GoonBlog.com

Hockey fight blog with humorous, blow-by-blow commentary on goons, enforcers and donnybrooks

Hockey fight blog with humorous, blow-by-blow commentary on goons, enforcers and donnybrooks.

GoonSquad

10 Hockey Violence Lowlights


in Dave, GoonSquad, Old Time Hockey

Sometimes when the boys drop the mitts and square off, it’s Shakespearean in scope – a chivalrous enforcer coming to the aid of an abused teammate. But as we all know, sometimes the goonery can be malicious, nasty and unwarranted. CBC Sports recently ranked their 10 most noteable dispicable hockey hits:

  • #1 Retaliatory hit begets All-Star Game
  • #2 Rocket" Richard’s tomahawk & the ensuing riot
  • #3 Wayne Maki fractures Ted Green’s skull
  • #4 Bobby Clarke’s Summit Series chop
  • #5 Maloney crowns Glennie; crown sticks it to Maloney
  • #6 The night the lights went out
  • #7 Hunter ends Turgeon’s playoff run
  • #8 Jeff Kugel runs wild in OHL game
  • #9 Gary Suter ruins Paul Kariya’s Olympics
  • #10 The Marty McSorley trial
  • #11 Todd Bertuzzi’s sucker on Steve Moore. (Thanks to Greg from Puck Update for keeping us honest.)

Here’s hoping nobody gets seriously injured this year, as there are many proponents of a completely fight-free game waiting in the wings to slap down a host of new rules.

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Enforcersaurus?


in Chris, Goons

After a very rough Friday night, I read a very interesting article on ESPN.com written by Scott Burnside. I think Mr. Burnside makes a few good points regarding enforcers’ roles in the new NHL. It has been my fear that with the new CBA, roster spots are going to be a lot more valuable then they once were, and teams are going to have to think long and hard about how to fill them. Do you want to spend the 450K on a Kip Brennan in Anaheim, who really only brings one thing to the table, or do you spend that cash on a guy that can play a little bit, but can also defend himself?

I love hockey. I love a good hockey fight. In my opinion carrying a guy that can fight is as important as carrying a guy that can score. Even if they never see the ice, or get a couple of shifts a game, I think it keeps the opposition honest. I have seen first hand what the lack of an enforcer can mean to a team. Lowell hasn’t had a tough guy willing to fight in several years. Opposing teams know when they come into the Tsongas; they get a night off from fighting, and a green light to start running around. It seems in the new NHL, GM’s are counting on the game being faster, and wide open. I think rosters are going to be filled with more skilled players, and the resident "tough guy" will be a guy that can skate, but also can defend himself if need be. Will this give opposing teams the green light to start taking liberties with other guys?

Near the end of the ESPN article, Burnside cites the Lightning as having won the Cup, with no real enforcer to speak of. Interestingly, Tampa Bay signed 6’7" Monster Mitch Fritz in the off season. Here we have the very definition of a tough guy. A guy that brings one thing to the table, and only one: Fighting. There is no way Fritz can play at the NHL level. The man can not skate. So why sign him? I wonder if the true tough guys in hockey today will be kept on ice, no pun intended, in the AHL, and get the call if they are expecting a real grudge match type victory. Is this the beginning of enforcers as a Carnival Side show?

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Is Boston Ready For The Bruins?


in Dave

My friends and I have been discussing at length our predictions for the NHL’s return to North Station. It’s obviously been an incredible year for sports in this city. Will Hockey return with a slapshot, or be overshadowed by home runs and field goals? Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs is beyond optimistic: "We are looking at increased interest in Boston over what we had historically and we should surpass where we were two years ago in attendance.” Does that mean I’ll no longer be able to buy $30 nosebleeds and then sneak down to the club section? Only time will tell.

Boston Bruins fans rule!

The general concensus here at GoonBlog is along the same lines. Although Boston’s other pro sports teams dominated in 2004, and hockey has been off the radar for many moons, there’s still a fanatical Bruins fanbase here that you’d need a simultaneous anthrax/radiation scare to keep away from the rink. And even that is a big ‘maybe’. Interest is going to surpass that of 2003 by leaps and bounds, and the team’s chances are looking up every day. I want to live in a hockey town again!

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Five Dolla Holla!


in Dave

C-A-N-A-D-A – Have you ever seen a magnetic hill?
C-A-N-A-D-A – Or a lady on a dollar bill?
C-A-N-A-D-A – Betcha never seen the autumn fall.
In Canada, we get to see them all. – Stompin Tom Connors

We can now add a pick-up game of pond hockey to the list of unconventional things you’ll find on Canadian currency (A lady? What are you – nuts?). I returned to the homeland this past weekend for the first time in a while, and noticed this lovely tableau on the latest finskis:

In between frantic visits to the Tim Horton’s in Gananoque, and the poutine producing chipwagons of Portland, I got to flash a little of the local lucre. Since I can’t exactly picture lacrosse on the fiver, and it’s a vast improvement over the old version, I thought I’d point it out to the GoonSquad. But apparently some folks don’t like the new design, especially since it’s much harder to turn Sir Wilfred Laurier into Spock. I wish I were kidding. Regardless, it still buys a whackload of TimBits.

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Best Fight Videos Of 2003-2004


in Goons, The Ref

HockeyFights.com’s VodkaFish has just posted his collection of the best fight videos of the 2003-2004 season – including: Brown vs. Vandermeer, Simon vs. McNeill, Fedoruk vs. Lessard and several more. You can download them and watch morbidly transfixed again and again! He’s also enabled voting, so you can ‘big up’ your preferred pugilists. Well done, VF. We’ll be watching. Unhealthily.

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PJ Stock – Ass Kicker


in Chris, Goons, PJ Stock

Rough weekend boys. Friday I went to dinner and drank too much, Saturday me and MOL went to the Peelers, and drank too much. Sunday was the Crue at Verizon. I tried to drink too much, but the brew was shut off right as soon as the show started. Makes sense with Motley Crue I guess. The Crue was a great show by the way. I was standing in the middle of the Blue Line closest to the entrance of the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. Great show. Being in the building really made me look forward to the upcoming season.

PJ Stock fights Stephen Peat

I heard a rumor that PJ Stock had to call it quits due to vision problems. It’s strange, because at the Crue, I was looking around scouting out some seats that might be good for hockey, when I thought to myself, "Hey Self, Wouldn’t Stocker look good in a Lockmonster Uniform?" I answered, "Yes."  Point being, when PJ Stock was in Boston, he was a total fan favorite, a guy that was always willing to go with anyone. He had two great fights with Stephen Peat, a dandy with Reed Low, and a couple of Donnybrooks with Eric Boulton. He may not have won them all, but he never backed down from anyone. I think the way the Bruins treated him was pretty crappy. They signed him to a two year deal, then sent him to Providence, and from there, loaned him to Philadelphia. I always enjoyed PJ’s play, and he will be missed.

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The Gillies Brothers


in Chris, Trevor Gillies

I wonder if Trevor and Nathan Gillies are going to have to fight each other in camp? I saw Nathan in Danbury last year when he was with Elmira. He’s not a bad hockey player at all. I think he has more hockey skill than Trevor does, or ever will for that matter, but you have to give the nod to Trevor in the fisticuffs department. I do know that last season when Bridgeport gave Nathan a shot at the end of the season he had a Gordie Howe Hat Trick in his first game. He sure seems willing to prove himself at the next level. Good for Nathan, I hope he makes the team.

Busy weekend on tap. Nothing tonight, but I was thinking of taking in some Ballet Saturday, Canadian Style of course, then Motley Crue on Sunday night! I saw those guys in March in Boston, and it was a great show. I am looking forward to some brew, and the Crue! Other than that, I’ll be in and out here, so stay tuned. Have a good weekend everyone!

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New Look eh?


in Chris, GoonSquad

Welcome to the new look Goonblog! Like the NHL, and the all new Charlestown Chiefs, we had a little overhaul. We went to the dressing room for repairs, and  I am really pleased with the new design. I hope you guys all dig it too. While the look has changed, the content hasn’t. Check back often for news, notes, and my musings about hockey, and hockey enforcers. Please feel free to leave any comments on the new design, and stay tuned for more changes soon. I just heard that Minnesota dropped me. Reg says he saw it in the Hockey News, and he’ll save it for me. In the meantime, poke around, and enjoy.

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Carolina Hurricanes/Lowell Lockmonsters


in AHL, Chris, Transactions

First off, I am back from Maine, and I have to say, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. There was boating, a few beers, and polite conversation. Plus the Sox game on a 103" screen in HD didn’t exactly suck either. Secondly, I had all weekend to think about Carolina re-signing Gordie Dwyer, Mike Zigomanis, and Colin Forbes to two way deals. Terms of the deal have all three making 450K in the Show, and 75K on the farm. How hard are these guys going to be trying to make the Hurricanes’ roster next month? My guess is:very. I was reminded of a conversation I had with Gordie at the end of last season about why he wasn’t fighting much in the A, see the recap here.

By my math there is a 325 thousand dollar delta between Gordie’s NHL, and AHL salary. That would lead me to believe that when camp opens, he and Jesse Boulerice will be fighting, literally, and figuratively, to be the guy that stays in Carolina. Does the line up have room for both guys? Perhaps. But should Dwyer be sent to Lowell, I would suggest he fight any and all comers to get himself back to the show.

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Rangers, Calgary


in Chris

After a blow to the head via my kitchen table (don’t ask) I am back! A couple of things caught my eye over the past couple of days, and I thought I’d share. So, I am doing my best Fred Rogers, and putting on the foil. Sizing each other up at Center Ice, and here they go!

The New York Rangers inked Joe Rullier to a deal on Wednesday. I love this signing. I was hoping Carolina might sign him to see him 40 games a year in Lowell, but the Lockmonsters seem to be staying the course, and not having any tough guys at all. At least Joe stays in the  division (providing he doesn’t get a shot with NY, which I think he deserves) and us Lowell fans will get to see him a few times. With Rullier, and Trevor Gillies on the ice, one may not want to try anything stupid. I have long believed that Joe Rullier is one of the most under rated fighters in the A. He has incredibly fast hands, great balance, and really seems to enjoy the fisticuffs. I didn’t see it in person, but he gave Mad Mel Angelstad all he could handle in Manchester a couple of years ago, that was one of the best fights all year. Good signing by New York. Keeps Hartford pretty tough

Calgary signed Brantt Mhyres yesterday. I’ll say that again. Calgary signed Brantt Mhyres yesterday. This is a real puzzle. I had a chance to meet Brantt the day he was signed last season by Lowell. Lowell was playing Worcester in a preseason game, and we got to talking before the teams went out for warm ups. He is a great guy. Really cool to talk hockey, and fights with. He was saying he couldn’t wait to get going, and he was going to do a ton of fighting. Well, opening night comes along, and he fights Colton Orr. Decent scrap. Happened right in front of me. Nothing really memorable about it, save for the fact that Brantt hurt himself. This should have been an omen. For the rest of the year, he was hurt or suspended, and when he was on the ice, it was pretty obvious to me that he had nothing left in the tank. I guess Calgary needs a veteran tough guy in Omaha, and I’m sure he got a recommendation from Scott Allen, but at this point it would seem to me that Brantt has nothing left, and Calgary would have been better suited to go another way. Like I said, Brantt is a real nice guy, and I hope I am wrong about this one.

 Anyway, I am going to Maine this weekend with MOL to hang with her mother. It will suck badly. If anything comes up enforcer wise, I’ll be here! Take it easy eh.

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