Sunday, January 5, 2014

Let the Boys Go: Fighting's Unwritten Rules



After a save by Holtby in the 2nd period of last night’s defeat by the Minnesota Wild 5 to 3, Steve Olesky and Kyle Brodziak who both had been battling out front for positioning agreed to drop the gloves and fight. Yet right when both players were about to square up, the linesman jumped in and broke up the play. In my eyes this is just another NHL official attempting to pussify the league. I understand and agree with the NHL's efforts to protect its players, but there comes a point were hockey is hockey and the players playing the game accept the risk that come along with it. In the game hockey there exists a list of unwritten rules that come along with its culture that display mutual respect for fellow players and keep the players safe when attempting to rally ones respective teams in a fight. For example, in a fight earlier in the night, Troy Brouwer did not continue to punch Nate Prosser because he was on the ice in a defenseless position. Another example of a rule being only fighting an opponent if that player answers yes to the famous hockey question, "Do you wanna go?” There is a very good book that I invite everyone to read by Ross Bernstein titled, The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL that goes through the complete list of the these rules and the step by step process of what occurs before, during and after a fight. In this case, both players verbally agreed "to go" and yet the ref jumped in as if one player was sucker punching the other one. Even in officiating school they teach refs to never intervene during a fight "if the players tell you not to intervene" or are in the process of beginning to fight, even though it seems like an appropriate time. This law exists mainly for their own safety but also for the safety of the players. Overall I thought it was a bonehead decision by the officials from last night and I wish they let the boys go.  Don Cherry would not approve. 

RIP Brian Pothier

Another cool article about hockey's unwritten rules:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1458266-the-15-unwritten-rules-of-the-nhl

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