Earlier this week I had the opportunity to talk to Marcus Carroll (8) and I totally bombed it. Marcus was so open, relaxed, classy, funny, and sweet that he actually managed to render me speechless. Those who know me and were with us at the time couldn't believe that I...the 1pen... capable of charming prime ministers and dictators into lunch (true stories, btw, I really have)...simply blanked. But I did. It's the truth.
Marcus Carroll silenced the 1pen with his genuine kindness. I've said it before, but I'll say it again - the Utah Grizzlies are the classiest group of hockey players you could ever hope for. They may lead the league in penalty minutes on the ice, but that should never be confused with their character off of it. Frequently seen mouthing off (though not at the level of the infamous talker Simon Ferguson) and no stranger to the penalty box, one might think twice about trading words with Marcus Carroll off of the ice, and yet, I can assure you...Marcus is nicest-dude-ever.
As bewildered by my silence as I was, Marcus went ahead and doodled on my jersey. He did his best to work through my blank and offered up little tidbits I will share with you now.
As always, it's breakfast to the rescue. I was surprised to learn from Marcus that he once loved waffles... until the Great Waffle-Throwing Incident of 2010 in which a disgruntled fan began throwing frozen waffles at the Toronto Maple Leaf players as they skated by during a game against the Philadelphia Flyers (no one was harmed).
What do we learn from this nugget of information offered by the darling Marcus?
Probably one of the more interesting home stands I've ever witnessed occurred last January when the Stockton Thunder came to town. Not the best. I said the most "interesting".
There is a long and storied history of bruised bodies and bruised egos between the Stockton Thunder and the Utah Grizzlies. Historically, the Grizzlies are the only ones to consistently get the better of them...and the Thunder have never appreciated that. Their last meeting prior to the January 14-17 stand back in December had 120 penalty minutes combined and plenty of dropped gloves. In November? Nick Tuzzolino dropped his a mere two seconds into the game against them. Utah has more penalty minutes in games against the Thunder than at any other team.
The weekend of the 14-17th saw many of our best players injured and off of the ice. Simon Ferguson, Brock Wilson, and Grizzlies Captain Jake Gannon most notably. Both Simon and Brock were lost during the Friday night game against the Thunder, causing us to lose them again for the Saturday game (and the following Monday)
On Saturday, January 15, I brought a group of people who had never witnessed hockey before to what I was sure would be a thrilling game between Utah and their most hated nemesis. In this party were two young boys who had heard hockey was a violent game with no rhyme or reason. I informed them during much of the pregame warm-ups about the history involved between these two teams and to be mindful of the disrespect the Thunder had demonstrated the previous night.
When the starting lineup was announced a small hush fell on the crowd among season ticket holders; those who understood immediately what those names meant. Emmerson. Kilburg. Tuzzolino. Deeth. Shulz.
Emmerson....enforcer of doom. Kilburg...backup enforcer of doom. Shulz....fearless defenseman of doom. Tuzzolino...wicked tall and fearless assistant captain of doom. Deeth...the Lionheart (of doom).
We knew what was about to take place...and yet even I was stunned by the scale of it. Two seconds into the game all hell broke loose:
The young boys in the party with us had eyes as wide as dinner plates as gloves flew off in a shower of sticks and fists that spilled over into the visitor's bench...our own coach standing on the bench to get a better look and to cheer his boys.
Part of the problem with this particular weekend of note was the presence of the incredibly inept referee Rick Looker who could not keep up with the boys on the ice and who missed, time and time again, infractions against (to be fair again) both teams that forced the boys to police the ice themselves. Which they did.
We highsticked them. They highsticked back. They slashed us. We slashed right back. Cross-checking? yep. Tripping. Hooking. Unsportsmanlike conduct.
Four more times in the evening the gloves were dropped.
To be fair, both the Thunder and the Grizzlies are solid teams that should never be underestimated...they have considerable size and weight and provocations are not overlooked. No referee lacking ANYTHING should ever ever ever be allowed to officiate a game between these two.
Alas, we got Rick Looker.
The mess that was Saturday, January 15th resulted in one of the best coach meltdowns I've ever witnessed. A meltdown that NEEDED to happen and that resulted in a standing ovation:
As for the young boys I brought with me....very very long talk about the law of retribution in hockey...and how important it is for a referee to police...because when he doesn't uphold the law...the players will.
On January 19, 2011 in an away game against the Idaho Steelheads, Utah "enforcer" Riley Emmerson squared off with Brad MacMillan who had been recruited by Idaho specifically to intimidate Riley who has, understandably (as you are about to see), the most feared pair of fists in the ECHL.
