Zur Vorgeschichte:
Die Portland Pirates haben Darcy Verot unter Vertrag genommen, den Public Enemy No. 1 in Portland, weil er durch unfaire Einsätze 2 Leuten Gehirnerschütterungen zugefügt hat. Mad Mel konnte das natürlich nicht auf sich beruhen lassen, nur weil Verot jetzt sein Team-Kollege ist...
Echt lesenswert der Artikel !!! 
Capitals' camp turns ugly
By JENN MENENDEZ, Portland Press Herald Writer
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
E-mail this story to a friend
ODENTON, Md. — The fight that was bound to happen finally did Saturday afternoon. In blazing Technicolor. Portland Pirates enforcer Mel Angelstad took on Darcy Verot in a three-round, old-school battle during a scrimmage at Piney Orchard Arena, far eclipsing the intensity of fisticuffs at any recent Washington Capitals training camp.
It ended in blood and stitches, with Pirates Coach Tim Army running onto the ice in his sneakers to physically remove Angelstad before things turned from ugly to scary.
The question is, has it really ended?
"I felt that was something I had to do," said Angelstad, a red line of 10 stitches flanking the left side of his nose. "He's got to earn my respect. It's going to take a while. . . . Someone had to stand up and do something. I usually put those things on my shoulders."
The root of the tension between the Pirates and Verot dates back to Dec. 26 of last season, when Verot was the scrappy instigator for the Saint John Flames. A hit by Verot knocked Saco native Matt Libby unconscious for more than a minute and rendered Verot public enemy No. 1 in Portland - to fans and the Pirates players. Verot was suspended for the hit.
A day later, Verot hit Nate Forster cleanly, causing a concussion. It was Forster's ninth concussion, and he hasn't played since.
Verot was signed by the parent Washington Capitals two weeks ago. He tangled with Dwayne Zinger on Day 1 of training camp, foreshadowing what was to come.
Angelstad, whose loyalty to teammates is marked by scars and crooked features on his face, was bound to be the one to step up.
Angelstad and Verot crossed paths in the first scrimmage Saturday. Angelstad approached Verot, yelling to drop the gloves. Verot didn't answer, but got in from behind Angelstad and landed a glove on his face, breaking the skin. The two skated around attached together, but neither got many punches in. Angelstad, bleeding from the punch, was taken off the ice.
Only a few minutes passed before Angelstad came back onto the ice, looking to resume the battle. He dropped his gloves, and this time Verot hit him with a cross-check to the face that set off the bleeding again.
"I threw the gloves and he punched me in the face when I was talking to him. That's who he is. That's the type of player he is," 
said Angelstad. "After that he cross-checked me in the face the second time."
So when Angelstad returned to the ice for a third time, he went straight after Verot and speared him in the face. Verot was not hurt.
As Angelstad chased Verot, cries from the bench to stop resonated through the rink. (HAHA ! )
"I figured, well that's two sucker shots to the face, so I might as well do something. So I came back and held on to my stick, too," said Angelstad.
Verot, polite and mild-mannered off the ice, said he expected something to happen.
"Yeah. I guess. If people have to come to camp and have some sort of closure, it's just part of the game," said Verot. "We were both playing hard. Things like that come out of playing hard."
Verot said he introduced himself to Libby already and will go about his business and hopes to mesh in the dressing room as time goes by.
"I've always tried to be a player who plays on the edge a little bit. I know the fans and players thought it was a cheap hit on Libby," said Verot. "From my end of things, my coach actually protested the suspension. He thought it was a good hit. It was never my intention to hurt him. I just try to play hard. Unfortunately something bad came out of that moment."
Army said he plans to sit down together with Verot and Angelstad, either this afternoon or Monday.
"It was an incident certainly you don't want to see," said Army. "Maybe 20, 25 years ago things like that would happen in a training-camp environment. But you don't see those kinds of hostilities in this environment anymore. You're talking about two players who do play very intense. They are both very physical by nature."
Army said he does not believe the organization underestimated the tension between the Pirates and Verot.
"There's certainly a history. You can't lie and say there's not a history," said Army. "It's not something that's underestimated. We're going to take care of it. That's going to be my job from this moment on. To get our guys thinking that we have to mesh well together to be successful.
"What Mel brings to the table, what Darcy brings to the table will make us a much better hockey club. What we need to do is channel their aggression positively."
NOTE: Former University of Maine standout Scott Pellerin was invited to camp on a tryout. Should he not make the Capitals' roster he could end up in Portland.
If you can't beat em, at least beat'em up !
Norrie/Rich/Tasker/Verbeek/Lakos - Toledo Storm Fighting Brigade 2001"We are team tough, and that includes our fans."- Toledo Storm GM Pat Pylypuik"Toledo is nothing but a bunch of goons who would even mug the pope if he had skates on !" - Ein Dayton Bombers Fan
Sie sind vermutlich noch nicht im Forum angemeldet - Klicken Sie hier um sich kostenlos anzumelden
Offline
Helden leben lange, Legenden sterben nie. 
Der ganze Knorz ist erst so eskaliert, weil Mel gegen Verot 1:1 den Fight gesucht hat, dieser abgelehnt hat und als Mel sich umgedreht hatte, Verot nen Suckerpunch gelandet hat, was für ihn typisch ist. 
