Re: The Career of Bryan Hurst (NHL 09: Be A Pro)
awww
awww
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Re: The Career of Bryan Hurst (NHL 09: Be A Pro)
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Re: The Career of Bryan Hurst (NHL 09: Be A Pro)
Good updates, congrats on the 1st pro goal....Comment
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Re: The Career of Bryan Hurst (NHL 09: Be A Pro)
Game Two: Rockford at Quad City
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Re: The Career of Bryan Hurst (NHL 09: Be A Pro)
Oct. 11, 2008
I laughed when I was first warned about his temper but I wasn't laughing when the nuclear bomb that is Bill Peters exploded in our dressing room in the first intermission.
Some players had told me Peters temper is legendary in hockey but I've had plenty of coaches with short fuses. They usually don't go too far in hockey circles or last too long because players simply don't respect coaches who are all fire and brimstone. It's why a smart coach like Mike Keenan has coached more teams than I can count.
When goalie Wade Flaherty told me Peters can be a bit of a head case -- yelling one second at the top of his lungs and complementing you the next like you're the second coming of Wayne Gretzky -- I thought Flaherty was joking, just trying to scare me, a rookie.
I was dead wrong.
We went into the first intermission down 2-0 to Quad Cities. We were sitting there on the benches with our heads down because we truly played bad in the first period.
Peters waits for everyone to sit down and the room is pretty quiet because we know we were terrible.
"I would like to know how that guy is wide open in front of the net for the tap in on the second goal," Peters starts.
"Uh oh," Flaherty quietly mutters, sitting next to me.
Peters runs over to the two defensemen on the play and gets an inch from their faces.
"Did you not see him? Are you blind? Do I have blind defensemen on this team? Should I send you guys out on the ice with dogs? Maybe the dogs can bark and warn you idiots when there are players on the doorstep of the crease. Maybe one bark for open in front of the crease, two barks for open in the slot. We're going to need a very loud dog. DOES ANYONE KNOW ANY LOUD DOGS FOR MY BLIND DEFENSEMEN?"
Peters was uncontrollable, yelling at the defensemen for the full 15-minute intermission, completely tearing them apart. It was ludicrous. It's only the second game.
Naturally, the first thing that happens in the second period is I get a stupid cross checking penalty out of frustration. I was scared to go back to the bench.
Quad City took a 3-0 lead but then we got our legs and by the third had tied it 3-3.
We lost in shootout but after the start we'll take the point. I had our only goal of the shootout.
We go back in the dressing room after the game and Peters is now smiling.
"Great comeback, guys. I'm really proud of the heart you showed out there coming back from that 3-0 hole. Great work."
Wow. Peters might be bipolar.
I hope it's not going to be like this every night.Comment
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Re: The Career of Bryan Hurst (NHL 09: Be A Pro)
niceComment
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Re: The Career of Bryan Hurst (NHL 09: Be A Pro)
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Re: The Career of Bryan Hurst (NHL 09: Be A Pro)
Game 3: Iowa at Rockford (1-0-1)
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Re: The Career of Bryan Hurst (NHL 09: Be A Pro)
tough loss nice fightComment
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Re: The Career of Bryan Hurst (NHL 09: Be A Pro)
Oct. 12, 2008
Yeah, I lost my cool. Yeah, it was pretty stupid. But these jokes will get on my nerves quickly.
By now you saw that I got in my first fight. I won my fight with Iowa’s Darryl Bootland with just two punches but it’s not something I’m really proud of. There’s no way I’m going to make the NHL by fighting. The only chance I have of ever making the NHL is as a playmaker and you can’t make plays from the penalty box.
Here’s a dirty secret that fighters never tell you: A fight can be so exhausting you’re pretty much done for the period. Imagine if you went to a mixed martial arts fight, watched the guys wrestle for a minute and then told them to go play hockey. You think they’re going to have much energy left to skate up and down the ice? Good luck with that.
You think a mixed martial arts fight is tough. Give me a break. I’ve heard of guys in hockey fights biting other guys on the ice and players trying to gouge out other players eyes. Try tapping out and see if the linesmen break it up. Some of them refuse to get involved until the punches stop.
There’s no danger in mixed martial arts of a guy damaging a finger or two swinging against someone’s rock hard equipment. I’ve seen some guys mangle their hands punching helmets.
But a good fight can rally a team and give players more space on the ice through intimidation.
Unfortunately, my fight was not a good one.
You see you’re not suppose to get in a fight when you have the puck in a scoring position in the offensive zone. That’s just stupid and that’s exactly what I did.
I was just frustrated because I was on the ice for the first two goals by Iowa and I haven’t had much in the way of scoring chances.
So when Bootland called me on when I had the puck near the top of the circle, I just dropped the gloves.
Our coach Bill Peters was mystified by that decision.
“Hurst, you know it was a tie game, right? You know if we score there we probably win. I love the passion, but you have to pick your spots.”
Goaltender Wade Flaherty wasn’t as kind.
“I’ve been in hockey since dinosaurs roamed the Earth, but I’ve never seen a player drop the gloves with a scoring opportunity,” said Flaherty. “You’re one of a kind, Hurst”
“I hate to see what would happen if you get a breakaway. Are you going to drop them and fight the goalie?”
Guys started laughing when they heard that one.
Lesson learned.Comment
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Re: The Career of Bryan Hurst (NHL 09: Be A Pro)
lolComment
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