This is the craziest fight i have ever seen. Look at those Rooskis go. TRUE GOONBLOG GOLD!
Goons
Bruins Looking Good – Literally
No, not on the ice you silly goose – on my TV. That’s right boys, Goonblog is watching in style. As of 8:30 EST there is a 42" HD Plasma in Goonblog HQ. Currently, MOL is enjoying a bit of the OC in HD, but I am gearing up for a take over soon. The first thing I watched was my DVR Recording of Colton Orr and Eric Godard from earlier this year. Almost brought tears to my eyes.
Speaking of Orrsie, did anyone catch his two fights last night? I was watching the Bruins suck in Buffalo, so I missed them both. From what I heard Orr Killed Godard in his first tilt, and got jumped by Erksine in the second fight, and really couldn’t do anything with him. I have zero on tap for the weekend, so there should be surfing aplenty at the Goonblog HQ all weekend long. Come on by for a brew….don’t cost nothing.
May I Have a Right Please, Sir?
Old time hockey for a bit up North last night eh? Domi and Boston’s Dan LaCoutre had a very one sided fight. Domi gave him so many lefts, Lac was begging for a right. Everytime LaCoutre would get his balance; Tie was there to knock him back with another left. You could see the look on Lac’s face when he was going to the box that he wasn’t pleased with the outcome of the scrap at all.
Later in the game Travis Green came in to stick up for a Teammate, and wound up in a scrap with Toronto’s Ben Ondrus. The scrap also looked a little one sided for the Leaf. I always like a good scrap in defense of a mate, and I applaud Travis for doing something.
Doghouse of the night goes to Hal Gill, per usual, and Nick Boynton. Gill can’t get it through his fucking head that cross checks to the back are not allowed in the new NHL. Boynton has been undisciplined as of late, and should have known better than to lose his cool like he did. You simply can not give the best 5 on 3 team in the NHL an opportunity to come back like they did, and 44 should know that. The bell tolls for thee Boston. Give the Bruins the standing 8 on making the Spring Dance.
I Can’t Believe I am About to do This.
I feel like Stinger in Top Gun right now. I have to give Maverick, and Goose their dream shot to go to Top Gun. I gotta send those two clowns to Miramar.
I have to give Hal Gill props on his scrap Saturday night against Eric Godard. Gill started the fight, and I feel he beat Godard fair and square. I saw Hal Gill get in a fight, and he actually threw a punch. Fucking incredible if you ask me. It looked like near the middle of the bout Gill was going to resort to his old habits, as he tried to get his head as far away from Godard as he could. Nope. Gill battled back from being off balance and landed a bomb to Godard’s head. Really good scrap.
I was very impressed by the fight. NESN had LaCoutre miked for their Ice Shavings feature, and he agreed. Lac could be heard saying, "Good fight. Good fight by Hal." a couple of times. I love that behind the scenes stuff. I have said many times in this space hockey players are some of the funniest people on Earth, and Ice Shavings does a great job capturing their personalities. Make no mistake, Gill is still the worst player in the NHL, but he took on one of the toughest customers in the game, and beat him.
Hal Gill – Closet Shit Disturber?
I just got back from row 15 Loge at the Garden (many thanks to Lynch for sharing his awesome Christmas present with me) where the Canadiens smited the Bruins 2-0. It was a decent game with the Boston actually spending more time on the offensive than Montreal, but to no avail. Perhaps the Samsonov trade was hanging heavy on the hearts of the players. Regardless – I won’t rehash details you can read elsewhere, as the real point of interest tonight was the uncharacteristic thuggery of a Mr. Hal Gill.
Was he lamenting the loss of his old friend and acting out? Perhaps: ”We came in the league together and we grew up a lot together, but it’s the nature of the business. For whatever reason, whether it’s money, or whatever the direction the team is going, he wasn’t in the plan. That’s the way it goes…" Whatever the reasons, Hal had a crosshecking and holding penalty before the game was half over, and with 3:47 left in the second period Boston and Montreal engaged in a 10-player kerfuffle which resulted in multiple game misconducts. The action took place a good distance from my great seats, but I was able to get a few choice fracas snaps.
After a few scuffles cleared in the Canadiens’ zone, Hal Gill and Craig Rivet each received fighting majors, while Nick Boynton picked up a double-minor for spearing and a game misconduct. "We weren’t playing very well," said Boynton. "I was trying to spark the team a little bit and get something going. There’s no place for that in this league anymore. It is what it is." Tell us about it. Well meant, the mess resulted in little more than a fifteen minute pause in the play.
Gill was in the dog house most of the night, and although we give him a lot of crap here on GB, the "giraffe-on-skates" is not afraid to get physical when need be. Frequent commentor Greg ran into him in the North End Wednesday night. He was carrying his daughter to Ray Borque’s restaurant, and is apparently a very pleasant guy. I am going to have to rethink all the negativity. Chris? Hammer? You with me?
I love this picture. It’s like watching the pistol smoke clear at the OK Corral while Wyatt Earp argues with an official in the background. Or something like that. Chris and I have 2 more Bruins games to hit over the next two weeks, as we’re trying to get our fill before season’s end. Hopefully we’ll have a good content spike before the crickets start chirping. I am not looking forward to fucking baseball.
All Time Favorite: Dennis Bonvie
I am a huge Dennis Bonvie fan. I can admit it. Check out this article from AHL’s On the Beat. I love his philosophy on his role as an enforcer, and you can tell after all these years, he still likes his job. I have seen him in Lowell in various opposing jerseys, and anytime Bones is in town, the date is circled. I read somewhere the other day when he passed the 4,000 PIM mark; he became the most penalized player in North American Hockey History. Good for you Bones. Job well done.
Not only is he a tough customer, he’s also one of the funniest human beings alive. 3 Highlights from his visits to Lowell.
1. While in with Providence, Bones was stretching out near the blue line. Lowell’s Craig MacDonald was stretching near him. All of a sudden, Bonvie is on all fours, crab walking towards MacDonald, barking like a dog. MacDonald had this weird look on his face like Bonvie had lost his mind. Come to find out, they are Cousins, and Bones was just saying hello.
2. In his first season with Binghamton he fought Jan Vodrazka. In keeping with his theme of giving the young guys a chance. Well, the fight was very one sided to be sure. He smoked Vodrazka in a very quick bout. After being led to the box, Bonvie sat down and asked the attendant, "hey, has that guy ever fought before?"
3. Again, in keeping with the theme of giving young guys a chance, Dennis got in a fight with Trevor Gillies when he was with Lowell. After they squared off for about 30-40 seconds (Dennis likes to take his time) they had a quick one sided fight, and Gillies didn’t like the out come. After going to the box, they were yelling back and forth.
Gillies: Hey bones, what with all this squaring off shit? I like to stand there and chuck em! We gonna go again right?
Bonvie: No! I gave you your shot at the title, you’re all done for tonight!
Get out and catch Bones if you can. Win, lose, or draw, he’s always worth the price of admission.
Ladd-A-Boy
It was a typical weekend at the Paul. Friday featured a fairly listless performance by the beloved Lockmonsters. They dropped what could only be described as a snorer to BST, bringing the season total to 0-8 against BST, getting only one point in 8 contests. Pathetic. Sunday was a bit of a different story.
The Hartford WolfPack were in town for a Sunday afternoon tilt. These two teams have some very bad blood between them going back to last season. Also, anytime Joe Rullier is around, something is bound to happen. Maybe it’s because he’s a little nuts? The AHL went with a two referee system for the game. Two poor referees as it were. I was convinced I liked the AHL better than the NHL for a reason. I had a theory, and until now, I hadn’t shared, but here it is: It’s the single referee system. One set of eyes allows for a ton of stuff to be let go. Two sets, and they see freaking everything. This game was no different. It was, drop the puck, and the parade to the box begins. Scoring may be up in the NHL, but no one seems to mention, 5 on 5 hockey is down. I for one, think it stinks, and I don’t like it. These two zebras called everything. That includes calling Mikko Viitanen for a roughing penalty when he was standing at the blue line during a scrum behind the net. Um, Mr. St. Pierre, do you mean 23, John Morlang? No? Fair enough. Did I mention they called everything? Well, they did, except the elbow Joe Rullier threw at David Gove.
I couldn’t really see what happened, as it was all the way at the other end of the ice. Rullier and Gove were fighting for the puck behind the goal, and the next thing you know, Gove was down and out. And I mean OUT. I am not sure if he knows where he is as of today. It was clear he had his bell rung real badly. Once they got him off the ice, they lined up for the face off, and I saw Lowell’s Andrew Ladd begin to back up, and drop his gloves. It was right in front of the Lowell Bench, and as it was far away from me, I couldn’t really see who he was squared off with. As Ladd moved right, I could see he was engaged with Hartford’s Joe Rullier.
I regard Rullier as one of the most underrated fighters in the A. I have posted to that effect on a few occasions. He has very quick hands, and due to the fact he is a little crazy, he really enjoys fighting. I had heard Ladd could defend himself a bit, and I know he had a fight earlier in the year. As has been typical of the Monsters this season, it was on the road, so I missed it. I was eager to see what the kid could do, and he didn’t disappoint. Both guys threw some very hard right hands. Rullier got young Ladd pinned up against the dasher and was unloading some very quick rights. Ladd pushed him off, and tagged hem with a strong right hand. Rullier countered with three quick right of his own, and Ladd came back with another hard right. The boys on the ice got in my way, so I missed the finish, but it ended with Rullier having Ladd up against the glass again. The stripes got in, and Rullier and Ladd were taken to the box to thunderous applause. A great scrap. I love when guys stick up for teammates, and Ladd did very well in the go. I call the fight a draw, as did some other Judges at ring side. I heard when they were in the boxes, Rullier was yelling over at Ladd in broken English, "Hey, why don’t you take off your bucket like me? Don’t be a pussy." That is the stuff I love about enforcers. This guy gets in a great scrap, and he’s pissed the other guy didn’t take off his helmet. Then again, Rullier is a little off.
Jesse Boulerice, Anyone?
Quick question. Does anyone know if Jesse Boulerice has reported to St. Louis? Since being traded from Carolina as part of the Doug Weight deal, he hasn’t dressed. I know he wasn’t skating much in Carolina, and it looks like more of the same in St. Louis. I’m getting a little worried.
4 Score And Colton Orr.
Orrsie is back boys. The heavyweight tilt of the night so far just happened between Eric Godard (NYI) and Colton Orr (NYR). I don’t have any idea why Orr was out, but I do know this is his 4th game as a Ranger. Get the title now? I kill me. At any rate. I happened to flip over from the Bruins game. Downey is running around, stay tuned. Anyway, as I flipped over, Godard was going into the Rangers bench to get some one. Orr naturally took exception and they pushed and shoved their way to two minute roughing minors.
As soon as the minors ended, I hit record on the DVR. I shall get flowers for DVR for Valentine’s Day, oh and MOL. The two Heavies left the box and went right for each other. They dropped em right at center ice with Orr taking an early lead in the bout. Godard missed with two very heavy rights, and Orrsie countered with two of his own, landing both. Eric got Orr at arms length and lowered the boom a bit taking control, but Orr used his strength and got back in it. Orr clobbered Godard with a hard right, and Godard appeared to be stunned, as he turned his head to get away from the Big Ranger. Orr was trying to get back at him, and that’s when Godard scored the takedown. I score the fight a solid win for Orr. Godard was bloodied, and Orr showed no signs of wear. Godard did land a few hard ones of his own, and is always game to drop the mitts. I am sure these guys will be in each other’s ear for the rest of the tilt. The Bruins just went down 1-0 to the Habs. I have it set to DVR, so if Downey does get a taker, I will report back. Right now, watching the former Bruin Orr do his thing on the Island seems more interesting. Naturally, I will report back any happenings in either game.
Boulerice Bonanza In Lowell.
If you are wondering if you should go to Lowell tonight, pencil it in. The Lockmonsters have assigned perennial bench warmer Jesse Boulerice for a weekend stint. Boulerice is a gamer, and one tough customer. He was the subject of a vicious Aaron Downey one-punch a couple of years ago that scrambled his eggs a bit, but the lockout and a year away from the game was a good thing for the New York native. Hopefully Boulerice and Marty Grenier have a go tonight, and Mike Hoffman and Jesse tangle on Sunday. Either way, I am so excited I may take a deliberate penalty, and dammed if I wouldn’t!