Noch was zum Thema:
Selanne blasts officials after late hit
TSN.ca Staff
10/13/2003
The Colorado Avalanche are steaming in the wake of an ugly incident during their 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues in Denver Sunday night.
Winger Paul Kariya was cross-checked hard in the back by Blues defenceman Chris Pronger after scoring Colorado's lone goal of the game. The hit luanched Kariya to the ice, where he stayed for a while before shaking off the hit.
It was very similar to the 1998 incident in which Kariya was drilled in similar fashion by Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Gary Suter. Kariya suffered a severe concussion, missed the final 20 games of the season and the Nagano Olympics.
Kariya escaped serious injury this time and, surprisingly, did not seem to be upset about Pronger's indiscretion.
"You never expect to be hit after you score, but that's part of the game," he told the Rocky Mountain News. "It was a little whiplash. That's just Chris being Chris."
Pronger, who is 8 inches taller and about 40 pounds heavier than Kariya, described the hit as "complimentary."
"I was just mad," he said.
So were Kariya's teammates. Defenceman Rob Blake went after Pronger and was assessed a roughing penalty that negated a potentially important Colorado powerplay, as Pronger was assessed with a minor for the cross-check.
After the game, Kariya's linemate Teemu Selanne had harsh words for the game officials.
"Why do we have stars in the league if you can't protect them on the ice?" Selanne wondered. "If he hit Paul really good in the head, he would be out three months. Is that what the league wants?
"Unbelievable. I'm not talking about Pronger. I'm talking about the referees. They have a job to do, and if they can't do it, that's embarrassing in this league. I know they try their best, but I know they can do better, too."
Selanne and the Avalanche might fare better on the protection front when Colorado enforcer Peter Worrell returns to active duty. He is out indefinitely with a knee injury.
tsn
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FLENNLÄPSCHE
In Antwort auf:
"Why do we have stars in the league if you can't protect them on the ice?" Selanne wondered.
Tja, Selanne, warum wohl. Dafür sollte es andere Leute geben...
In Antwort auf:
"I was just mad," he said.
Pronger herrscht.
"Und das Wort Terrorist lässt sich noch flexibler verwenden als das Wort Kommunist."Susan Sontag