The Most Unnecessary Thing

If there's one thing in hockey that still brings people to their feet no matter what game it is, it's a hockey fight. I don't know what it is about seeing two combatants shed their gloves and helmets for some fisticuffs, but the crowd always responds to seeing this battle. On the flip side, one of the worst fights that can happen in a rink is a goalie fight thanks to neither player knowing much about throwing punches. Goalie fights are, thankfully, rare, though, so seeing one in a regular season game means that hockey is definitely back. Get ready to be disappointed by this display from Russia.

From the game that took place earlier today in Russia, Avangard Omsk was laying a beating on Admiral Vladivostok in the third period when the rough stuff started. After skirmishes where players conducted face washes while pushing and shoving, goaltenders Andrei Mishurov and Adam Huska decided to get in on the fisticuff action.
That fight was more unlanded punches thrown than it was a true fight, but Avangard's Mishurov threw a few haymakers that Admiral's Huska avoided. Huska did get a punch in that landed on the side of Mishurov's head before Mishurov threw a quick jab that connected, but there's your first goalie fight in the 2025-26 hockey season, folks.

What might be a weird twist on this fight is that Mishurov was Admiral Vladivostok's starting netminder last season before moving back to Avangard Omsk where he started his KHL career. The 24 year-old goalie racked up a career-high six penalty minutes in 2023-24, so he's just a minor penlaty away from setting a new career high. I don't think head coach Guy Boucher will want Mishurov fighting in any other games, but it's the KHL where everything is far from normal.

Huska, meanwhile, had a career-high of six minutes in the sin bin back in 2021-22 when he was with the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack. Since jumping to the KHL in 2022-23, he's only picked up one minor penalty in three seasons, so this fight is completely out of the norm for him. That was pretty evident for how he handled himself in the fight, but Huska doesn't even take minor penalties so seeing him drop the glove and blocker was a new twist. However, I doubt he'll look for more.

Neither player was hurt, thankfully, as one never wants to see any player hurt in a fight, but a goalie fight is the most unnecessary thing in hockey simply due to all teams needing their best goalies stopping pucks, not throwing punches. Fights aside, Mishurov improved to 2-0-0 this season in the 6-1 win by Avangard while Huska fell to 3-3-3 with Admiral. Losing the fight and the game can't feel good for Huska.

Personally, goalies fights are dumb and completely unnecessary. I hope this is the last one we'll see this season, but a goalie fight on October 1 means that hockey season is officially upon us!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!