The Heat Of The Moment

The young man about to deposit the puck into the yawning cage is London Knights forward Ryan Humphrey. Humphrey is an American forward who hails from Northville, Michigan who began his OHL career with the Hamilton Bulldogs before the London Knights swung a trade for him on January 2, 2023. Humphrey had a good season with the Bulldogs last year as he scored 25 goals and 62 points in 68 games, but he's shifted into a new role with London where he's contributing offensively while playing a more physical brand of hockey. However, he's been a solid player in this year's OHL playoffs where he has seven goals and 11 points in London's 19 games. I'll also note that he has 29 PIMs.

I make that note because Ryan Humphrey was in the penalty box tonight, and he was unhappy about a call made against him in London's game against the Peterborough Petes. As he was chirping the officials, the official in the penalty box made a comment to which Humphrey replied with an animated way of saying "be quiet". From here, I'll let the video posted to Twitter by natalie speak for itself in what is a rather funny sequence between Humphrey and the official!
As you can see, Humphrey was caught up in the heat of the moment of the OHL playoff game, and his choice of words to tell the official to keep quiet seemed to spark the disagreement between them. Once Humphrey and the official had a discussion, I assume that Humphrey apologized for his choice of words towards the official and all was good in the London penalty box between the two men!

People often say that hockey is an "emotional game" when describing how players react in situations, and it seems that the video above is proof that Ryan Humphrey got caught up in the moment when he disagreed with the referee's penalty call. While he summarily dismissed the penalty box official using rather obscene words, it was clear that Humphrey meant no disrespect as he simply was in that emotional moment of being frustrated with the call against him. In the end, though, we get a happy ending between these two.

For the record, Peterborough won the game 5-3 tonight, and now lead the OHL Final by a three-games-to-one count. Humphrey and the Knights will have their backs against the wall when they take the ice on Friday in London, and it's win-or-go-home in every game now for Humphrey and the boys. The winner of this series will represent the OHL in the Memorial Cup in Kamloops from May 26 until June 4, so it's do-or-die for the Knights every time they step on the ice now.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!