OT: Fighting in Hockey

Submitted by Maizerage11 on

Martin's punch on Kearney this week triggered a discussion yesterday about sportsmanship and toughness.  It seemed to me that there were two sides to this discussion.

1) People defending/applauding Martin's toughness and aggression.  People argue that fighting is a part of hockey.  Maybe Martin was a little over the top but this is part of the sports.

2) People assserting that this is not the kind of behavior that we want representing the Unviersity of Michigan.

Althought I understand both of these opinions, I feel that there is a larger issue at play here.  That problem is fighting in hockey. 

Fighting is accepted as a part of the game, especially at the pro level.  This attitude/philosophy permiates through the various levels of play.  I had my hockey career ended on punch similar to the one Marting through.  I legally checked a guy and he turned around and punched my head into the boards knocking me out cold.   The dissapointment of having my hockey careeer taken away from because someone was frustrated is tough to swallow.  

I understand that agression and violence is  a part of sports.   I played 4 years of college lacrosse, and sure people got hurt from violent hits, but atleast they were in the flow of the game.  A brawl after the whistle is simple not an option in the sport of lacrosse.

I think the NHL needs to take stand on this issue.  There should not be a penalty for fighting because fighting is not an option.  When the whistle blows the play is dead.  Anything after that gets you tossed immidietly, with a pending suspension.  We have enough head injuries already, so lets get rid of the sensless ones.

 

 

JonnyHintz

January 18th, 2016 at 6:28 PM ^

I don't know if you watched the game or not, but there were a lot of cheap shots coming from Ohio State players the whole game. Late hits. High hits. Punches thrown after the whistle.

The game was out of control due to poor officiating. You allow players to go at each other's throats and rip each other's helmets off with no calls for either team. Then you penalize Michigan not even a minute later for a completely legal check. Just makes no sense.

Not condoning the (somewhat) cheap shot by Martin. But the fact is, Ohio State was playing extremely cheap and dirty the entire game with little-to-nothing being done by the officials to control the situation. At that point, Michigan isn't going to get pushed around anymore, and I'd expect any team to do the same.

Fighting is a part of the game. Always has been, and should always be. But situations like this arise when the referees refuse to take control of a game that has obviously turned chippy. When you let any team get away with cheap shit all game, eventually the other team will throw it right back. That's when it escalates to what happened last night.

JonnyHintz

January 18th, 2016 at 7:07 PM ^

Well with all of the other post-whistle scrums going on all game, it sure seemed like you could get away with that punch. Again. It's a result of the officials allowing the game to become out of their control. For example, you cannot let a guy rip the helmet of another player and throw punches and not call a penalty on ANYONE. Not even off-setting minor penalties. Or that blatant hold on the 5-on-3 to start the 3rd period right at the referees feet. Call the obvious penalties and the cheap shots at the very least and you won't have fights like that. Simple as that.

As you said, Martin's emotions got the better of him. But the officials allowed the game to get to that point. There's nothing more frustrating than blatant cheap shots not being called all game by the officials.

Canadian

January 18th, 2016 at 7:14 PM ^

The mixup at the end of the game started with boka delivering a hard cross check in front and dancs skating right into the same buckeye after the buzzer. Dancs started throwing punches. That's when kearney came charging in and pulled Martin off the back of a buckeye.

I just watched the end over again on dvr.




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Canadian

January 18th, 2016 at 9:06 PM ^

I recorded the 3am rebroadcast because I wanted to see what exactly happened at the end. At the rink I thought Martin was defending himself and both were swinging (I sit in opposite end).
I'm glad I watched it today because it completely changed my view.




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Canadian

January 18th, 2016 at 7:04 PM ^

Exactly. It doesn't matter if the guy deserved a punch to the face or not. When he's in a position to do nothing about it it's dirty.

Try to look at it from the other perspective; if cutler was laying there with a linesman on him and a buckeye clocked him right in the face the same people who are arguing for it not being dirty would be screaming bloody murder and wanting the buckeye suspended for the rest of the season




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NFG

January 18th, 2016 at 6:01 PM ^

I couldn't imagine the Red Wings and Avalanche not fighting in the late 90s. That defined the sport for years to come and still does to some extent.




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clarkiefromcanada

January 18th, 2016 at 6:43 PM ^

You realize that hockey is a thing outside Detroit right? And that the late 90s Wings and Avs surely did not define the sport in any way shape or form.

Good teams, sure, but hardly "defined the sport" going forward like the Broad Street Bullies or 70's Bruins (who redefined violence in the game), 70's Soviets (who made Canadians reflect on our souls), 50s/60s Habs (who redefined winning...sadly into the 70's) or 80's Oilers (who redefined offense). 

 

clarkiefromcanada

January 18th, 2016 at 8:15 PM ^

I think "defined the sport" seemed silly to me is all. Particularly if you take a long (non-D centric view)

FWIW, I doubt you'll ever see lengthy rivalries again in hockey. Bettman's approach is to skew to parity much like the NFL. You see this with the Cap and Free Agency as defined in the CBA. Chicago might be close with 3 in 6 years but look at the management job (and ridiculous trade success) done there. If that team had just been able to keep all their talent like the 80's Oilers...imagine.

doggdetroit

January 18th, 2016 at 6:24 PM ^

No they don't. I started playing lacrosse when I was in elementary school and played in college. Never once did I witness a brawl. Only once did I ever see a fight (and it really wasn't a fight, more of a single punch thrown).



I'm sure they have happened but brawls in lacrosse would be similar to brawls in football or basketball. Very rare and not tolerated at all.

Blueblood2991

January 18th, 2016 at 6:05 PM ^

As was discussed yesterday,it's an officiating issue more than anything. Hockey players self-police. A fight happens usually when the boiling point is reached.

Countless cheap shots happen during a game. Even annoying slashes in between pads are enough to get a player frustrated. Take away fights, and there's no repercussions for that behavior.

Either that or the refs call everything, and someone is constantly in the penalty box. There would be no flow to the game.

JonnyHintz

January 18th, 2016 at 6:31 PM ^

exactly. If the refs refuse to control the cheap shit, there will eventually be retaliation. Completely 100% the referees fault.

I played hockey for 16 years and that was always the mindset. If the referees refuse to call the cheap shit, then the cheap shit gets thrown right back and it eventually escalates into fighting.

MeanJoe07

January 18th, 2016 at 6:06 PM ^

fighting is what makes hockey watchable.  The should have something similar to the RedZOne where they only show the fighing highlights. MOAR fights!