A Familiar Foe

Ottawa and Buffalo aren’t two teams known for fighting this season, but that never stopped a good rivalry.  While it wasn’t the Andrew Peters-Brian McGrattan matchup some have come to expect, Paul Gaustad and Chris Neil certainly didn’t disappoint anyone.

From Russia, Sans Gloves

Just in case you missed it, the brawl from the Russia Superleague a couple of days ago.

P-Bruins Friday

Always one of the more popular minor league teams, be sure to check out the P-Bruins vids linked below.

Videos added

Paul Gaustad vs Chris Neil Jan 10, 2008
David Clarkson vs Mike Commodore Jan 10, 2008
Jordan Hendry vs Nate Thompson Nov 30, 2007
Kevin Westgarth vs Steve MacIntyre Nov 25, 2007
Brett Angel vs Steve MacIntyre Nov 17, 2007
Mike Hoffman vs Steve MacIntyre Nov 14, 2007

Some reads

Burke works to revive the blockbuster
McCarty would play for Avs
Travel schedule remains tough for Dallas Stars
Avery May Be ‘Done’
Clarke swings hard in defending Downie’s punch
Blackhawks Q&A: Yanic Perreault

New Cold War

A little internal cold war between two Russia Superleague teams, Ak Bars Kazan and Traktor Chelyabinsk, from Jan 8th.

378 PIMs were handed out, a new Superleague record.  The league does not have any rule giving an automatic suspension to players who come off the bench to fight.

Traktor is coached by former NHL tough guy Andrei Nazarov.

Thanks to all the people who sent over the link.

Tame Tuesday

A hefty schedule of eleven games led to just two fights last night.

Wade Brookbank is making the most of his time up with Carolina, getting into his second fight in six games with the big club.  It was the second time he’s fought Shawn Thornton in the NHL.

Chris Thorburn took on Riley Cote in the other bout of the night after Cote levelled Kevin Doell against the boards.

Listing it

Bill Clement, currently an analyst for Comcast Flyers games, lists his top enforcers for MSNBC.

In the first season after the lockout fighting majors dropped from 789 to 466. But as the league has adapted to the new emphasis on offense, it hasn’t rid itself of the need for the tough guy. The age of the fighter might be coming back to the NHL, but the enforcer’s role has changed and to fill it nowadays a team’s tough guy has to be able to not only mix it up but also mix in and help his club in other ways.

Only nitpick: those numbers, which match our stats page, are fights, not fighting majors (the majors numbers are roughly double those).

As for the list itself, it features the names you’d expect to see.  Everyone has their own order, but it’s a safe bet most here would put down many of the same names.

Finding the net

Darcy Hordichuk scored his first goal of the season last night. Georges Laraque netted his third.

Videos added

Riley Cote vs Chris Thorburn Jan 8, 2008
Wade Brookbank vs Shawn Thornton Jan 8, 2008

Some reads

Darren McCarty Signs With Flint Generals
Vokoun’s complaints welcome
Fans Leave Capitals Star Ovechkin Out in the Cold
Listen: Prime Time Sports. There’s a Brian Burke interview from Jan 8th.
Great One gets his coaching chops

Darren McCarty Signs With Flint Generals

Darren McCarty has signed with the IHL’s Flint Generals.  The IHL consulted with the NHL before approving the deal.

The Generals play the Muskegon Fury tomorrow night.  McCarty is expected to be in the lineup.

Emery and McGrattan Battle

Ottawa Senators goalie Ray Emery and tough guy Brian McGrattan fought during practice yesterday.

Yesterday’s battle came after McGrattan cut in front of Emery while they were circling the net during an extended skating drill. Emery hurled some verbal unpleasantries at McGrattan.

When the skating stopped, the fists started.

Emery and McGrattan are best friends off the ice—they roomed together when they played with the Senators’ American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton, New York—and they joked afterward about it not being the first time they have pushed each other around.

Emery’s been the subject of trade speculation recently and yesterday’s scuffle won’t stop the rumors, but they shouldn’t fuel any either.  A goaltender fighting with the team’s enforcer isn’t going to get the goalie traded.  The fact that the two are friends means there won’t be any friction in the locker room from the scuffle either.

Update 130pm: McGrattan told Sportsnet that he received a text invite from Emery for dinner, and that there’s no problem between the two:

“It was all cool. We made up about an hour later,” McGrattan said. “It was just a disagreement at practice and it’s not the first time it’s happened. We both probably had a good time doing it. It was fun at the time. But it’s all cool and we’re good friends.”

Videos added

Darcy Hordichuk vs George Parros Jan 7, 2008
Tim Jackman vs Zack Stortini Jan 7, 2008
Tim Jackman vs Ethan Moreau Jan 7, 2008
Olivier Legault vs Chris Kovalcik Jan 4, 2008 (IHL)

You must check out the Legault-Kovalcik fight, the ending is something you’ll rarely see.

Some reads

Panthers squad a feisty bunch
Comrie moves past Edmonton
Ference likes to talk about Africa, not the Crosby fight—again
Alberts improving slowly
Clark Returns to Caps, Injuries Still a Problem

No Suspension for Downie

Flyers’ forward Steve Downie will not be suspended for his apparent sucker-punch on Leafs’ winger Jason Blake on Saturday night.

TSN is reporting through sources while Tim Panaccio of The Philadelphia Inquirer seems to have confirmed it.

According to Flyers’ GM Paul Holmgren, Downie was cut some slack by NHL VP Colin Campbell:

“We had a conversation with Mr. Campbell and that’s it. The rest will be between the league, the Flyers and Steve,” said general manager Paul Holmgren. “It was a good talk. It’s Steve’s [fourth] NHL game. He’s walking a fine line there, which is basically what he was told. My conversation with Steve was a little harsher than Colin Campbell’s.”

This isn’t the first time this season that Downie’s behavior has drawn the ire of Holmgren and at this rate it’s probably not going to be the last. He’s been a loose cannon since his junior days and he’s going to have to make some changes if he wants his talent to out-weigh his temper. The suspension he received for his hit on Dean McAmmond was questionable but his antics as of late are not.

No Aftershocks

After Thursday’s big night things simmered down around the league.

Only four fights over the last three days (19 games).

At least it wasn’t feeding him

Travis Zajac is saying Derian Hatcher bit his hand:

Zajac and other Devils, who have defeated the Flyers four times in a row, said they had enough evidence that Hatcher had bitten Zajac, an act that they said breached hockey’s often generous code of physical conduct.

Devils Coach Brent Sutter said he could see on a video replay of the incident that Hatcher bit Zajac after they clashed in front of Philadelphia goaltender Martin Biron during the second period. “And the glove’s still in Hatcher’s mouth, like a dog on a bone,” Sutter said.

The same story from the NY Post.

Rangers and Avery haven’t talked extension

John Dellapina of the NY Daily News reports the Rangers and Sean Avery haven’t talked contract extension yet.

Domi involved in Leafs purchase?

Alex Shnaider, a Toronto billionaire, is currently finding out exactly what it would take to buy the Leafs’ parent company MLSE (Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment).

Shnaider has not yet formally contacted MLSE, but has participated in meetings with investment banking officials with former Leafs forward Tie Domi, sources told the Star.

Domi declined to comment.

Tie Domi‘s involvement is currently unknown.

Videos added

Todd Fedoruk vs Josh Gratton Mar 25, 2006
Eric Boulton vs Eric Godard Mar 25, 2006
Andrew Peters vs Kip Brennan Mar 17, 2004
Gino Odjick vs Lyle Odelein Feb 10, 1992
Colton Orr vs Zack Stortini Jan 5, 2008
Brian McGrattan vs Andrew Peters Jan 4, 2008
Brad Gallant vs David Bouchard Jan 4, 2008 (QMJHL)

I hope to add the Car-StL clips from Sat soon.  With the light activity, I added a few other older ones.

Some reads

Stortini aims to kick his game up a notch
Penguins draw inspiration from fights
Bruins’ Lucic just like kid at carnival
At 22, Flyers’ Richards is something special
Dallas Stars’ Morrow works on his net profile

Big Weekend Starter

Lots of action from the NHL last night.  A total of nine fights from twelve games.

Milan Lucic and Zack Stortini both made their way up the leaders list, one that’s getting higher numbers, faster this season.  With .54 fights a game, the pace is right in between the years pre and post-lockout.

Battle of the pests

Darcy Tucker had a great bout with Jarkko Ruutu.  The love/hate relationship that fans have with Tucker makes every fight perfect.  His fans are watching him fight, his haters are watching him get punched in the face, and all cheer.

You love me, you really love me

What?  Sally Field?  Here?  Not sure I can get away with it here, even if it is late.  Ok, just think of Jim Carrey in The Mask.  There, that works.

Anyway, after the Daniel Winnik vs Cody McLeod fight a couple of nights ago, Coyotes announcers Dave Strader and Darren Pang were talking fights, bringing Yotes radio color man Louie Debrusk into the conversation and mentioning hockeyfights.com as a frequented site to visit.

Thanks for the mention - always flattering and much appreciated.

Thanks to One Fan’s Perspective… for the clip.

I’ve also been told that the site was mentioned during the Pens broadcast after the Tucker-Ruutu fight.  Anyone have the clip?

Update 1100am: I’ve received a lot of emails with the Pitt FSN clip and added it to the fight page.  So now I get to say thanks to Paul Steigerwald, and all the people who sent me a link to one of the clips out there.

Side-note: server’s being bouncey, it should settle down now, sorry about the burps.

Videos added

Krys Barch vs Todd Fedoruk Jan 3, 2008
Brenden Morrow vs Aaron Voros Jan 3, 2008
Mark Bell vs Ryan Malone Jan 3, 2008
Darcy Tucker vs Jarkko Ruutu Jan 3, 2008
Ryan Hollweg vs Mike Brown Jan 3, 2008 (two feeds)
Adam Burish vs Keith Ballard Jan 3, 2008
Zack Stortini vs Darcy Hordichuk Jan 3, 2008
Steve Montador vs Tim Jackman Jan 3, 2008
John Erskine vs Milan Lucic Jan 3, 2008
Brian McGrattan vs Donald Brashear Jan 1, 2008

Some reads

Avery? Just let him yap
Schultz’s play peaks while in contract year
Don’t Quit Your Day Job

Eastern Battle

There was an eastern Europe battle out west last night.  Czech David Koci took on Latvian Raitis Ivanans.  It was a lengthy bout that neither player really wanted to give up on, something that earned them misconducts to go with their fighting majors.

Donald Brashear went with Brian McGrattan earlier in the day after McGrattan let it be known there’s always an open invite.  McGrattan spoke with the Ottawa Sun about his first fight with Brashear, from two seasons ago:

“It was a good fight, went back and forth,” McGrattan remembered, before adding with a laugh: “I don’t lose too many. But when I do lose them, I lose them. I’ll be licking the ice when I lose them.”

I hope to add the vid for last night’s scrap soon, on to the others…

Videos added

David Koci vs Raitis Ivanans Jan 1, 2008
Matt Walker vs Aaron Downey Dec 31, 2007
Colin Joe vs Garet Hunt Dec 29, 2007 (WHL)
James McEwan vs Garet Hunt Dec 29, 2007 (WHL)
Brian McGrattan vs Donald Brashear Mar 25, 2006
Chris Neil vs Denis Gauthier Mar 25, 2006
Francois Beauchemin vs Mike Brown Dec 30, 2007

Some reads

Sean Avery is a big mouth and pest, but he’s the ultimate winner
Life on ice is a good one
Enforcer earns a season of points in Halifax debut
Winter Classic 2008 Thoughts
Nolan’s son sent down before faceoff with dad

A Perfect Dozen

There were twelve fights in the NHL last night.  For those who don’t visit here regularly: that’s a lot.

I’m not sure if it’s because it’s almost six in the morning (on the late side, not the early kind), but this is all that comes to mind.  Anyone who grew up in the 70s and above, watches too much PBS, has kids and/or has done shrooms should recognize it.

Either John or I will update this post a little more tomorrow with some more reads and any other tidbits we feel fits in.

McCarty Comeback

Not really a “comeback”, as he played last season, Darren McCarty should be back on the ice soon, starting in the IHL and hoping to work his way back to the NHL.

Roberts refuses stretcher

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Georges Laraque insists there is an unwritten rule among NHL players to avoid leaving the ice via a stretcher no matter the severity of an injury.

A broken left leg, he conceded, would provide a good excuse.

Not for the Penguins’ ageless tough guy, Gary Roberts.

Videos added

Michael Rupp vs Andy Sutton Dec 29, 2007
David Clarkson vs Bill Guerin Dec 29, 2007
Mike Mottau vs Mike Comrie Dec 29, 2007
Tim Gleason vs Jared Boll Dec 29, 2007
Shawn Thornton vs Eric Boulton Dec 29, 2007
Jeremy Reich vs Chris Thorburn Dec 29, 2007
Colton Orr vs Wade Belak Dec 29, 2007 (two feeds)
Donald Brashear vs Chris Neil Dec 29, 2007
Corey Perry vs Eric Nystrom Dec 29, 2007
Travis Moen vs Dion Phaneuf Dec 29, 2007
Raitis Ivanans vs Cody McLeod Dec 29, 2007
Riley Cote vs Andre Roy Dec 29, 2007
Mark Smith vs Mike Brown Dec 27, 2007

Some reads

Experience suggests outdoor games are overrated
Penguins pull no punches against teams pumped to play Sid the Kid
Rink is heart of rural community
Two minutes in the box with Patrick Sharp