Boy, that escalated quickly. The Grand Rapids Griffins beat the Rockford Ice Hogs 11-6 last night, which set the franchise record for most goals scored in a game. This was nothing compared to the unbelievable bench-clearing brawl that occurred during the second period.
The Grand Rapids Griffins are the Detroit Red Wings minor-league affiliate, and the Rockford Ice Hogs are the Chicago Blackhawks minor-league affiliate. It appears as though the NHL rivalry momentarily spilled over into the AHL.
This brawl was sparked when Griffins forward Riley Sheahan and Rockford forward Kyle Beach squared off at center ice. Prior to their fight, the last five penalties had been called against Rockford, and the score was 6-3 in favor of Grand Rapids; needless to say the Ice Hogs were frustrated. Before you knew it, everyone else on the ice had squared off, and then Rockford’s goalie Carter Hutton went flying down the ice to take on Griffins goalie Petr Mrazek.
The Griffins players then spilled off their bench, and soon the Ice Hogs followed, and everyone began pairing off to fight during this absolute mayhem. When it was all said and done, 13 players were given game misconducts and thrown out (8 for Rockford, 5 for Grand Rapids). Both teams, particularly Rockford, were extremely shorthanded for the rest of the game, because this took place in the 2nd period.
The penalty side of the scoresheet was very full to say the least.
Gleason Fournier Gr (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 11:58;
Brian Lashoff Gr (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 11:58;
Petr Mrazek Gr (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 11:58;
Francis Pare Gr (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 11:58;
Riley Sheahan Gr (fighting), 11:58;
Tomas Tatar Gr (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 11:58;
Kyle Beach Rfd (instigating, fighting, misconduct – instigating, game misconduct – aggressor), 11:58;
Wade Brookbank Rfd (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 11:58; Adam Clendening Rfd (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 11:58;
Rob Flick Rfd (game misconduct – leaving the bench), 11:58;
Carter Hutton Rfd (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 11:58;
Shawn Lalonde Rfd (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 11:58;
Kenndal McArdle Rfd (game misconduct – third man in), 11:58;
Philippe Paradis Rfd (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 11:58
It’s not often you get to see something like this, but if you love hockey fights, then this is an absolutely must-see.