I’ll give Michael Eyssimont one thing: he didn’t throw punches. He followed “the code” and gave Arber Xhekaj a chance. When he didn’t fight back he didn’t throw. It turned a fighting major and instigator penalty into a double minor for roughing for Eyssimont, but unfortunately it also ended up as a roughing minor for Xhekaj. How Xhekaj got any penalty here for doing nothing and getting jumped over it is the real crime.
@Winnipeg Jets
6 Comments
Stammer should get a suspension for that hit 😂
My thoughts on this in two steps:
1) It's a team sport. Hence, team-building activities, at least theoretically, should make for better teams. Showing a willingness, as a team, to defend each other no matter the circumstances, should then make for better teams. Hence, I'd be much more pleased with a teammate going after a player that didn't do anything than I would be with a teammate who didn't go after someone who did do something.
2) If the best defense of the instigator is to keep players from attacking innocent opponents, then why is it almost always called in situations where a guilty opponent was attacked? Seems like a failed rule in practice if that's the thought process.
I do agree with defending your team. However., this was just plain dumb behaviour, as there was absolutely nothing to defend here. It was a ridiculously dumb play…and the player should be penalized accordingly.
Mikey eyssimont is god, end of story. Xekaj is lucky he didn't beat that ass 🤣
You are right. IMO nowadays many guys fight for the recognition in the locker room, to impress the fans or simply for their ego… not to right something that is wrong.
A clean solid hit is legal and shouldn't suffer from illegal retaliation. Just take his number and wait for an opportunity for a solid clean hit vs him.
I ref both u15/u18 minor hockey and adult beer league. The latter are by far the worst when it comes to "getting it wrong". Lesser skilled adults generally get stuck puck watching … which means they don't have good awareness of the play around them. Then when something happens, they jump to conclusions. Refs can help defuse things a bit by explaining what actually happened after the play.