Red Wings-Avalanche brawl 1997
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The Red Wings-Avalanche brawl of 1997 was a large scale on-ice melee that occurred March 26, 1997, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, between two National Hockey League rivals, the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche. The brawl stemmed from a previous on-ice incident between the two teams during the 1996 Western Conference Finals, perceived by the Red Wings to be a dirty hit.
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[edit] Previous incident
In Game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference Finals, Avalanche right wing Claude Lemieux had cross-checked Red Wings center Kris Draper from behind, sending him out of the game and into the hospital with a broken jaw, cheek and orbital bone, which required surgery and numerous stitches. The Avalanche would go on to defeat the Red Wings in 6 games, eventually winning the Stanley Cup.
[edit] The brawl
In the next regular season, although the two teams had played each other three times without incident, this fourth meeting on the night of March 26 was different. As tensions mounted early in the first period with incidents involving Kirk Maltby, Rene Corbet, Brent Severyn, and Jamie Pushor, a melee ensued at the 18:22 mark. Shortly after a collision between Red Wings center Igor Larionov and Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg, Wings enforcer Darren McCarty seized the chance to avenge his Grind Line teammate by escaping a referee's grasp and surprising Lemieux. McCarty laid many blows on Lemieux, who fell to the ice and covered his head (labelled "turtling" by the hockey media); McCarty managed to land a few more punches before the two were separated by officials.
Other players became engaged in the hostilities when Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy skated out of his net to defend his teammate, and was intercepted by Wings forward Brendan Shanahan, who was skating at full speed, with an open ice body check. While Shanahan and Colorado defenseman Adam Foote fought, Wings goalie Mike Vernon went out to meet Roy. Vernon – despite giving almost half a foot and fifteen pounds to Roy – managed to handle Roy, sending him to the bench with a bloodied face, while remaining virtually unscathed himself. The fight between Larionov and Forsberg ended with Forsberg receiving a similar -- albeit more pronounced -- injury. Forsberg did not return to the ice, sitting out the remainder of the game.
After several more fights with according penalties, including a fight between Shanahan and Foote 4 seconds into the second period, the game continued. When the third period ended, the score was tied 5-5. Ironically, McCarty scored the winner against Roy in overtime, on an assist from Shanahan and Larionov.
[edit] Aftermath
Mike Vernon, who won his 300th career game, believed the brawl-filled game "brought the Red Wings together" in time for the playoffs. [1] Colorado head coach Marc Crawford (now head coach of the Los Angeles Kings), meanwhile, wondered why McCarty did not receive a game misconduct for his largely one-sided instigation and subsequent fight with Lemieux (McCarty received a double-roughing minor for that incident, and also received a fighting major later in the game). Subsequently, Avs right winger Mike Keane criticized Draper for having McCarty fight on his behalf. [2]
The Red Wings went on to win the first of two consecutive Stanley Cups.
The next year on April 2, 1998, Joe Louis Arena was the site of another Avs-Wings brawl. This time Patrick Roy challenged and then squared off with Chris Osgood at center ice. The referees called more severe penalties this time, as Roy and Osgood both received minor, major, misconduct, and game misconduct penalties. The two teams combined for 46 penalties totalling 228 minutes [3]. The Wings ultimately won the game 2-0, and would go on to win the second of their consecutive Stanley Cups.
The game and brawl is considered a defining moment in modern Red Wings history. However, as players began to leave each team through free agency, trades, or retirements, the rivalry began to die down. The Avalanche, who lost in the playoffs to Detroit that year, were ultimately able to look past the incident. Their success continued with a Stanley Cup victory in 2001.
In 2002 late in the season a game between the Red Wings and Avalanche broke into a brawl (albeit much smaller then the previous two) after Patrick Roy was run and Red Wing agitator Sean Avery started to fight the nearest Avalanche player. The brawl continued when Dominik Hasek of the Red Wings skated down the ice to confront Roy but tripped on a discarded stick. The brawl ended a few minutes afterward.
[edit] Other incidents in Detroit Sports
- July 12, 1979 - MLB - In a promotion called Disco Demolition Night, conceived by DJ Steve Dahl saw the throwing of disco records onto the field at Comiskey Park in Chicago during a doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. As a result, the second game -- originally postponed, was later declared a forfeit victory in favor of the Tigers due to the hundreds of fans storming the field. 6 people were injured and 93 others were arrested for disorderly conduct.
- November 19, 2004 - NBA - A brawl broke out between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills. It all began with 45.9 seconds remaining in the game as Pistons forward-center Ben Wallace (now of the Chicago Bulls) drove to the basket when he was fouled by Pacers forward Ron Artest (now of the Sacramento Kings) fouled him. Upset about the foul, Wallace retaliated by shoving Artest, then players from both teams came together. All originally seemed calm between both teams until a fan, John Green threw a cup at Artest, dousing him with (what may appear to be) beer or soda with ice. Artest mistakenly attacked Doug Overturf -- who he originally thought was the man that threw the cup. Two of Artest's then-teammates Stephen Jackson and David Harrison also charged to the stands punching fans while other fans continued throwing beer and soda at them. Near the end, another fan, A.J. Shackleford got onto the floor and began fighting Artest -- at around the same time, another one of Artest's former teammates, Jermaine O'Neal punched another fan, later identified as Charlie Haddad. The game was called due to the overwhelming involvement of the fans and, even as they were heading to the locker room Artest, O'Neil, and some of the other Pacers players were still being pelted with soda, beer and even popcorn. During the height of the brawl, a chair was also thrown by yet another fan, Bryant Jackson, and barely missed O'Neil. When the brawl ended, nine people were injured with two of them being hospitalized for their injuries. In addition, the players involved were handed suspensions, including Artest who was suspended for the remainder of that season and throughout the playoffs. Recently, on March 30, 2006, Green was found guilty of assault and battery and was sentenced to 30 days in jail and was ordered to serve two years probation. Days after the brawl, Artest filed a restraining order against Green. Not only that, but Green is also banned from future Pistons games.
