Quite a game between the Calgary Flames and the Minnesota Wild last night. Emotions were high in this divisional match-up, and when the gargantuan Derek Boogaard wallpapered Rene Bourque with a monster hit last night tempers really boiled over. First, Rene Bourque, not about to take on the much larger, nastier Boogaard, found someone closer to his own size, throwing down with Nick Schultz. However, Calgary tough guy Andre Roy decided that justice still had not been served, gamely taking on Boogaard to avenge the hit on his teammate.
Admittedly I am a big fan of fighting in hockey. It was, is, and always should be part of the game. I think that eliminating fighting would only lead to a deadlier form of violence as players looked for some form of payback. However, when one fourth liner can’t hit another fourth liner with a clean check without facing retribution even I have to admit that things are starting to get a little ridiculous. If Boogaard had leveled Iginla that would be one thing, but Bourque? With all the over-reaction to these situations it won’t be long before players are scared to throw a clean hit for fear they might have to answer to the other team’s goon. Now, I’m not saying that Derek Boogaard is ever going to be scared to throw a bodycheck, but smaller, less proficient fighters may be. I’d hate to see that happen.
Anyways, that’s enough of a rant for now. You probably want to see some footage of the fights. Check both of the tilts out below. So far I’ve been unable to track down any footage of the Boogaard hit that started all the fun, but as soon as I can find a link I’ll slap it up for you.
Rene Bourque vs Nick Schultz Fight
Andre Roy vs Derek Boogaard Fight
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