Old time hockey returned to Whitley Bay tonight, amidst scenes not witnessed since the old Heineken League days.
* The game was abandoned with 28:53 left in the game, when the Kestrels team walked off the ice, having started a brawl with their dirty, cheap shot tactics.
* The first fight arrived at 17:22 of the opening period, when Kestrels top line wing Robin Floyd, charged at one of the home players, then tried to challenge Whitley's Canadian Import Andre Payette to a scrap. Jordan Barnes tried to drag Floyd away to save him getting seriously hurt, but instead Floyd decided to drop his gloves with Jordan obliging him. It was like a scene from the movie 'Goon' where Ross Rhea and Doug Glatt calmly skate out to center ice before exchanging pleasantries. In the end it was light work for Barnes who dropped Floyd with minimal effort.
* But the major talking point arrived at 8:53 into the second period. It began when the Kestrel's Rudi Cairns delivered a check to the head on one of the Whitley players. This drew the usual scuffle in the corner, with Kirkcaldy's #14 Jay Duncan skating up to the group of players and sucker-punching Jordan Barnes from behind, in the back of the head. Barnes thankfully recovered from receiving that cheap shot to deal with Duncan, delivering some smart jabs to his face. As Jordan's arm was moving like a fiddler's elbow, Duncan was flopping around like a rag doll.
* The officials then broke it up and the players headed off to the penalty box. As Duncan went past Dean Holland, he speared him in the groin. An act which has broken Holland's pelvis, and saw him writhing in pain for what seemed an eternity before a stretcher was brought on to escort him to Hospital. While they were grappling Duncan kicked out with his skate causing a cut to Holland's head. It was later confirmed Holland also sustained a serious concussion.
* Whilst all that was going on Graeme Allen had a fight with Jamie Tinsley away from the main action. There were some accusations as to another skate cutting incident, which was purely accidental. Tinsley even tried to apologise and explain to the visiting team as he left the ice, but was greeted with a barrage of abuse.
* This was too much for player-coach David Longstaff to take. I can't remember him ever getting into a fight in his career before, but such was the disgraceful act by the Scottish player he had no choice. The Whitley coach fighting is akin to having Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux swinging for a goon who has just injured one of their teammates. Very rare indeed! Longstaff delivered some great punches but the Scottish coward turtled. This was reminiscent of the Darren McCarty fight with Claude Lemieux from 1997, when Dirty Claude turtled and bottled it. Lobby was telling Duncan to get up, so he could finish the punishment, but like most cowards Duncan chose to duck out.
* After a lengthy delay the officials, Emmerson and Lydall, ordered the players off the ice for an impromptu intermission. This was to try and cool tensions with a third intermission scheduled between the second and third periods.
* There were barely two minutes of on-ice action, once the players returned, before the final controversy of the evening. Kirkcaldy's youngster, Chad Smith, wearing a full face guard was skating alongside the boards, when Andre Payette delivered a perfectly fair hit which saw Smith's head hit the boards. Firstly this would never have happened had Smith actually been looking with his head up rather than stooping down at Payette's hip level. Secondly as Smith went to get up and resume play, his coach told him to stay down to get Payette into trouble. The stretcher bearers were out once again, and with that the Kestrels decided they were not going to carry on with the game.
* With the visitors down by 8 goals for the second straight night, and with half the game still to complete, it came across as being sore losers. The way the Scots went on in this game was an absolute disgrace. Duncan started 3 fights and lost them all. Then when he was finished butchering the Whitley players he cried foul.
* Quite why Jamie Tinsley ended up with the same penalty minutes as Duncan, and an ejection is anyone's guess. Duncan hospitalised one of Whitley's top players while all Tinsley did was try to stop one of his team mates getting attacked, yet that drew a third-man-in call.
* Such was the severity of the nights events, the police were called and spoke to some of the players.
Dirty Dog Jay Duncan
* Despite all the controversy an actual game of hockey (well half of one) was played. New Player-coach David Longstaff rolled out three lines.
* The 'Viper' line of Lobby, Payette and Dean Holland looked classy, with Longstaff taking up a position behind the net and picking out passes, much like Wayne Gretzky used to for Edmonton.
* The WTK line of Callum Watson, Jamie Tinsley and Shaun Kippin also looked good, combining for 3 of the 8 goals. Despite Skippy not having played hockey for 18 months, due to shoulder surgery, there were no signs of rustiness and his leadership on the ice was important. He ended the night with 2 assists.
* The 'Kid Line' of Kyle Ross, Callum Queenan & Martin Crammond were responsible for half of the evenings goals, with Queenan's shot for goal number 6 being the pick of the bunch.
* Whilst all the penalties were getting played out it meant Payette was having to double shift. Whitley had lost their top 2 centers for the remainder of the game, Tinsley to an ejection and Holland to the hospital.
Team
11 Kippin - 27 Tinsley - 6 Watson
25 Longstaff - 14 Holland - 7 Payette
13 Ross - 18 Crammond - 15 Queenan
4 Johnson
3 Stamp - 17 Barnes
12 Lawson - 38 Pye
71 Tomlinson - 8 TBC
35 Lawson - 29 Boyle
Scratches - 9 Good, 19 Maddock, 21 Cooper, 24 Harley, 64 Richards, 84 Turnbull
Goals
1-0 - EH - Tinsley asst Kippin
2-0 - EH - Crammond asst Queenan
3-0 - EH - Ross asst Queenan
4-0 - PP - Watson asst Kippin & Tinsley
5-0 - EH - Johnson
6-0 - EH - Queenan asst Stamp
7-0 - PP - Lawson asst Ross
8-0 - EH - Watson asst Stamp
Youtube footage of part of the fight
https://www.youtube.com/embed/hxOLLiGmSGQ
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