KFDM COOP Posted November 9, 2006 Report Posted November 9, 2006 In hockey, fighting is an apropros part of the game BEAUMONT - Texas Wildcatters forward Casey Lee used the most direct way for a hockey player to send a message 59 seconds into the team's first home game, nearly two weeks ago. Lee, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound 21-year-old, did it in the form of a punch to the face of Pensacola Ice Pilots forward Dan Sullivan - an inch taller and 35 pounds heavier than the Wildcatters' rookie. Both players had flipped off helmets, thrown down gloves and circled each other with fists raised to about eye level. The players scuffled for less than a minute, and both landed quality blows to the head, stomach and sides. Once they were done, each was escorted by a game official to the penalty box, where they sat as five minutes ticked off the clock. "I wanted them to know that we're the Texas Wildcatters and we're not going to be intimidated by anybody," said Lee, recruited to the Wildcatters after playing five seasons of junior hockey in Canada. Most hockey teams have a "tough guy," someone who is not afraid to exchange blows with someone on the other team. Wildcatters coach Malcolm Cameron said not all teams have players who are expected to mix it up, "but certainly the successful ones have a guy like that," he said. Lee was involved in another scuffle Saturday against the Gwinnett Gladiators, the team Texas will face in a pair of games Friday and Saturday at Ford Arena. "Usually when we fight, there's a reason for it," said Lee, whose fight Saturday was against Jon Awe. Fighting in hockey might be similar to a baseball pitcher drilling a batter in the ribs or a strong safety telling a wide receiver to think twice about coming across the middle of a football field in the form of a punishing hit. Actions such as those might be frowned upon by some as barbaric or uncivilized. To players, fighting, inside pitches and hard hits are ways by which justice and order are kept on the playing surface. "It's part of the game," Wildcatters forward Kevin Baker said. "It's strategic. Sometimes it's used to gain momentum. If a team's really hounding you in your end and you can't get anything going, (a fight) kind of breaks it up and stops them." Fighting players drop their gloves and circle each other. Once they get locked up with each other, each will often try to pull the other player's sweater over his head to get in a final round of shots. Referees usually never interfere with a fight until one player has fallen. Lee said he didn't necessarily seek out Sullivan within the first minute of that game Oct. 28, but Lee said he had determined beforehand that he wouldn't back down from the fifth-year professional. On the stat sheet, penalty minutes read as PIM, as in "penalties in minutes." Lee said he read Sullivan's statistics before the game. "I saw his stats from last year and that he had over 200 PIMs or whatever," said Lee, who saw teammate Riley Emmerson fight Sullivan one night earlier during a game in Pensacola. "In the game before, in Pensacola, I thought (Sullivan) was kind of trying to intimidate us." Cameron said he was impressed that Lee - a rookie - stood up to Sullivan, who Cameron regarded "as tough guy in our league for the last four years." Sullivan was one of 18 players to register 200 or more penalty minutes last season. He had 203 and is on pace to surpass that by a wide margin. Sullivan has 41 penalty minutes - fourth most in the league - through nine games, which puts him on pace for 328. The league-leading total last season was 344, set by Utah's Brad Herauf. The record is 512, set by Rob McCaig of Louisiana in the 1995-96 season. Lee has 20 penalty minutes, which is not enough to register among the top 50 in the league, and he is not the team's only fighter. Jason Beeman had the team's first fight this season when he exchanged a few blows Oct. 21 with Florida's Bill Kinkel. Emmerson strikes an imposing presence at 6-foot-8 and 248 pounds. He fought Pensacola's Mario Joly two seconds after Lee fought Sullivan. The two fights brought many in the crowd at Ford Arena to their feet as they cheered. "You're trying to get your home team and your home crowd into the game and as loud as it can, and (fighting is) a good way to do it," Baker said. "It gets the team up and gets them going and gets them ready for the game." Intimidators Seven games into the season, three players have stood out as those to watch for if you're looking to see a fight. Here is a list of those players and a summary about what Wildcatters coach Malcolm Cameron said about them: Casey Lee 6-foot-1, 190 pounds Mixed it up during the team's home opener Oct. 28 and with Gwinnett's Jon Awe in the second period Saturday. What the coach says: "Casey is exactly what I knew he'd be. He's got great hands for a big guy. He can scrap, he can hit. He's going to have a great season." Riley Emmerson 6-foot-8, 248 pounds Fought twice Oct. 27 at Pensacola and once more the next night, during the team's home opener. What the coach says: "Riley is the type of guy who doesn't put cheap shots against the type of player who doesn't battle back against him. He's an honest player. He'll fight the guys that are his size. We won't go out there and pick on little guys." Jason Beeman 5-foot-11, 213 pounds Got into a fight with Florida's Bill Kinkel, who played the last two seasons with the Houston Aeros, in the season-opening two-game series against the Everblades. What the coach says: "He's going to have a lot of (fights) this year because he's a real aggravating player to play against. That's why I brought him here. He hits everything that moves. He's a trash-talker. ... He's kinetic energy out there on the ice."
hockeyfan Posted November 9, 2006 Report Posted November 9, 2006 That's our Casey! There are some good photos of the fight right This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up .
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