Fanelli Follow Up

It's Thursday evening, I'm sitting in the Holiday Inn in North Haven, CT while the team buses its way to New England for this weekend's series with Rhode Island.

I drove up to look after some personal business, and so that I won't have to ride home on the bus after Saturday's game! I'm looking forward to Sunday, because on the trip home I'm going to visit with John Dufford, one of the original Penn State hockey players.

Killing time in Connecticut gives me the chance to update you on Ben Fanelli. If you recall, earlier this month, I blogged about the 16-year old defenseman for the Kitchener Rangers on the Ontario Hockey League.

Fanelli was seriously injured when he was slammed into the boards by Erie Otters forward Michael Liambis, who has since been suspended for the season by OHL Commissioner Dave Branch.

On Wednesday, Toronto Sun columnist Joe Warmington reported that Ben is out of the hospital and recovering from his injuries at his suburban Toronto home.

As I wrote, the hit was another example of the lack of respect shown by players at all levels. It is also an example of how players today are taught a different way to play along the boards than how we were taught when I was younger.

Well, none other than Don Cherry and former NHL goalie Kelly Hrudey have joined the chorus. "Grapes" has been preaching for changes in coaching and equipment for years, as you will see in last Saturday's "Coach's Corner" segment on Hockey Night in Canada.


By the way, the second half of the segment is Don's homage to Canadian soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan.

Hrudey, now a HNIC analyst, used an unscientific process to determine that players turn their faces to the boards as many as 600 times in a 60-minute game!

"Here’s how I came to that number. I simply replayed a game from this past week and watched around 10 minutes of action. I counted how many times in my opinion players put themselves at risk, and then multiplied that by six.

True, not the most scientific procedure, but I’m pretty sure the numbers would bear out over a full 60 minutes in most games. Again, it means 600 times that players are putting themselves in the most vulnerable position possible."

Hrudey proposes a radical idea that could curb the rate of injuries from hits along the boards:

"(W)hy don’t we consider giving minor penalties to all players that intentionally turn their back to “protect the puck” when they are within five feet of the boards?

It seems to me open ice hits are not nearly as dangerous and catastrophic as when the boards are involved."

Certainly something to think about!

Big Weekend Ahead

There's no resting on their laurels for the Icers after last weekend's sweep of Navy at Annapolis. With the Rhode Island Rams awaiting this weekend as the Icers embark on the longest road trip of the season, they'll face a team that has jumped to #7 in the latest ACHA rankings - just one spot behind Penn State.

Between the growing list of injuries and the likelihood of one game suspensions to Marek Polidor and Chris Pronchik following the donnybrook at the end of Saturday's 5-1 over the Middies, the freshmen are going to be heavily relied upon by Scott Balboni and Bill Downey.

I also caught up with Tim O'Brien before Tuesday's practice. Tim says Saturday's win over Navy was a big confidence builder for the freshmen, especially the defense.

Damn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead!

I don't know if Navy goalie Eric Anderson was channeling Admiral Farragut in the bizarre final seconds of Saturday night's 5-1 Icers victory, but it sure looked that way from my spot at the other end of the ice.

Mr. Anderson had faced a barrage of 60 shots, and with Marek Polidor bearing down on him on a breakaway, Anderson gave up any pretense of being a goalie, went to flank speed, and rammed headlong into the onrushing Icers forward.

The ensuing donnybrook involved everyone on the ice except Anderson, who had executed a perfect hit-and-run attack, as well as Penn State freshman goalie Dan Ivanir (more on him in a moment).

Fortunately, cooler heads quickly prevailed. The teams shook hands and lined up for the Navy alma mater, but the controversy continued as the officiating crew retreated to their locker room and sorted out the punishment.

Polidor and Chris Pronchik were slapped with game disqualifications, which didn't sit well with Scott Balboni. It remains to be seen if the pair will be eligible for Friday's game at Rhode Island.

Now to the positives on the night. Pronchik scored the team's first shorthanded goal of the year in the 1st period and added an even strength goal in the 2nd (the eventual game winner). Polidor, Nick Seravalli and George Saad chipped in with 3rd period goals that gave the Icers a 5-0 lead.

With Dan Petrick out with a sprained shoulder (and joining me to add his excellent analysis on the webcast), the Icers were down to 5 defensemen - 4 of them freshmen!

Steve Thurston and Rich O'Brien logged a ton o' ice time, while Mac Winchester, Dan Loucks and Brian Dolan helped to build a seawall in front of Dan Ivanir, keeping the Middies at bay through most of the night.

Ivanir, nicknamed "Muffin" by his mates, came up 3:05 short of recording a shutout in his first game as an Icer when Mitch Pulver slid a loose puck past Dan to ruin the bid.

Dan's parents were on hand to watch him play. Michael Ivanir had camera in hand and captured some great shots of his son.

Today, he sent me a video montage set to music. I've taken the liberty of adding some comments and my post-game interview with Dan.

Here's a link to Mr. Ivanir's gallery of photos from a number of Icers' games. Great work, Michael, and thanks for the outstanding video!

Lackluster Win

It was ugly, but the Icers found a way to win on Friday night, topping a pesky Navy team 6-4 at the McMullen Arena at the Brigade Sports Complex in Annapolis.

It was a game that should not have been in doubt, with the Icers outshooting the Midshipmen 48-22. As expected, Navy played a solid 60 minutes, while the Icers left the best aspects of their game on the bus.

The injury list continues to grow. John Conte did not make the trip, adding another veteran to the walking wounded. That meant a lot of freshmen getting a chance to show what they bring to the team.

Tim O'Brien told me at the end of the first period that there were no excuses for the poor effort, which continued through a full 60 minutes. Head coach Scott Balboni said in his post-game interview that he was not impressed.

Penn State led 2-1 after 1, then the teams traded goals in the 2nd period, with Dan Loucks' power play goal at 16:30 giving the Icers a 5-3 lead after 40 minutes.

Navy got back to within a goal when Tom Fick scored at 3:56 of the third. Paul Daley put the game away with a rare empty-net power play goal with 44 seconds left in regulation.

Steve Thurston scored twice, garnering first star recognition, while Daley's goal and 2 assists got him 2nd star honors. Navy goalie Jameson Marshall stopped 42 Penn State shots and was named 3rd star.

The Icers will need to come up with a better effort throughout the lineup for Saturday's rematch. Game time from Annapolis is 7:30.

120 Minutes

If you've heard me interview Scott Balboni, you know that the coaches have been looking for a complete 120 minutes of hockey on any given weekend.

The Icers came close last weekend, with two convincing wins over West Virginia. They'll need 120 minutes of solid hockey this weekend when they resume ESCHL conference play against Navy.

It is a given that service academy teams may not get the best athletes in any sport, but it is also a given that those service academy teams will battle you until the bitter end.

That is certainly the case with the Midshipmen hockey team. It doesn't matter what the score, the Middies keep coming until the final buzzer. We've seen that year in and year out, and I have the utmost respect for Coach Fox and the job he does with his men.

The dedication of the Navy teams the Icers have faced over the past few years speaks volumes to the quality of the men that some day could put themselves in harm's way to defend this country. We salute them for their service, as we do all the men and women who serve this country and other freedom-loving nations.

It's going to be fun for me being back at the Brigade Sports Complex. I'll be calling the games from ice level, which offers some challenges, but sure gets me up close and personal to the action.

The coaches ramped up the intensity at today's practice. I caught up with Assistant Coach Bill Downey after practice.

Respect

Is the word unknown to today's hockey players, from the NHL to the youngest youth leagues?

I don't know, but look at this video and ask yourself the question. 16-year old Ben Fanelli of the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers remains in serious condition after being plastered into the end boards on a hit by the Erie Otters' Michael Liambis.




Was it a head shot? Not from the view in the video. Did Liambis leave his feet? No. Was it a vicious, illegal hit? Not by the rule of law in the rulebook.

Back in my day, and not all that long ago, that was called "finishing your check." Unfortunately, all too often today finishing a check involves drilling an opponent who has his head down.

Doesn't matter if it's against the boards or in open ice, there have been too many incidents (head hunting or not) that have left careers and lives in tatters.

Ben Fanelli's future as a hockey player is in doubt, and the hit has also left Michael Liambis a shattered young man.

As Steve Simmons wrote in today's Toronto Sun, "(s)ince the incident, Liambis has hardly stopped crying and he's not alone."

Simmons asks questions that have been asked for years - questions that hockey execs at many levels don't seem to want to answer:

That is the fine line, the indiscernible line between legal and illegal, proper and improper. Where does it start and where is it crossed ?

From this viewpoint, there's three reasons, in no order of importance, for the increased number of dangerous hits in hockey:

1) RESPECT - Do young players, whether they're in Major Junior or peewee, see their heroes in the NHL smoke someone and say, "Hey, I need to do that" or is it just a case of not thinking about what could happen when I drill a defenseless opponent?

Most youth organizations have added STOP signs to the backs of sweaters, which is helping cut down on the hits from behind, but we see it all the time in the ACHA and other levels of hockey.

Even with the speed of today's game, players should take a second and think before lowering the boom.

2) COACHING - Do today's coaches, especially at the youth level, teach their players to keep their head on a swivel? I'm sure they do, but I don't believe that they stress it as much as coaches did back in my day.

I've said this a number of times -- we were taught to not turn your back on an opponent when you're close to the boards. Back in the day, we were taught to turn a shoulder into the boards (and keep your head on a swivel). Going back to teaching and playing that way would lessen the number of dangerous hits from behind.

3) EQUIPMENT - There is no doubt that today's equipment contributes to the soaring number of head injuries in the game. Don Cherry has been arguing the point for years on Hockey Night in Canada, and he's absolutely right.

The shoulder pads worn by today's players are not much different than those worn by NFL players, and the elbow pads might as well be made from steel.

There's so much hard plastic worn by today's players that even the strongest helmet strapped tightly on a kid's head can offer enough protection. As you can see, Ben Fanelli's helmet came off during the hit, leading one to wonder if his chin strap wasn't as tight as it could/should have been.

Here's Grapes venting on a Coach's Corner segment from the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals -- you'll find it about half-way through the video.

No Halloween Tricks

The Icers delivered a treat for their fans on All Hallows Eve, skating to a convincing 8-2 win over West Virginia on Saturday afternoon. With the weekend sweep of the Mountaineers, the Icers record improves to 8-1-1 with a pair of conference road trips coming up.

Once again, the scoring was spread throughout the roster, with 7 different scorers. Eric Steinour led the way with 2 goals, while Dan Loucks notched his first as an Icer.

Chris Cerutti, Marek Polidor, Tim O'Brien, Chris Pronchik and Kurt Collins all added singles.

Unfortunately, the injury list grew by two, with Collins and Nick Seravalli both leaving with undisclosed injuries.

Speaking of leaving early, Steve Thurston must have wanted an early shower, picking up a questionable minor at 6:51 of the 3rd, before getting slapped with a 10 minute misconduct by referee Scott Palmento.

The 12 minutes sent Steve over the 150 minute mark for his career, a day after John Conte reached the dubious milestone.

Hold on a sec....12 minutes in penalties? "Sweet Lou" should have served his time in the box! Guess that's why he was chuckling with the linesman as he left the ice!

Now, through the magic of digital editing, here's my interviews with the 3 stars. Not bad for a first effort by Barb with the camera and the camera shy guys in various stages of dress undress!