice and I stood next to him during the Calder Cup Finals run when he was in the club section.  Never really liked him and still don't.  Then Jon Mirasty decides to start pounding on a player.  He played parts of four seasons in the AHL.  He had 78 fights in 186 games and 1 goal. 

Finally Nick Tarnasky gets involved.  I don't know when his career started going downhill.  He had played three straight seasons in the NHL before spending all of last year in the AHL.  He picked up a cool 20 fighting majors.  But perhaps the best part of the video, or actually the worst is I have never seen a player use his stick to rope in another player. 


All of these guys are tough.  We get that.  Starting fights with unwilling smaller players who have rarely if ever fought is such an absolute joke.  And I enjoy a good fight.  They would never be able to get away with this in the AHL which all of these guys played in last year.  Not to mention they would actually be up against other guys who could fight.

Jeremy Yablonski, not shown in this clip, was later ejected for actually skating around and trying to catch opponents.

Flying Punch

Perhaps I am not familiar with this rivalry as maybe these two teams have some bad blood from previous meetings.  In any case, the first goalie to come out of his crease to the defense of his teammate had every right to do so.  Punching a defenseless player on the ice is crossing the line and allowing everybody else to join.  Of course it usually leads to a bigger scrum.  The other goalie also had every right to come down the ice.  The flying punch to the face?  Let's just say I would have no issue whatsoever if this goalie gets his ass beat in the next game.

Rinaldo

Seriously?!



If somebody could show me how you can kick a rolling ball upwards then magically have it drop like a rock into the back of the net please drop me an e-mail.  

Swingers

We'll let these boys fire away...

Friends?

The classic junior league fight. Besides being a solid tilt. This one is even more interesting.

Both players are 17 and are not known for fighting.  If I'm not mistaken, this is their first in at least the major junior league.  

Both players are also from Burlington.  They both also played for the same team last season when they played midget hockey.  One could assume they are friends but you never know.

And another reason I like this one, Midensky can't fight.  Maybe he will learn.  His hips are almost constantly open which keeps him facing his opponent.  Instead of timing his punches he swings wildly which leaves himself open to take shots.  I could also mention his front shoulder and his positioning of his grabbing hand but enough is enough.

Pre-Game Ritual

This is nothing new in the world of hockey.  I'm pretty sure almost every team in professional ranks does this before games.  Heck, it as even led to disagreements and injuries.  Guess this is what you get when surrounded by Europeans and Canadians. 

I just enjoy when my two unappreciated interests can come together for a brief moment at the same time.

It is almost as good as when I read this a few years ago or this take of the game from one Rob Zombie. 

Soccer, hockey and metal?  Like the article says.  We are always in the minority.  But that's the way we like it.  Fuck off.

New York State of Mind

The Giants just won the Super Bowl.  Who do you most want to see?

Austrian Dancing

Not out of the norm to see fighting in the Austrian league as there are a number of North American players there.  This game had more than normal including a disagreement between Mike Danton and Guillaume Lefebvre.  This is Danton's first professional season of hockey since he played in the NHL in 2003-04.  The joys of prison.

Classic WHL

Soccer Riot

Even though the video doesn't show the violence much (thankfully), you have to remember that many fans were killed after this game between two Egyptian teams.  And the fans that were running across the field towards the other fans were from the winning side.  Crazy.  Reports say it was politically motivated and that the riot police who you can see in the video standing still, let the fans attack the other supporters on purpose.




Obviously there is a long running history involving violence and soccer.  I think this had less to do with a game and more to do with an opportunity.  Regardless, it is a sad sight to see.

Yahoo Tammy said it best:

The Moronic Vityaz Squad

Fighting is not very popular in Europe, especially Russia.  Don't tell that to Vityaz.  Their team is so tough compared to the rest of the league it would be like having an NHL team play against a high school team.  They spend half of the game skating after players, literally.  They have even had games be suspended and have been warned by the league.  That doesn't seem to stop them.  Here is their latest attempt at playing.













The team is an absolute embarrassment.  All the players in the video for the red and white team are washed out North American players, primarily from the AHL.  They apparently now get enjoyment out of beating up much smaller Russian players.  

California Brawlin

Well folks, this video goes right into the category of Brawl of the Year candidate.  Watch it unfold.




This one had everything.

Starts with a big hit.  Progresses to one fight and before you know it everybody has a partner.  Things seem to be going smoothly until the unwritten rule of no going after a player already involved with another is broken.  Actually it's not even unwritten.  It's a fuckin rule.

Either way the outcome was classic.  All 12 skaters on the ice received fighting majors and all but the two original fighters were ejected.  One brawl, 12 fighting majors, 10 ejections.  Going to be hard to top this one.

Back and Forth

The one thing I love about professional hockey is you can really get some good rivalries going.  Adam Huxley as been slugging it out in hockey's version of AA baseball for nine seasons now.  Burnett is up to five.  Both know how to throw.

His First

Travis McEvoy decided to drop his gloves for the first time in the WHL to try and fire up his team.  The 17 year old might have second thoughts on doing it again.

That's Got to Hurt

If Alexander Ovechkin isn't running over you, he is disfiguring your body.  Just ask Matt Hendricks.  He was at practice not anywhere near the net when Ovie fired off one of his patented blasts that careened around the boards.  The end result of the shot was this:

Seriously, that cannot feel good.  As bad as these are and assuming they are not career/life threatening, I get a kick out of this stuff.  I talked about Darryl Boyce slicing part of his nose off last season, Taylor Hall takes a skate to the face and Hendricks gets his ear sliced.  All injuries were repaired in the locker room.  Hall was riding a stationary bike after taking 30 stitches to prepare for the game after the warm-up injury.  He wanted to play but they could not get the bleeding to stop and his helmet would not fit on his ballooning head.

Hendricks didn't miss a game.  Just another casual hockey injury.  No big deal.  Stitch is up and get back out there.  

Southern Style

A league favorite of mine perhaps because teams in the south always have interesting names or because there are so few teams the rivalries become insane.


Actually a lot going on in this one.  Let me explain.

It quickly becomes an odd man situation but every time one guy jumps in another from the opposing team does.  The goalie comes in hesitant of the situation as you can see each team has three guys in the scrum.  He goes for a grab but the official points for him to get away.  The other goalie comes flying in which is acceptable but starts throwing punches with the other goalie on the ice.  Not cool.  Yet still everybody keeps away.  Fights are one v one.  Brown in this case is also right like the announcers say.  You want to go, let me be prepared.  And I don't know who these announcers are but big props for the hockey knowledge.  The goalie that came skating in was ejected.  Brown received a fighting major and no ejection.  Or in other words, he received nothing.

Fade Away KO

This has got to be a first for me.  This comes to us from a Quebec league.  Surprisingly enough since many French-Canadian players are commonly thought of as soft, a few leagues in the province are known for pure fighting.  By the way, don't mind the music but maybe want to stop it when the guy is flat on his face.

Weekend Fun Part II

From the other junior U.S. league we get what appears to be a mild manner skirmish before things turn quickly into a full on brawl.  Everybody played by the rules though so well done boys.

Take it Outside

Little setup.

Canadian outdoor game featuring the minor league teams of Montreal and Toronto.

Zack Fitzgerald and Kelsey Wilson

Combined AHL fights according to me before the season = 127

Have fun.

Weekend Fun

Got to catch up with some videos from a busy weekend in hockey.

First we start in the North American league where we get a classic line brawl.  There are two basic rules when a brawl or fight occurs.  Rule one, it is always a one v one situation.  When two players are going you let them go.  If a third gets involved, anything goes.  Two, you never throw punches when the other player is on the ice.

Watch #18 clearly violate a rule in the fight closest to the camera.  Hope this kids gets his ass fucking pounded next time they play.  Put this one on NHL network.

Skate to the Face

So that is what it looks like when somebody steps on your face with a skate.  Good news.  Assuming he can see, Hall will be playing Saturday night.  Why?  Because he is a hockey player.

Basic Hockey

Here is a basic understanding of how hockey works provided in this condensed video.

Ottawa's Karlsson makes a hit attempt on Evander Kane.

Kane does not like it, so he goes after Karlsson with an elbow towards the head.

Chris Neil, resident goon for Ottawa takes notice of the hit on the NHL leader in points by a defenseman and non-tough guy and next time out plows Kane, starting a scrum.



There were 16 penalty minutes handed out in this scrum.  The rest of the game had 8.

Differences settled. 

Wonder how Rene Bourque will do tomorrow.

Euro Style

Always like to see a good fight in a European league.  Mainly because it is rare since Europeans are not really known to fight.  Did a little research and found Christian Ehrhoff has the most fights in the NHL for a non-North American player this year with 2.  That would put him in 84th spot.  And he hurt himself in the second one and has not been back since. 

Anyway, here we have a scrap from the top league in Austria.  Of course the two players are North American but also found out something new that the league just started.  Just like the KHL in Russia did this past season, this league also put in a new rule.  Players are no longer ejected for fighting.  Awesome.  And they tell me fighting is leaving the game.

If you can get past the advertised Nascar look-a-like jersey enjoy.  Bonus:  A little Beastie Boys, Fight For Your Right.  Niiiice.

Junior Hockey

From the world of junior league hockey we get a fan perspective of one very unhappy team.  This is the top league comprised of almost all American teams with mostly American players in the United States.  By the way, love the metal being played during the brawl.  Classic!

Not The First Time, Nor Last

Fighting is part of the game.  In college hockey it is not.  Thus you get things like this from Minnesota and North Dakota.  It wasn't much but it sure makes the classy handshake after a spirited game look rather dumb.  And this isn't the first time I've seen an altercation.  Funny how I only seem to see this in college hockey.  A place where fighting is not allowed.

Meet Mr. Fletcher

Former Reading Royal tough guy Scott Fletcher shows he can do other things besides fight.  Here he shows us all how to make the perfect open ice hip check.  No penalty was called on the play.

Ups and Downs

The role of NHL enforcer took another hit today as Toronto demoted heavyweight fighter Colton Orr to the AHL.  In the last six seasons he recorded 99 fighting majors and added his 100th this year.  15 years ago any team would have loved to have him skating on their fourth line and protecting their stars.  But pure goonery is becoming a thing of the past and unfortunately for Orr he brings very little to the table.  Welcome back Colton.  Not sure how often you will tussle anymore but players beware.

Here is a small sample of his rivalry with Matt Carkner.  He might be more remembered for just about ending the career of one Todd Fedoruk of the Philadelphia Flyers.  But we won't go there.



In his place returns Darryl Boyce, a hard-nosed, scrapper, mucker and grinder who does just about anything to win.  I will forever remember Boyce for not exactly what he brought to the ice but what he lost on it in one of the weirdest hockey injuries I will probably ever see.



It is hard to see, but Boyce actually checks himself face first into the open camera hole.  What happened?  He severed off part of his nose.  Seriously.  And like a hockey player he skates, or at least attempts to (he looked a little off course at the end of the video) back to the bench and then snaps a picture for twitter before getting repairs.

Respect the Seat

Our dear friend Gustaf is clearly a bit perturbed after his team's heart-breaking loss in the Sturbohm Cup.  His friends and fellow supporters give him plenty of room to cool off knowing his previous history after bad loses.  After a few paces back and forth Gustaf shows off his great soccer technique. 

Lars Doubles Up

Montreal Candien forward Lars Eller came into last night's game with four goals.  After 60 minutes he left with another four, including getting a little bit fancy in the Candiens strong win against Winnipeg.

New US Striker

Don't look now but Landon Donovan will have some competition should the U.S. make the World Cup in 2014.  Longtime National team goalie Tim Howard, who has played in the English Premier League since 2003, put did the nearly impossible in a game versus Bolton.

 


I believe the scorecard read:

Goal: Howard
Assist: Wind

Not So Classic

Even thought the much anticipated Winter Classic battle between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers produced little hostility, fans took the rivalry into their own hands. Literally. Either these Rangers fans were talking smack about Jagr's pulled groin or what's more likely, had some not-so-nice things to say about the Philly cheesteak.