CORNER BROOK - Wally Fitzpatrick was shaken by the death of Don Sanderson, but he doesn't see fighting banned from senior hockey anytime soon.
"You're never going to take fighting out of the game," the general manager of the Corner Brook Royals told The Western Star Tuesday.
Don Sanderson died last week as a result of injuries he suffered during a fight in a senior hockey game in Ontario. The 21-year-old university student was in a coma for three weeks after hitting his head when he and his sparring partner went to the ice to conclude their tilt. His helmet had come off during the fight.
Fitzpatrick believes everybody involved with the game of senior hockey in this province was affected by Sanderson's death.
"When you see something like that happen, you wonder if it is all worth it," he said. "In that light, there is nobody going to say that is a good thing obviously, but how do you take it out of the game?"
As GM of a team with a couple of tough guys, Fitzpatrick believes fighting is steeped in the history of provincial senior hockey.
"It is has been part of it for so long and still is, although not as prevalent as it used to be," he said.
The topic of fighting has been discussed in private conversations around the league, according to Fitzpatrick, but he insists there is a difference between an enforcer and a fighter.
"An enforcer stops the fighting as such, but when the time comes, well, they are expected to hold up their end of the bargain," he said.
What really concerns Fitzpatrick is the conduct of teams who hit the ice without a bona fide enforcer in their lineup.
"It's obvious what they do ...they don't fight; they are disciplined enough that they don't fight," said Fitzpatrick, who didn't single out a team. "Is that the brand of hockey fans of Newfoundland senior hockey want to watch? I think it is becoming more and more of an issue that the fans enjoy the clean hockey, too."
The only team in the West Coast Senior Hockey League without an enforcer is the high-flying Clarenville Caribous.
Fitzpatrick said disciplined teams show their aggression in other ways, such as trying to get players off their game with tirades of trash talking. They do this because they don't expect to be taken to task, he said.
"And that could actually drive a guy nuts," he said.
While he admits fighting may be curbed or eliminated if enough punitive measures we're put in place, fighting still remains a drawing card for some fans and, ultimately, fans can make up their own minds.
In a positive light, he feels fighting at all levels of hockey, from the National Hockey League down, may be a thing of the past down the road.
"If they wait long enough, it will probably run its course and be part of history," he said.
Fighters fight fighters
Randy Pearcey, coach of the Clarenville Caribous, said the mutual respect among players appears to have been lost along the way since he played in the 1970s, where tough guys like Bob (Knobby) Lambert, Shawn Goodyear, John Lester and Doug Sheppard kept the opposition honest. Back in the day, he said, goons didn't go around beating up the skilled players; they only answered the bell when another tough guy invited them to dance.
"There was a mutual respect and I don't know if that respect is there today," said Pearcey, who hates to see fighters targeting the skilled players on the other team. "It seems to me that some people have lost that respect for one another. There's a place for fighting in the game, but let the fighters fight the fighters."
The highly-respected coach feels the league made great strides when it took steps to highlight the skill level with its crackdown on the stickwork and obstruction. He feels it's time to get back to letting the skilled players strut their stuff to guarantee a quality product for all involved in senior hockey.
Hockey is a physical game played at high speed where players are encouraged to play with emotion and passion. That is all great, but Pearcey wants the fighting left to those who play the role of enforcer on their respective teams.
His thoughts quickly turned to Tristan Manson of the Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts. Manson plays the role of enforcer with the Cataracts and Pearcey respects him for doing his job. He hopes other teams will follow suit.
"I saw Tristan Manson in situations where he could have jumped some of our skilled players and he didn't because he is a true gentleman," he said. "But I have seen other players, though, attempt to 'goon up' our skilled players. For what reason?
"What purpose is it when you get a big thug who wants to beat up on skilled players? I think that is nothing short of criminal to do that."
Langdon vs. Manson, Paul vs. Manson - that is fine by Pearcey.
"If you think that is part of entertainment then do it, but not with the skilled players," he said.
League believes in democracy
Gary Gale is the president of the West Coast Senior Hockey League.
He says he understands that emotions are running high following the death in Ontario.
"That is tragic and nobody wants to see it come to that," Gale said. "It is a concern I have and anyone involved with the game has."
Despite not receiving any complaints about fighting during his tenure, Gale said the league works as a group in deciding the future of senior hockey in this neck of the woods.
All issues of concern are brought before an executive board (with each team having two representatives on it) and they ultimately vote on all matters.
The league introduced a two-fight rule a few years back; it was in place when Gale took on the volunteer position of league president.
"At this point they have not expressed a desire to change that," he said. "Where it goes at this point in time I don't know, but certainly I wouldn't want to see anyone seriously injured or killed as a result of a fight in our league."
