Monday, November 15, 1999
LOCAL HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Brawl (mars) enlivens game
BY JOHN P. WISE
Enquirer contributor
Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis may have been the pay-per-view hit of the weekend, but the best fight nobody heard about took place Saturday night at Firstar Center.
The Cyclones, the least penalized team in the first month of the IHL season, battled with the Orlando Solar Bears for the third straight night Saturday. The teams proved that three games in three days against the same foe is a good way to produce some personal rivalries.
Fighting and roughing penalties dotted the post-game score sheet, and that was just after two periods Saturday. But what took place at the conclusion of Saturday's 7-3 Orlando win may have been serious enough for the league to get involved.
With 6.6 seconds left to play, a brawl ensued between the blue lines. Sticks and gloves were all over the ice, not to mention hockey players posing as prizefighters. Even Cyclones goalie Mark Fitzpatrick skated to center ice to throw a couple punches. In all, 99 penalty minutes were assessed to those participants, prompting the officials to call the game.
“Three games in three days against the same team this early in the season is a little tough,” said Cyclone Shane Willis, who looked ahead to Tuesday's fourth game in six days between the teams. “It feels like the playoffs. There should be some bad blood out there Tuesday.” The teams play twice more in early December.
IN THE BIGS: This year's AHL media guide features a cover photo of Rochester goalie Martin Biron, who was called up to NHL parent Buffalo last month. Biron has performed admirably in the absence of injured star goaltender Dominik Hasek. He has compiled a 6-2-0 record for the Sabres, who are 7-9-0-2 and in fourth place in the Eastern Conference's Northeast Division.
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