Rivalry game sparks wild game

DANBURY, CT – As rivalries go, the one between the Danbury Whalers and Brooklyn Aviators is, well, heated. With less than a month to go before the playoffs, tensions rise even higher, leaving coaches in a quandary as to how best to control their players’ emotions.
That was the problem facing Danbury head coach Phil Esposito Thursday night when the Whalers and Aviators faced off in Danbury. When the game ended, the final score read 9-2 in favor of Brooklyn thanks in large part to a three goal, four point game by Chase Watson. There was, however, much more to the game than what was on the scoreboard at the Danbury Ice Arena.
Brooklyn was already ahead 2-0 on goals by Watson 1:42 into the opening period and Jesse Felten at 3:52 when the fun began. At the 4:16 mark, Danbury’s Kelly Miller was hit by referee Derek Wasiak for a four minute charging double minor while teammate Jason McCrimmon and Brooklyn’s Lucas Schott – one of two former Whalers now playing for the Aviators – each went off for roughing.
Two minutes later, Whaler Andrew Willock was called for a cross checking minor and a five minute slashing major, giving Brooklyn a five-on-three advantage while Willock earned the rest of the night off (game misconduct for the slashing major). What wasn’t called on the play, according to people who saw the game, was Willock punching Nick Petriello while he was on the ice after the cross check which followed the slash. The visitors cashed in when Watson potted his second goal.
As the teams headed to their respective locker rooms, Esposito waited for the officials and had plenty to say to Wasiak. Little did anyone know what was to come.
The second period was quiet compared to the first (and what would come in the third) with only one goal scored and one “incident” which led to the score. At the 3:36 mark, Danbury goalie Peter Vetri was nabbed for an abuse of officials minor. That call set off Esposito who voiced his displeasure to Wasiak in a fashion that drew a bench minor for abuse of officials. Another two man advantage for Brooklyn, another power play goal as Felten picked up his second of the night.
By the time the final period started, Brooklyn had a 4-0 lead and nothing out of the ordinary had happened since Willock’s banishment. Danbury even scored first in the third as Chris Seifert connected 2:21 into the stanza.
Then everything unraveled.
Step one in the process came 6:21 in. Danbury’s Greg Holt, who by all accounts is mild mannered, had one of his elbows connect with the head of a Brooklyn player, drawing a five minute major and a game misconduct. A subsequent minor to James Sanford put the Whalers down two men.
Things went from bad to worse just past the midpoint of the period. Miller and Felten got into a scrap fueled by a spear by Miller. By the time the smoke cleared, Miller had added an abuse of officials misconduct to the spearing major and fighting major. All of that was compounded by a Tier 1 gross misconduct as Wasiak heard Miller unleash a racial slur – something that is uncalled for at every level of the game. Linesman Keith Fallon had the duty of ushering the enraged Miller off the ice. It became an adventure for the official as Miller did not go peacefully, maintaining a grasp on Fallon even as he was going through the door.
The ensuing five-on-three power play led to Watson’s hat trick goal at 10:53 – the first of five consecutive two man advantage goals in the span of 4:22. The endless (or at least it seemed endless) five-on-three for Brooklyn was helped along by a minor to Seifert (slashing) and a double slashing major to Fulton who whacked an Aviators opponent once in the body and after the call was made added a shot to the head of the same player. Along the way Petriello, Joe Dabkowski (the other former Whaler), Casey Mignone and Schott all scored with Danbury down two skaters.
Danbury did record the final penalty called in the game at the 13:07 mark when Seifert was popped with an abuse of officials misconduct. The Whalers also posted the final score of the game when Matt Moffat notched a short-handed tally at 18:02.When the numbers were tallied up, Brooklyn’s power play was an astonishing 7-for-17 with all seven coming in two-man advantage situations. For their efforts, the Whalers finished the night with a whopping 125 penalty minutes on 24 infractions while Brooklyn accumulated 25 minutes on seven penalties.
Ahead of the two teams meeting Friday night in Brooklyn, the league office moved quickly to determine supplemental discipline. With just 13 games left before the playoffs, Danbury will be missing several people for different periods of time. Probably the least affected are Willock who received a one-game suspension and Holt who will miss three games – a mandatory sentence for a hit to the head.
Fulton, who the league considers a “repeat offender”, received a ten-game suspension. League sources explained that each of the two slashes received five games because of the severity of the act. Coach Esposito was also hit, getting a five game ban for what the league said was “not controlling his team”.
By far the worst hit was Miller. He was given a 13-game suspension, three for the spearing infraction and ten for the racial comments he was said to have uttered by the game officials according to the explanation given. Miller never heard the sentence first-hand as he was on his way to Elmira to join the ECHL’s Jackals. League officials said that should Miller come back at any point between now and the end of the championship series, he would begin serving the suspension.
By all accounts, what went on Thursday night was simply a team out of control – way out of control. The teams have developed a bitter rivalry in the short time they have been a part of the FHL. This time of year, every point is precious and messages need to be sent to potential playoff opponents. Still, there is a difference between rugged, hard-nosed hockey and as a colleague of mine put it “the team that the Chiefs played in the finals in the movie Slap Shot” (you remember, the team with Dr. Hook, Oglethorpe and the rest of the mythical Federal Hockey League’s goons).
In the end, where does the blame for what occurred go? Certainly the players have to play within the rules and be accountable when they cross the line. The coaches need to be able to keep their players – and themselves – under control, especially when the opposing coach knows that pushing the right buttons can turn any team from a cohesive unit to raging bulls. Even the game officials need to exert more control on the ice, laying down the law and letting everyone know who is in charge. For its part, the league itself has to take the lead in handing out harsh discipline so that all parties know if they get out of line, there will be consequences.
At the end of the day, everyone knows that rough play and fighting is what sells in the minor leagues. It has for years and will continue to do so in the future. There is however no place for teams that lose their cool and create a dangerous on-ice situation for opponents. No one deserves to have their career ended by a momentary flash of insanity – even in the heat of battle.