A Strike In Hockey?

Allow me to introduce this young man to you. His name is Joey Abate, he's 20 years-old, and he's committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He's currently playing for the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms, but he's also spent time with the Bloomington Thunder, the Omaha Lancers, and the NAHL's Janesville Jets. The Bloomingdale, Illinois native's path through hockey isn't your normal path, but it's one that he's forging as a hard-working, blue-collar player. As much as I like talking about hard-working, blue-collar players on this blog, there's another reason Joey Abate is getting a little bit of the spotlight today.

If you've been following the Carolina Hurricanes this year, you know they do post-game celebrations that the fans seem to love. As long as your name isn't Brian Burke, these post-game celebrations are fun for both the players and fans, and the vast majority of fans at Hurricanes games seem to stick around after wins to see what the team will do next.

Joey Abate and the Youngstown Phantoms appear to be rivaling the Hurricanes with this excellent post-game victory celebration.

The one and only Joey Abate bowling the strike for the postgame celly pic.twitter.com/Yut0lIwZu6

— Youngstown Phantoms (@YtownPhantoms) February 9, 2019

How awesome is that celebration? The full strike delivered via the bowling-ball helmet is fun for the whole team, and it seems the fans who were paying attention were appreciative of the celebration as they cheered for Abate's strike.

There's nothing wrong with a little fun. The players like it, the fans like it, and the media seem to enjoy talking about it. Well, almost all media as Sportsnet's Brian Burke hates the post-game celebration. But leaving aside the opinion of one man whose beliefs seem to be stuck in a different era, I see no problem with the celebrations being down by Carolina, Youngstown, or by any other team.

This game is supposed to be fun. Let's keep it that way.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!