Teemu Selanne gets into 2nd fight of his NHL career...

Check out this fight between Kyle Clifford vs Sheldon Brookbank, but also the Teemu Selanne and Brad Richardson bout, that was only the second fight of Selanne's NHL career. Again, you don't want your star players fighting because they could get hurt but there is a time and a place where a player has to stand up for himself and take matters into his own hands if the refs don't protect the players. s/t Puck Daddy

The Ducks Blog --- “You don’t see that very often,” Selanne said, smiling. “When you feel that somebody tried to hurt you, you have to do some action out there. I had to do what I had to do.

“I can look after myself. Usually you don’t want to hurt your hand and stuff, but I was pretty mad. I know when somebody’s trying to hurt me. That shouldn’t be the case in this league.”

Selanne’s last fight was so long ago that there’s confusion about who his opponent was. The Web site hockeyfights.com lists Chicago’s Chris Chelios as the player Selanne scrapped with, noting the date of the bout as Jan. 19, 1993.

Tim Gleason vs Tim Jackman

Former MSU Mankato Maverick and current New York Islander Tim Jackman fights with Carolina Hurricane Tim Gleason. Jackman left Makato after the 2001-2002 season forgoing his final two years of college eligibility. Lets score it as a draw. Tim Jackman's NHL numbers are as follows: 59 games 2 goals 5 assist 7 points and 93 minutes in penalties. Seems Tim has a high penalties minutes for 59 NHL games.

Kaip whips Bruess

Wow, what a fight! This fight was long over due and you almost knew that it would come to a head during this series. Last season during a game between UND and MSU-M Maverick forward Trevor Bruess was feeding Rylan Kaip with punches, Kaip looked over to the bench to get permission to fight. Permission to engage Bruess in a fight was not granted by coach Hakstol; one could speculated that Hakstol realized that Kaip had already received a DQ for fighting earlier in the season, hence, was not given the green light to fight Bruess. They say hind sight is 20/20 and this moved turned out to be a good move on Kaips part because another fight would have caused Kaip to sit out for two games for getting in a second fight on the season. Tonight's fight was done at the right time.

Here are some of the pictures of the fight that my buddy Marty emailed to me. I must say what a trooper, being the super fan Marty is, he was able to get the pictures to me quickly, also kudos to his wife Garland for having the camera on hand so she could photograph the fight as it happened in real time. After the game and Marty went back to his room and emailed me the pictures from his hotel room in Mankato.

These are really some nice pictures, I am sure these are going to cost a beer or two.

Former Maverick David Backes and Ladislav Smid go toe to toe.

Apparently David Backes doesn't just get into fights Keith Ballard, here is Former MSU-M Star David Backes fighting Ladislav Smid during the Oilers and Blues game on Jan 2, 2008. In my opinion the decision goes to David Backes, but I am biased because I am a WCHA guy.

David Clarkson vs Milan Lucic

This was one of the better fights of the week, Devils tough guy David Clarkson vs Bruins new comer Milan Lucic. That part that I like was; notice that Lucic TKOs Clarkson he doesn't keep punching him. That in my opinion was a classy move, some tough guys would have kept punching their opponent.

Take off your shield

Here is a perfect example of what not to do during a fight, Wild forward Aaron Voros vs Sharks defenseman Kyle McLaren . I don't have a problem with the fight, I do have a problem with the player leaving his shield on.

Fighting in Hockey

First off that is a great fight. I stumbled across this clip on Chris Dilk's Western College Hockey 2. Chris is questioning whether fighting has a place in Hockey.

Personally I think that If a players knows he has to fight if he committed an egregious act, actually polices the game of hockey and keeps that players honest. If I whack player "A" or commit an act of thuggery I know that I am going to have to look over my shoulder. I know sooner or later that a goon/though guy is going to be there to re-arrange my face, while it sounds like frontier justice it's worked in the NHL for year. If actions have consequences I am going to mind my P's and Q's. It's called the code and is used to police the game and keep players honest. I believe that because of the lack of fighting in college hockey the game is actually more dirty.

If the NCAA wanted to clean up the college game i.e. the stick work, running the goalie and the acts of thuggery in college hockey; I would suggest getting rid of the full face shield and game disqualification penalty. I think that if a player only received a game misconduct for fighting college hockey, the players could police the game and get rid of the face washes and stick work. If a player has consequences for egregious acts and he knows what he does on the ice has consequences he is going to be less apt to be a hack...

Ballard and Backes Part 2.

These two guys are probably not going to be sending each other Christmas Cards or be going out to dinner any time soon. Incidently that was their second fight in two seasons of hockey. Last April Ballard and Backes got into a good tussel stay tuned to see how this match up shakes out.

The Chickens finally come home to roost

For Sioux fans this day took a long time in coming.
This has been covered a bit on the college Hockey Blog sphere and when I first saw it, the incident kind of sounded like an urban legend, it was almost like it was too good to be true. Sioux fans and other hockey fans are already asking; where do we get the You Tube Video of this incident? We want proof for closure. As a rabid Sioux fan, of course I was hoping it was true because I felt it was a long time in coming. Now finally this incident can be put to bed as justice has finally been served.

It took a couple of seasons but Matt Greene finally got a shot at Oilers prospect Geoff Paukovich and made the most of it.

Here's the deal, back in 2004-05 in the WCHA Final Five, Paukovich playing for the Denver Pioneers crushed Greene's teammate Robbie Bina of North Dakota with an ugly hit that broke Bina's neck. (Bina has since returned to play). Greene, the Fighting Sioux's captain, exchanged words with Paukovich telling him their would be a day of reckoning at a later date. (Note:this would be the politically correct translation of what was said!).

As you all know you can't fight in College hockey but you can in a conditioning camp.
Paukovich now an Oilers prospect showed up at Clare Drake Arena the other day for the U. of A. Conditioning Camp, and Greene of course is an Oilers regular. Greene was late for a session, and the two were slated to be on the same team, when he saw Paukovich in a drill. Greene immediately skated over to Paukovich and told him the day of reckoning had arrived and proceeded to according to onlookers..make short work of Paukovich. The one-sided tilt lasted 15-20 seconds. The two shook hands after the fight. Classic!

Bob Stauffer
Team 1260

For college hockey fans that aren't very familiar with the incident in question this link kind of put the whole incident in perspective from more of a journalistic point of view.

This article put it all in perspective as well...

The incident
The moment came early in the second period with Denver controlling the puck while the referee had his arm in the air ready to blow the play dead as soon as North Dakota touched the puck. It’s a scene played out in rinks around the globe often, but on this afternoon in the heat of the battle, something went wrong.
As the puck came free along the boards, sophomore defenseman Robbie Bina reached to touch it thus triggering the whistle and stopping the play. But when the 5’8 180 lb Bina played the puck, he was simultaneously hit from behind by Paukovich, crashing heavily into the boards.

“It was a delayed penalty touch up and Bina got hit from behind, that’s it,” Greene bluntly stated, clearly still bothered by the memory. “He was two feet off the boards and got hit from behind and it was a delayed penalty call, so as soon as Robbie touches the puck, which he did, the whistle blows and that’s it. I don’t want to point fingers or anything, but from where I was sitting, it didn’t look like it needed to happen.”

Bina lay motionless for a period of time before being carried off the ice, the extent of his injuries not immediately known. Oiler VP of Hockey Operations Kevin Prendergast, who was in attendance that night, wasn’t aware of the severity of the injury until it came up in casual conversation with Hockey’s Future a day or two later back in Edmonton.

“The way he went into the boards, his stick slammed so loudly that I thought it sounded worse than it was,” said Prendergast. “Clearly, I was wrong.”

The result to Bina was a broken neck and possibly the end of his playing career. On the other hand, for the momentary lapse of judgment, Paukovich was given a one-game suspension by the NCAA and another from his coach. However, it should be pointed out that at the time of the incident, the only penalty given to the Denver forward was a two-minute minor for boarding. Whether it was the blown call by the ref, the hit itself or something else, North Dakota’s captain reacted immediately.

“It’s tough, you know, you’ve got your buddy lying on the ice and you can’t do anything about it,” Greene said with frustration in his voice. “If I would have done anything about it I would have had three minutes more in penalties than Paukovich had for breaking the kid’s neck plus a game misconduct and it was at a time when we were dealing with single elimination games for the rest of the year.”

“It was tough to swallow, Robbie’s one of my best friends on the team but regardless of being a teammate or not, you never want to get too personal with things. But when you see a guy every day in classes and then you see him take a hit like that, it kind of messes with your mind,” he added. “I was frustrated, but there wasn’t much you could do about it in that game.”

Paukovich, who was genuinely and deeply regretful for his actions, says his memory of the incident is still largely a blur but clearly recalls Greene’s reaction.

“I was kind of in a daze but… he was pissed” the rookie described. “He and I had some words and that kind of set the stage for the National Championship game. He wasn’t a very big fan of mine after that, that’s for sure.”

Bina missed the rest of the tournament schedule, but was in attendance providing emotional support for his team all the way to the NCAA finals held in Columbus. The prognosis for the diminutive forward is still unclear and at last contact Bina was still wearing both a neck brace and a never fading smile, a trait Greene admires immensely.

“His personality through the whole thing has been unbelievable, a guy that had every reason to be down with just the fact that we were playing in the National Championship game and he was in the stands wearing a neck brace where he would have been playing,” praised Greene. “He never lost the smile off his face, he always came around happy and was always cracking jokes and even now when I go for lunch with him, he’s a great guy.”

Paukovich struggled emotionally after the hit and although he played his way through to the end of the year, some say he was clearly not the same player on the ice.

“That really bothered Geoff in a big way, it’s going to take him some time to recover emotionally,” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said during an Edmonton radio interview on the TEAM 1260 in April. “He was able to play for us in the Frozen Four and played pretty well but you could tell he was being very careful.”

“It wasn’t a deliberate thing, he’s a very physical player but he’s not a dirty player,” defended Prendergast. “The incident was unfortunate but he didn’t mean to injure him. We talked to him after the game and you could see it in his eyes that it had rattled him, when you see a kid taken off the ice on a stretcher it affects you.”

The Goon's perspective on the incident

This is what I wrote on Siouxsports.com

The Hit on Robbie Bina was right across the ice from my seat in the club level, I saw the whole incident as it unfolded, and it was by far one of the dirtiest plays that I have ever seen in all of my days of watching college hockey. I have witnessed a few incidents like this in the NHL but not in the college game. The fact the Don Adam only called a two minute penalty should have been the end of that refs career as an on the ice official. Also if you watched the film of the hit you will see Pauko smirking in the box.

The fact that it took so long for a wrong to be righted is puzzling to me, Paukovich should have been challenged the minute he stepped out of the penalty box at the Final Five. I look at Paukovich as being just as bad as Todd Bertuzzi, Ulfie Sammuelson or a Claude Lemieux. They are disgusting players and all will get or got what was coming to them. Live by the sword and die by the sword.

The Best hits from the Stanley Cup Finals

I will have to say that this years finals was full of hard hits and physical play, I hope that continues. Also, its nice to see Chris Neil actually making a legal hit as well... I didn't know that guy knew how to make a hit that wasn't a elbow to the head of the oppostion player.

Duck Defenseman Chris Pronger suspended for one game for this hit

Chris Pronger was suspended by the NHL for this hit on Dean McAmmond. It's the second time that Pronger was suspended by the league during the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs. After the game on CBC Ron McClain asked Don Cherry if Pronger would be suspended for his hit by the league. Don Cherry's response was no, I don't think he will. I guess ole Grapes was wrong.

When I first saw this hit I didn't think it was that bad but after watching it a few times, there no reason to elbow a guy in the head like that. That being said I think Chris Neil had a questionable hit earlier in the game on McDonald seemed to be your typical questionable Chris Neil hit.

Seems that Brian Burke the GM of the Ducks agrees with my assessment of the Chris Neil hit.

BRIAN BURKE: I'll go first. Colin Campbell just informed me Chris Pronger had been suspended for a game. From my perspective, we have to accept the league's decision. I think Chris, if you look at the hit, Chris' footwork wasn't right. He was trying to stop a guy, finish his check. But at the end, he stuck his arm out and got him in the head and the player's injured and we're sorry about that.

So we have to accept the fact that the league has imposed a one-game suspension here. The troubling part for me is that I think there should be, should have been another hearing today.

This was a reaction hit on a tough play. Chris Neil's hit on Andy McDonald was reprehensible. You guys go back and break down the tape, he took six strides in from the blueline, he's going full speed, full extension, elbow right to the head. Our player skates away. He gets a free pass. Their player gets hurt. Chris Pronger gets a game.

There is no fighting during the Stanley Cup

I believe that this series has been boiling and its about to boil over. If you play a team enough times in the playoffs your going to develop a rivalry. I expect more of the physical stuff in the next game. Chris Neil has done nothing but run his mouth since this series began. I do have to give Fischer credit for not hitting the ducks forward while he was down.

Colby Armstrong KOs Patrick Eaves

While you can decide on your own what you think of the hit, this is a good example of why you keep your head up when Colby Armstrong is on the ice. Although he is not very big Armstrong is known for bone crushing checks. In my opinion this is a legal hit. I might be questionable, but it's a lot cleaner than the hit that Chris Neal put on Drury earlier in the season. Then in the after math Dean McAmmond then decides to pick a fight with Max Talbot who works McAmmond pretty good.

Eventually some day Colby will get tagged by someone that will be looking to light him up like he has done to others. Some have predicted that Chris Neil will come looking for him before then end of this series. I wonder if anyone will come to his aid. Live by the sword and you die by the sword.