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New York at Danbury 10/29/10
First ever game for the Danbury Whalers and it was a hell of a game.
Danbury Arena was PACKED for this one, and the atmosphere was fantastic. I sat in Section 102 which is the rabid/fun section. It's the section directly behind the visiting team's bench, and all they do all night long is heckle the opposing players, especially Jesse Felton. It was great. MrFrost and Ironfist were made for this section, too bad they're out in bum**** Midwest USA. Herm Sorcher, the guy in charge of the team, did a great job planning for opening night. First, some photos of the guys we at hockeyfights.com care most about: Corey Fulton and Devin Guy in pre-game intros http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a95...rstgame002.jpg Mike V http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a95...rstgame003.jpg On to the fights.... Steve Obelnicki vs Corey Fulton Missed recording the first 3 seconds of the fight. It's a shame too as the guys came out swinging. No excuses from me either, there was even a little square off but I was caught napping. Fulton's face was a mess after the fight; he was leaking like a faucet and had to go off for repairs. I'd give the Edge/Win to Obelnicki in this one. Vote: Steve Obelnicki vs Corey Fulton Oct 29, 2010
Chris Bain vs Devin Guy Guy and Obelnicki are having a conversation after the play; it looked like they were setting up an appointment. However there was a brief stoppage (Brooklyn timeout possibly?, I don't remember) and the A's change their line. Obelnicki comes off, Bain comes on. Bain and Guy line up for the faceoff together, and this time I was ready with the camera. Kind of a slow fight. Sorry but some fat chick started jumping up and down in front of me. Call it a draw. Vote: Chris Bain vs Devin Guy Oct 29, 2010
Joe Pelle vs Mike Vallely Start of the 3rd period. Mike V hadn't taken a single shift yet, but he's out there to start the 3rd. In the short warm up before the period began, I was watching Mike V and it looked like he kept practicing the glove drop. He'd just skate around and shake his gloves every 20 seconds. I guess that's no surprise for a guy who's never had a real fight on the ice before yet knows he's about to get in one, but it seemed funny to me. Anyways, him and Pelle line up on the faceoff and drop 'em immediately. Pelle tees off on him, landing several heavy blows. Mike V threw 1 or 2 as well, but didn't look to come close to landing. Mike V also broke his hand in this fight and came out of the box and left the game about a minute afterwards. Clear win Pelle Vote: Joe Pelle vs Mike Vallely Oct 29, 2010
Angelo Serse vs JR Bria Not every fight can be a HW fight. These 2 spontaneously drop the gloves during play. I didn't even bother turning the camera on, as they hugged for 3 seconds and then Serse went for the takedown. Draw in a crap fight that was over before it even began. Chris Bain vs Corey Fulton Ensuing faceoff. They line up next to each other and exchange a word or two. The puck drops and Fulton is trying to get the fight but Bain doesn't seem interested. Finally, Bain just turns around and drops them. It was a high spirited fight with both guys swinging hard. Bain definitely has a unique beginning to his fights. He just kind of walks into the other player, whether there's a square off or not. I'd call this one a draw too. Vote: Chris Bain vs Corey Fulton Oct 29, 2010
Other thoughts on the game: A good chunk of the opening period was very sloppy. It was clear it was these guys' first game of the season, especially since neither team played any preseason games. Skill level obviously isn't the best, but these guys go all out every shift and that's what makes the game entertaining. Each team has a couple slick skaters though, for sure. Officiating was great. 3 official system: 2 linesies and 1 ref. The ref didn't get involved in the emotion of the game, which is always a positive. Both teams are physical. In the 3rd period especially, the nastiness picked up big time. Some huge hits in that period. I like this Fulton kid a lot. His 2 fights were easily the most entertaining 2 of the night. He has a no bull**** style and just starts throwing hands. Ice time: Obelnicki for NY and Guy for Danbury both played regular shifts. Bain started the game playing a semi-regular shift but as the game went on, he also took regular shifts. Pelle and Mike V were on the ice just once, and they fought each other as soon as the puck dropped. Fulton's 2 fights were also the only 2 times he was on the ice. All in all, this was easily worth the $14 ticket. Hopefully the other 5 teams in the league put on as good and professional of a show as Danbury did. |
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blackngold thanks for the update and video! I was there too about 50 feet from the home penalty box on that side of the rink. I HAD the video going for these as well but they didn't save down to the internal card on my phone so I'm SOL but THANKS for being there with a good angle to capture everything. My take on the night.
Good crowd, I think they reported 2400+ in pointstreak. Hopefully it keeps up. It'll probably fall off for any mid-week games but as long as the team wins, gives a solid effort and fights the people should continue to come. Steve Obelnicki vs Corey Fulton - I missed the first few seconds of this too as my angle wasn't that great at all but it looked like Obelnicki's balance wasn't that great through the 2nd half of the fight but overall it looked like a draw to me or if you want to give the edge to Obelinicki for drawing blood I can see that point as well. Fulton was leaking like a faucet after that scrap! Chris Bain vs Devin Guy - you were right, there was a Brooklyn timeout before these 2 went. Surprised Guy hung in there that well. Bain slipped a bit at one point and went to 1 knee which enabled guy to get a few right uppercuts in but it looked even overall. Neither player dominated. They both seemed to tie each other up and land a few. I'd call it a draw also. Joe Pelle vs Mike Vallely - This one happened to start the 3rd period. It was either that or neither of these guys were going to see the ice in this game unless Danbury pulled too far ahead late in the game. Anyway it looks like Vallely doesn't have much skating experience as his weight seems to be going forward instead of a more balanced stride as he moves. They line up and obviously this one was going to happen. Drop everything and square up. Move towards center ice. They tie up and Vallely throws a big right to start and it looks like it may have only grazed Pelle. Pelle opens up and just starts throwing right after right. The first one missed but it looks like the rest connected. As they were going Vallely's shirt came up over his head which didn't help. He lost his balance and went down on his arm. As soon as I saw him leave the box holding his arm the way he was it was clear there was an issue. Win Pelle for sure on this one. Angelo Serse vs JR Bria - This was one of those during the play scraps as a result of the two sticking each other during the play. They drop everything and I don't think either one landed anything. Serse grabbed Bria's pant leg and took him down Mick Vukota style and that scrap was over. I wouldn't even call it a draw since I don't think either one landed anything Chris Bain vs Corey Fulton - Big props to Fulton here. He was leaking like a faucet after the first fight and just sat on the bench in the 2nd. He gets out there for the third and on his 2nd shift of the game starts tapping Bain to go. Bain looked away but Fulton tapped him again and it was on. Fulton was all offense swinging for the fences on this one. Clearly he wanted to give his team a boost or give the crowd a good fight. They both swing open with not much defense. Bain got tangled in his jersey a bit and it looked like Fulton was the aggressor in the fight but all in all a draw to slight edge Fulton I thought. Fulton had 2 shifts and 2 fights in the game. I like his size and his approach for sure. Looks like he'll do the heavy lifting for this team with others like Guy and possibly Desmarias to complement him. Again, props to him for going back out there in the 3rd and throwing down after having been busted open by Oblenicki in the 1st. Guy is a regular shift player like Obelinicki that'll go when he has to but knows that's not his primary role. Bain had all of a shift and a half during the first period. It looked like he was getting a few more shifts in the 2nd and the start of the 3rd. Considering he does have some Jr experience and some other minor-pro experience, I see why he was out there over Pelle. Pelle grew roots on the bench until the start of the 3rd. I can't see him getting ice time unless games get out of hand or if it's to start a period like last night. Clearly he's there to throw down and he'll do so with just about anyone but he's got to get the ice time to do it. It would appear the Vallely's hockey days are over for now. He was only supposed to be there for 5 games as he had other commitments (either music or skateboarding) and I can't see him playing the rest of the games this weekend or next with a fractured arm. Give the guy credit, he put on the skates and fought in a pro game but a street fight and a hockey fight are clearly 2 different things. |
Thank you for the vids! Very much appreciated. Looked like one hell of a game.
As for the fights, I agree on all outcomes. Obilnicki and Fulton was solid fight, with an edge going to Obilinicki for splitting fulton wide open. Bain and Guy was a decent close fight. Both guys in tight pretty much the entire time landing a couple of shots each. Clear Draw. Pelle beat Mike V easily - Kinda nice to see. Maybe now he'll go back to skateboarding. Bain and Fulton fight at the end was a really good toe to toe fight. Id say another draw with both guys landing some solid shots. Impressed with Fulton and his fighting style. Will be a huge fan favourite in Danbury. Also, I believe those were Bain's first fights in over two years. He will only get stronger as time goes on. |
JR Bria?? Havent heard that name in a while. He played here in Pensacola for a season (07-08 I think) in the ECHL with the local team. Dont remember him ever doing much fighting. If I remember the guy though he's pretty thick and stocky.
Surprised he's not in a little higher league like the CHL or even overseas. |
Thanks for the great recap guys. Looks like the boys all played and fought hard last night and the fans more than got their $ worth.
I was most impressed with Corey Fulton. He showed a lot of guts getting split open in the 1st, then sitting on the bench all game, only to come back out in the 3rd and go after a very tough guy in Bain. He looked real good at switching up & throwing both hands as well. Danbury coach needs to keep this kid around! Pelle is a tough little fukker as well. Hopefully both guys are healthy enough to go tonight with each other. The rest of the league needs to learn something from these two teams and the product they are putting on the ice. Akwesasne seems to already be on board, but 1000 Islands, Broome County and Rome need to join the club to make this a successful league. |
bng
this league is so much better than the aahl
*i'm not sure tippin would be the heavyweight champ of the FHL |
ty bng, great action, it looks like these are gonna be dont miss games, im doubting mike v. really got hurt, i think he realizes hes out there where he shouldnt be, props for trying but way out of his element !!
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Great work guys thankx for the awesome recap !!!
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BnG, Ill come visit in December
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Nice to see Chris Bain throwing down, and well at that.
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Don't kill me for this guys.Don't know much about this league..Does NJ have a team?
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