Walking through the
concourse at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Washington it hardly seems like a
place that would draw thousands of people for any particular event. The
building is no doubt becoming old and run down. There are buckets placed on
certain areas of the floor for leaking ceilings and pipes. The gray floors and
gray walls and gray building seem less than inviting. It is half an hour before
game time on February 16, 2013, and the walkway is becoming more crowded by
the minute with fans of all walks of life. Everyone from the infant to the
elderly, families, and teenagers out with their friends all walk throughout the
concourse waiting for the opening face-off at 7:05pm.
We make our way to
our seats, section C, row 6 to be exact, which just so happens to be to the
right side of the home teams goalie and just a section down from the players
bench. There seems to be a chill in the air from the ice, but I notice as the
seats fill up the cold seems to disappear. As I look throughout the hockey rink
I notice that many people are wearing jerseys, mostly Tri-City Americans
jerseys, but some National Hockey League jerseys and one particular section of
visiting Spokane Chief fans donning their teams attire across the ice from us.
Some people are eating dinner from the selection on the concourse, others are
enjoying an ice cold adult beverage, and many others are visiting with
neighbors, family, and friends.
As the score clock ticks down second by second the lights
in the building are turned off and when the clock reaches about five minutes
before game time, the Tri-City Americans mascot enters the building to unite
the fans in cheers and applause. A few minutes later the officials take the
ice, two referees and two linesmen. The visiting teams’
line-up is announced and they take their positions on the bench along with their
starting players on the ice. A video compilation of the
Americans starts to play on the big screens and the fans begin to rise out of
their seats in applause. The video concludes and a loud horn sounds above us to
welcome the home team to the ice, along with a young fan who has been invited
on the ice to sound yet another horn for the players. I am surprised by the
intensity of the noise in the rink when the sound of the horns, fans, and
announcer are all combined. The fans remain standing for player introductions,
on-ice presentations, and lastly our country’s national anthem. And finally, it
is game time.
The Tri-City Americans are a team within the Western
Hockey League (WHL). The WHL is a major junior league which consists of 22
teams throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Washington,
and Oregon. Players range from 16 to 20 years old and have the rare opportunity
to be drafted directly from the WHL to the National Hockey League. Those who
are not so lucky to make the big time receive one year of paid schooling for
each year they play in the league to be used upon their departure from the WHL.
On this particular night, the Tri-City Americans whose
record is 32-22-1-2, 67 points, face the rival Spokane Chiefs 34-22-2-0, 70
points (The Western Hockey League). The closely matched
records lead one to believe the evenings match-up will be a strongly fought
battle. Following the national anthem, the lights in the building burst back
on, the fans take their seats, and the referee releases the puck to commence
the game. Compared to the pre-game ceremonies I notice the building is
surprisingly quiet once the game starts, but not for long. Tri-City Americans
player Conner Rankin scores a goal only 3 minutes and 38 seconds into the game
to get the crowd on their feet. Three more goals were scored by the time the
first 20 minutes of play expired, and the Americans had a 4-0 lead over the
visiting Spokane Chiefs. Very few penalties were assessed during that time,
three to be exact including a holding, checking from behind, and a cross check.
During intermission, my friends and I grabbed a drink and
walked around the concourse to people watch and mingle. The concourse was
extremely small for the amount of people in the rink, and I felt like we were
maneuvering through a crowded New York City street. After about a twenty minute
break we made our way back to our seats just in time for the players to enter
the ice. The second period of play brought a different level of intensity to
the game. After Tri-City Americans player Brian Williams scored six minutes in
to bring the lead to 5-0, it was clear the Chiefs were becoming frustrated.
After Spokane’s goalie, Garret Hughson stopped a shot by Conner Rankin at 13:05
of the period, Todd Fiddler of the Chiefs dropped his gloves and began hitting
Rankin in the face. Almost instantaneously, all remaining players on the ice,
including the Spokane goalie dropped their gloves and grabbed a player from the
opposing team to begin fighting. Immediately, the two
linesman pulled Hughson and Mitch Topping of the Americans apart, as the
referees watched on.
As the fights began, fans around me and throughout the
rink rose to their feet in loud cheers. Many people, myself included, began
snapping pictures and videos with their phones of the ensuing fights. Some of
the fights between players on the ice ended on their own, while others were
split up by the officials. After all was said and done, a total of 46 penalty
minutes were handed down between the two teams including, fighting, roughing,
and game misconducts. Rankin was subsequently kicked out of the remainder of
the game. There was a
noticeable difference in the atmosphere and mood of the crowd before and after
the fights broke out. Following the fights, the crowd was more engaged and
loud. The Americans went on to score one
additional goal in the second period, and ended up beating the Chiefs by a
final score of 6-0 in front of 5,449 fans at the Toyota Center.
Three days following the Americans and Chiefs game, a local article ran about a WHL player from the Kelowna Rockets named Tyrell Goulbourne. Goulbourne was recently voted throughout the west part of the league as the “Toughest Player” in the WHL, with 18 fights this season. One of Goulbourne’s recent fights has over 120,000 YouTube hits to date. Goulbourne told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald that he knows the role he has on the team as a skilled enforcer, and when asked about what his family thinks he added, “My dad has been supportive of it. My dad grew up playing soccer and he knows what I have to do to contribute to the team. My mom and grandma are a little shaky about the fights, but they don’t cry about it anymore”. (http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2013/02/19/2281484_best-of-the-west-kelownas-goulbourne.html)
So what, exactly, is the point of
fighting in hockey? My friend and former college hockey player, Kyle Sponholtz believes it is
an essential part of the game. “From
a personal account, fighting is important. An enforcer’s role on the ice is to
ensure that the star players have the room they need on the ice to perform. If
fighting goes away, the lesser skilled players will begin to go after the skilled
players since they know they won't have to protect themselves if they do it.
Fighting needs to remain in the game”.
Hockey fan, Merrick Kingman agrees
with Sponholtz. “I think violence and
fighting in hockey are two different things. The common fight in hockey is used
to inspire teammates and send a message to opponents. Violence- such as illegal
hits, using equipment as weapons- has no place in hockey at all”.
However, not everyone is so fond of fighting in hockey. To learn a different perspective, I interviewed Tracey Lubeck, a WHL Off-Ice Official. Lubeck frequently works in the penalty box and communicates with the players involved in such infractions. “Fighting does not have a place in hockey. It harms the players and encourages blood lust. It’s like legalized violence. If I did the same thing on the concourse, I’d get arrested”. Lubeck did add that there is an element to fighting in hockey that most fans do not get the chance to see. “Sometimes guys will come into the penalty box after just fighting each other and they will sit down and ask how each other’s families are and carry on conversations like they’ve been long-time friends. It’s the weirdest thing”.
It amazed me to hear that these players could be friends off the ice. How can someone go from punching another person in the face, to carrying on a regular conversation just a minute later? As someone sitting in the stands, these are not aspects of the game or fighting that fans are able to witness. While watching a game there appears to be so much passion and anger and agitation on the ice. Ryan Gibbons, a current WHL linesman and former WHL player offered his perspective on this perplexing relationship between players. “I’m sure if you talked to the majority of officials and players they would agree there is a lot of respect in fighting. I remember guys would be on a team and become good friends with their teammates and then they would get traded. Eventually, he is going to play his old teammates and when they’re on the ice, there are no friends. As a player, it is their shear ability to separate what happens on the ice with what happens off the ice. When the game is over, you can tell each other ‘Good Job’ and go back to being friends”.
Still, some fans like David McClain with two young daughters, find the fighting to be unnecessary in the sport of hockey. “I find it juvenile. I really dislike the fights that look more staged. Let's glare at each other, take off our gloves, dance around for a bit, then go at it. Oh, let's everyone else just jump in and have a big melee while we're at it. I enjoy the sport of hockey, not WWF”. Even though McLain does not like the fighting in hockey, he admits he still likes to catch a game with his family or friends from time to time.
So what exactly would hockey look like without fighting? Would it be a better game? Would the players be safer? Current WHL referee Brett Iverson offers his insights. “If you take fighting out of hockey you will get a lot dirtier play, such as the players using sticks to defend themselves, or making more cheap hits on the opposing team. Without fighting, players will find different ways to take out their aggression”. In Iverson’s opinion, players are able to fight in a controlled, safe environment while defending their teammates, sending a message, and pumping up the fans. Brett Iverson and Ryan Gibbons both agree their jobs as officials are to ensure player safety, and this includes during fights. “When a fight breaks out, we have to determine things like if it was an instigated or staged fight, as well as monitor the fight to ensure there is no eye gouging, hair pulling, biting, illegal take-downs, elbow pad removal prior to the fight and so forth. Hockey has changed over the years, and players face harsher penalties and repercussions if it is anything other than a clean fight,” added Iverson.
“As officials, if we see that a fight is unfair or getting out of hand we usually just have to let them
know ‘that’s enough’ and they will let go of each other,” added Gibbons. “For the most part,
players are not trying to hurt each other. They’re just doing what they need to do to pump up
their team”.
So maybe fighting in hockey is not as gruesome and dangerous as it appears to someone sitting in the stands. Perhaps fighting is just an aspect of hockey that someone who has never played the sport could not fully comprehend. Whatever the case, fighting in hockey is not going away anytime soon and it seems that most players, coaches, officials, leagues, and fans are in support of that fact- although some may still be un-accepting of the context behind such fights. What do you think?
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