Old-Fashioned Slobberknocker

With fighting declining in every league as the emphasis on skill and speed is increased, the classic line brawl has fallen into the extinction category in hockey. Line brawls were fairly common in the 1970s with the Broad Street Bullies and Slap Shot getting the attention over their pugilistic themes, but we've seen the numbers consistently decline to where we are today where they are as rare as fifty-goal seasons. Unless you were in Toledo, Ohio tonight.

The Kansas City Mavericks were visiting the Toledo Walleye tonight in ECHL action, and things went off the rails after Connor Crisp scored his third goal of the night and fourth Walleye goal of the evening. The Mavericks, not enjoying a 4-0 deficit, decided to take matters into their own hands and all hell broke loose.

HERE IT IS: FULL VIDEO OF THE WALLEYE VS. KC BRAWL -- EVERYONE INVOLVED INCLUDING THE GOALIES. pic.twitter.com/yLg645d9Me

— Jordan Strack (@JordanStrack) February 11, 2018

Wow. The ECHL disciplinarians are gonna be busy. Let's start with the vicious cross-checks delivered by Garrett Klotz of the Mavericks to Toledo's AJ Jenks while he was on the ice. It was a free-for-all after that as players paired off in the defence of their teammates, and it ratcheted up another few notches when Mavericks goaltender Mason McDonald skated in to share in the festivities. That would only set off more fireworks as Toledo netminder Matej Machovsky skated the length of the ice to square off against McDonald. They traded blows until they agreed to end their gentleman's quarrel, and it seemed like all was done once players were separated and escorted to their respective benches and penalty boxes.

Note that I said "seemed like all was done".

With thirty seconds left in the game, caution was once again thrown to the wind.

Here was the second line brawl...Parker Reno got cross-checked in the face and that set off another melee! pic.twitter.com/Ao1gjvERjX

— Jordan Strack (@JordanStrack) February 11, 2018

Another cross-check to the face, another line brawl, and officials simply trying keep the peace while avoiding punches thrown. There was no goalie fight this time, though, as both McDonald and Machovsky were assessed game misconducts for their involvement in the early fracas, so Kansas City's Kent Nusbaum and Toledo's Pat Nagle were able to finish out the game in their respective blue paint.

For the record, Kansas City picked up a mere 65 minutes in penalties on the night while Toledo was assessed 55 minutes in total penalty minutes. Toledo has three minor penalties up until the start of the first brawl while Kansas City only had a pair of penalties. According to Mark Monroe's article in The Blade,

Walleye coach Dan Watson called the situation "absolutely embarrassing."

"Their coaching staff should be embarrassed. Their organization should be embarrassed," Watson said. "Klotz should be suspended for the rest of the year. I think he should be done. It's unacceptable. Our league is trying to get rid of the image from the 1980s and 1990s. If this is going to continue, it won't we'll continue to get a bad rap."

I don't know about it being embarrassing if you're a fan. That's old-time hockey, as the boys would say, as everyone on the ice got involved. Granted, it's probably not what the league wants to see when it comes to promoting its product, but you have to admit that everyone sits up and watches when there's a line brawl that features a goalie fight.

Reggie Dunlop would have been proud!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Outstanding Start

I wasn't going to get up any earlier than I normally do for work just to catch the Opening Ceremonies of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. After all, if you've seen the teams enter the stadium once, you've seen them do it over and over. Instead, I found myself captivated by the pageantry in these Opening Ceremonies as I prepared for work, and I may have wandered in a little late because I wanted to see as much as I could.

92 nations will take part in this Winter Olympiad, and it was clear that each and every nation was proud to be there. While Tess Virtue and Scott Moir were one of two male-female pairs of flag bearers - Korea being the other - it was Pita Taufatofua who shocked everyone by coming out as the flag bearer for Tonga bare-chested in the near-freezing temperatures! Taufatofua competed in taekwondo in Rio's Summer Games, and he will compete as a cross-country skier in Pyeongchang!

We even saw a little political intrigue at the Opening Ceremonies as Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, shook hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The unified Korean women's hockey team has brought the two nations a little closer, and I'm hopeful that they can work together during and after the Olympics to make the world a better place.

Speaking of the team, Korean figure skating idol Yuna Kim received the Olympic torch from two members of the unified Korean women's team as North Korean Jong Su Hyon and South Korean Park Jong-ah delivered the torch in unison showing their teamwork. Maybe this bodes well for the team on the ice?

The athletes were led in traditionally as the Greek Olympic team were first to enter the stadium, and it seemed a little anti-climactic when Greece only had two cross-country and two Alpine skiers. Regardless, the Olympic tradition was upheld. Ghana's Akwasi Frimpong, the only athlete from Ghana who will compete in skeleton, was next, and he drew a solid ovation as the lone representative of his country. Ghana was followed by Nigeria who we were told has the first female bobsled team to ever participate in the event from Africa!

Of the 92 nations, Madagascar, Ecuador, Cyprus, Kosovo, Togo, Tonga, and Azerbaijan were all represented by a single athlete. Togo sent one female cross-country skier while Tonga - mentioned above - and Ecuador each sent a male cross-country skier. Madagascar sent one female alpine skier while Cyprus, Togo, and Azerbaijan all sent individual male alpine skiers. While they all may be long shots to win, they're champions in their own countries already!

Of all that happened, it was great seeing the Canadian delegate enter the stadium as I'm excited to see our athletes compete on this international stage. This should be a fun Olympiad, so get settled in and cheer on the athletes for the next two weeks!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 281

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, returns tonight to the airwaves and internet streams on the cusp of the one of the biggest tournaments on the planet as the Olympics are scheduled to open officially tomorrow! Yes, I know they've already started with mixed curling doubles and ski jumping and Bean's favorite sport of figure skating, but the event officially kicks off tomorrow, so we'll get you set with an Olympic primer tonight on everything you need to know about the men's and women's tournaments!

Teebz and Beans will sit down tonight and go over all the details you need to know for these two tournaments including where to catch all the action on television, what times our two squads are playing, who they're playing against in each game and in their pools, and when you should be calling in sick to work for the medal rounds. The two tournaments differ in their setups, so you might want to tune in for that piece in the first half-hour of the show. The second half of the show will see us focus on our great city and campus as the University of Manitoba will host at least two Canada West playoff series between the men and women with the possibility of more being very good. We'll also talk about the Jets going through some major injury woes, the suspension handed out to Alexandre Burrows, a big day on campus next Friday, a Friend of the Show earning another accolade, and a ton more if we can squeeze it in heard exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and at UMFM.com tonight at 5:30pm CT!

But I'm going to be busy tonight, you say, so how do I tune in, you ask? We suggest that you download the UMFM app on your phone or tablet. It's the easiest and most convenient way to listen to any of UMFM's great shows any time of the day, so go get it! Just follow this link on your iDevice or this link for your Android device and get the UMFM app! It's never been easier to tune into The Hockey Show or UMFM! Download the UMFM app today, and don't miss any of our great programming or shows! Of course, you can do the radio thing at 101.5 on the FM dial and you can always listen online via the UMFM website!

If you prefer social media, we try to remain up-to-speed there as well! Email all show questions and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter. You can also post some stuff to Facebook if you use the "Like" feature, and I always have crazy stuff posted there that doesn't make it to the blog or show.

Tonight, Teebz and Beans get you ready for the Olympics with their Olympic primer, talk Bisons, chat Jets, discuss Burrows' extended Olympic break, and more on The Hockey Show found only on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM app!

PODCAST: February 8, 2018: Episode 281

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Make It Ten

I'm quite certain that no one at the NHL office in New York City reads this blog. That means there's a good chance that no one from the Department of Player Safety reads this blog either. Whatever the case may be, I have to congratulate the Department of Player Safety as they seem to be finding their teeth, and they're biting into players who decide that the rules don't apply to them. As HBIC stated yesterday, I thought it would be a five-game break for Alexandre Burrows after kneeing Taylor Hall in the head, but the announcement came down today that Burrows would sit for ten games, not the five as I predicted!

There was chatter today that Burrows may appeal the suspension, but he decided against it at the end of the day. It speaks volumes to what the Department of Player Safety is trying to achieve when after having a conversation with Burrows, he decided that a ten-game break was appropriate for the crime he committed. Whatever was said in that conversation carried enough weight to convince Burrows that appealing was futile.

Burrows will miss the next ten games and be eligible to return on March 2 versus the Vegas Golden Knights in Las Vegas, so one has to wonder if Burrows will leave ahead of his teammates and arrive in Vegas with a few days to spare. The Senators play in Washington, DC on February 27, so he legitimately could leave from Ottawa on February 24 after the Senators play the Flyers. With the Senators basically eliminated from the playoffs, would anyone from the franchise bother him if he took a couple of extra days to unwind in Las Vegas?

Regardless of what Burrows does, it's rather impressive to see the Department of Player Safety laying down a stiffer-than-normal penalty on a player who doesn't qualify as a repeat offender. If the Department of Player Safety is sending a message to the rest of the league by using Alexandre Burrows - a non-high-profile player on a team that will miss the playoffs - as an example. That should deter anyone else from using one's knee one another player's head in a big way as that's ten games away from NHL action and ten games worth of salary forfeited because Burrows got a little steamed over Hall's hit.

For once, I applaud the Department of Player Safety in handing down an extreme penalty to a player. Intent aside, there could have been serious injury to Taylor Hall, and for a league that normally brushes aside contact to the head, we're starting to see some real penalties handed out as Andrew Cogliano, Filip Forsberg, and Alexandre Burrows found out. Sure, there's still some disgust in the suspension given to Brad Marchand as he should have got more, but one lives and learns in this case.

Late hits that target the head and knees that target the head are now receiving the harsh penalties that they should. If this is the new Department of Player Safety under George Parros' watch, I commend it for setting some real precedents when it comes to protecting a player's livelihood and health by penalizing those who target the head.

While Gary Bettman may deny any sort of link between brain trauma and hits to the head, it seems the Department of Player Safety is doing all they can to prevent any further major embarrassments by penalizing offenders harshly. Bettman can deny it all he wants, but the science is proving the relationship between mental health and head trauma more and more every day. With the evidence mounting, it may be harder for Bettman to deny long-term, but at least somebody at the NHL Office seems to be paying attention to those who target players' heads.

Enjoy your rest, Alexandre Burrows. You get the entire month off and a trip to Vegas at the end. It almost seems like this ten-game suspension is more of a ten-game vacation with how the Senators' schedule is setup.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Gotta Be Five

Alex Burrows is an interesting character. I had the pleasure of watching him be a super-pest and decent scorer in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose before he got his shot at the big time with the Vancouver Canucks. He was always a likeable guy at the AHL level, but there were times where he'd give into some dark idea and do something ridiculously dumb. That has always been the knock on Burrows, but it seemed that as he got older he began to control these urges to do dastardly things on the ice that often hurt his team.

After tonight's game between the Ottawa Senators and the New Jersey Devils, it seems as though Burrows fell into some darkness because his attack on Taylor Hall will certainly see him sit for a few games at least.

What is Alex Burrows thinking as he's kneeing Taylor Hall in the head? This isn't the UFC or some sort of wrestling match. Kneeing in all forms in hockey is a punishable offence, yet here we have Burrows delivering knees to the head of Taylor Hall as they lay on the ice. What's scarier is that Hall is lying face-down on the ice, meaning the act of kneeing Hall in the head could potentially drive his face into the ice. There is zero excuse for this, and Alex Burrows should pay with a hefty suspension for this. Thankfully, Hall was no worse for wear after emerging from the pile of humanity.

According to Hall, he told Devils reporter Amanda Stein, "He punched me in the back of the head like 10 times. He kind of lost his mind."

#NJDevils: Taylor Hall on Burrows: “He punched me in the back of the head like 10 times. He kind of lost his mind.”

Hall told me after he didn’t know it was Burrows’ knee in his head. He just felt something and his teammates told him afterwards it was the knee.

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) February 7, 2018

Where Burrows might get nailed to the wall is that the officials had him tied up on top of Hall, and that's when he delivered the two shots to Hall's head with his knee. One could say that in the scrum, there may have been a reaction in trying to get up or something along those lines. When you watch the last replay, it's pretty clear that because his upper body was tied up, he resorted to the next best option he had in trying to deliver some justice to Hall for the solid and clean check he threw seconds earlier.

The unfortunate thing is that despite past indiscretions on the ice, Burrows has kept his name out of the Department of Player Safety's crosshairs for some time. With his record being basically expunged for past incidents, he doesn't qualify as a repeat offender in the eyes of the Department of Player Safety. Because of this, I'm guessing he gets five games for the two knee-shots he delivered.

Some may say that's a heavy price for Burrows to pay, but Hall could have been seriously hurt. Preventing something like this from ever happening again is entirely why the Department of Player Safety would be right to levy the maximum penalty they can as per the CBA.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!