Crosby v Ference: Sidney Crosby's First NHL Fight

Below is a recap of events leading up to and reaction to Sidney Crosby's first fight in his NHL career in Boston on December 20, 2007. This is something I've wanted to put together since the day after it happened, but I haven't had the time. I was inspired to get it done today after I read Ference's reaction to the fight. Read on to see what I mean...

I received this tidbit of information from someone who was in Boston for the game that night (this Friend of The Show requested to remain anonymous):

Let me tell, Sidney Crosby looked like a man possessed tonight. Even before the game, he was in the hallway warming up his legs and he just looked... you know what? He looked downright creepy. Maurice Richard used to get "black coal eyes" when he got real determined and really pissed off. The kid is no Rocket, but he's got the look down pat. He just had this look that was pretty damn scary - he was on fire. I didn't want to disturb him so I walked by him.

Maybe that was a good idea, Anon, because later that night Sidney got into his first fight in the NHL after ex-Penguin Andrew Ference hit him into the boards and then punched him in the face. Immediately he tossed his gloves and went nuts on Ference's face. When they finally fell to the ice and were separated, Ference was bleeding. They both were given 5 minute penalties for fighting, but Ference was given an additional 2 minute penalty for roughing.

For all the talk out there that Sid should have tossed his helmet and visor when he tossed his gloves, check out these photos that show Ference too came to the man-dance wearing his own helmet and visor:

Sidney lets his fists do the talking...

...as Ference responds in kind.

Here are two clips of the fight, each from different angles:

Friend of The Show Alex M. sent me this video clip of Sid's reaction to the melee:

And just a few minutes ago, Friend of The Show Cassie C. sent me this article on ESPN.com chronicling Ference's reaction to his tangle with The Kid:

Q: Last month you fought Sidney Crosby in his first NHL fight. How did that fight start?

AF: I wish it was a better fight, since I get to talk about it so much. It started like any other fight. I finished my check on him in the corner and then he punched me and I punched him back, then we fought. I was surprised it was his first fight, because I've seen him punch guys before after he gets hit. I figured someone else would have grabbed him and started a fight. It would have been a fight no matter who it was because that's the way hockey is supposed to be -- if you give a guy a shot in the face, you better be willing to drop the gloves to follow up with it.

Q: What kind of reaction did you get from friends, fans and the media after fighting with arguably the game's biggest star?

AF: My sister called me, she's a teacher in Alberta, she told me she has been getting a hard time from her students [laughs]. My friends kind of laughed and said they wished it was a little longer, they wanted more punches thrown. Guys on the team have thought it was funny how much exposure it got, especially since they think it was the worst fight I have had this year.

Q: But can you really win a fight like that? Let's say you broke his jaw or gave him a concussion. Then you're known as the guy who injured Sidney Crosby. Isn't it a losing battle for you?

AF: [Laughs.] if I did that, I would have to fight Georges Laraque every time we played Pittsburgh. I wouldn't want that [laughs].

Q: Did Laraque or any of the other Pens have words for you after you fought Crosby?

AF: No, nobody said anything. That's the thing, nobody should have to say anything, the kid's not little. He's bigger than I am.

Q: Crosby cut you during the fight. How good a fighter is he?

AF: No, his visor cut me. He came up and his visor cut the top of my head. Go back to that Jarome [Iginla] question. Jarome in my books is a better hockey player than Crosby because he does those things. He will fight, he will lay his body on the line and take the hit and not complain if someone hits him and stuff like that. The superstars of the league should have to do that because they're hockey players, they're not ice-skating princesses. Hockey is an emotional game, you have to stand up for yourself. You have to stand up for your actions. If you punch somebody in the face, then you should fight, that's the way hockey is suppose to be.

Q: So are you saying Crosby is a little soft?

AF: Well, he's not Jarome.

WOW. I feel a rematch coming, and my money's on Sid: Anyone that's learning how to fight by working with Big Georges Laraque and Gary freakin' Roberts is not someone you want to piss off so flippantly. Stay tuned - for some reason I'm thinking that this isn't the last we'll hear of this.

Pens v Leafs (W 6-2)

Ordinarily I would have given you advanced notice that I would not be recapping last night's game, but I took a last minute road trip to my sister's home 111 miles north, so I didn't get a chance to warn you. My apologies for missing the boat on this one. Since she lives so far up north, her Fox Sports Network channel is FSN New York. I did listen to most of it on XM Radio and let me just tell you that hearing the Ruutu/Tucker fight was nowhere near as good as seeing it would have been. Thank God I recorded it so I can check it out later. :) Make sure you check out a recap - Seth from Empty Netters always does a bang up job - Evgeni Malkin got his first NHL hat trick, which helped the Pens destroy the Leafs.

That's going to hurt tomorrow!

Geno gets a little hat trick love from his captain and his landlord.

I've got a few other things for you to check out, too. First up, Frank D. of PensBurgh.com hooks us up with the details from yet another Sidney appearance on the cover of The Hockey News magazine. The magazine ranked the 100 most powerful people in hockey today. You'll have to head on over to PensBurgh to see where the Saint ranked, but what I will tell you is that you could knock me over with a feather right now because I am so COMPLETELY shocked that Don "Grapes" Cherry (← seriously, this guy?) outranked some of the best players on the ice today. He even outranked Mario Lemieux for God's sake!!


Speaking of Lemieux, Pens fans everywhere have been saying for years that Super Mario would have pwned most of The Great One's records if he had not been consistently plagued with health issues throughout his entire career. Of course, there was no way to prove that rather bold statement - until now. Good Friend of The Show Loser Chris of Taking One for the Team has used the knowledge he gained from his college statistics classes to determine which player has had the best offensive season. It's a bit complicated to sum up here, so my suggestion is that you check out his article to see exactly how it works. It's very interesting to say the least.

The Sidney Crosby Show founder Jes Golbez found this article on TSN.ca about Sid winning yet another award for his already overflowing trophy case:

What a banner year for Sidney Crosby. On Saturday, he was named Sportscentre's Canadian Athlete of the Year on the SPORTSCENTRE Year in Review show, capping a spectacular 2007 for hockey's newest superstar.

Crosby was named the winner ahead of Steve Nash, Russell Martin, Hayley Wickenheiser, Brent Hayden and Erik Guay.

Crosby was the NHL's most valuable players this year, capturing the Hart Trophy after leading the league in scoring. He also won the NHLPA's Player of the Year award, and the prestigious Lou Marsh Award as Canada's Athlete of the Year that is presented by the Toronto Star.

Seriously, I think pretty soon it will actually be easier for me to list the awards that Sidney HASN'T won. ;)

Finally, remember I told you that Sid spoke with Dan Potash about his fight with Andrew Ference? Well, Friend of The Show Alex M. sent me this video clip of said interview awhile ago. The same day she sent me this video, I got an anonymous tip from someone who went to the Boston game and saw Sidney prior to the game:

Let me tell, Sidney Crosby looked like a man possessed tonight. Even before the game, he was in the hallway warming up his legs and he just looked... you know what? He looked downright creepy. Maurice Richard used to get "black coal eyes" when he got real determined and really pissed off. The kid is no Rocket, but he's got the look down pat. He just had this look that was pretty damn scary - he was on fire. I didn't want to disturb him so I walked by him.

So it would seem that Sid's mood may have played a small role in his decision to throw his gloves! I know - I've been a slacker about getting this story and this video posted, but I swear after this weekend, my schedule finally returns to normal and I should be more consistent about getting back to your emails, writing recaps, and posting your submissions. Without further ado, here's Sid talking about the fight:

Thanks to Anonymous and to Alex for sending in the story and the video, respectively. And a big thank you to all of you for putting up with us during this hectic holiday season!!! Remember that tomorrow's game has been moved up to start at 3:00pm Eastern time so it won't conflict with the Steelers game tomorrow night. I will recap that game as I usually do. Go Pens & Go Steelers!!! And since I didn't get a chance to say it sooner...



(Thanks to Friend Cassie C. for finding the penguins New Years pic.)

Pens v Bruins (W 5-4 SO)

For readers of today's earlier post: Did you find the typo? Zdeno Chara's name was spelled "Zedno" Chara. Yikes!

The introduction for tonight's game is simple: The Pens blew a 4 goal lead, and our main man Sidney Crosby had his first NHL fight.

Ty Conklin was the starting goaltender for the Pens tonight. The Pens came out flying in the first period. Fifty five seconds into the period, Colby Armstrong forced a turnover that the Saint then passed to an unchallenged Evgeni Malkin to score the first goal of the night. The momentum continued to pick up for the Pens from there. The first chance for the Bruins came when Glen Murray had a wide open shot on Conklin. The rebound went up and over the goalie, but Kris Letang was there to bat the puck out of the air to prevent a score. Gary Roberts centered a shot for Erik Christensen, but Tim Thomas stopped the shot. Aaron Ward hassled Crusher as the play was whistled down, but Roberts skated over and settled them both down. Sir Sidney, Geno, and Army rushed toward the goal in a 3 on 2, and Army fired a hard shot that rang off the crossbar. Just a few minutes later on their next shift, Army and Sid again rushed the goal. Sid was being challenged by 6'9" Zdeno Chara. Somehow, Sid managed to get the blade of his stick out a few inches out ahead of Chara's stick to redirect a quick pass from Army under Thomas's leg to give the Penguins their second goal of the night.

The Pens celebrate Sid's goal.

Then Roberts set up Crusher from behind the net twice just seconds apart, but both times Thomas was able to prevent him from scoring. Philip Kessel fired a shot but Conklin used his blocker to deny him the goal. Bob Errey and Paul Steigerwald then began talking about how nice a third goal would be for some extra insurance as Sidney passed the puck to the high slot where Malkin geared up and scored on a slap shot. Pens 3, Bruins 0. A mere 30 seconds later, viewers everywhere braced themselves: Big Georges Laraque and Chara dropped their gloves. I thought for sure I would feel the tremors all the way over here in central Pennsylvania, but the fight never really got started. The two behemoths each missed a shot at one another, then Chara used a wrestling move to take Laraque and himself to the ice in a bear hug. Apparently because no punches connected, each man was given a 2 minute penalty for delay of game. Then as the two giants emerged from their respective penalty boxes, they decided to go for round two, though round two looked almost exactly like round one. This time, they received 5 minutes for fighting. With 1:15 left in the period, Malkin got called for slashing. The first and best scoring chance on the power play was a shorthanded chance by Jordan Staal that Thomas was able to block. The period ended with the Pens up 3-0.

The penalty to Malkin continued as the second period began. The Bruins had a series of nice shots on goal, but Conklin had a series of even nicer saves. Then a Bruin (I didn't see who it was when it happened, and FSN Pittsburgh never showed him in the box) took a holding penalty. The Bruins developed a shorthanded 2-on-1 chance, but P.J. Axelsson's shot was way off. Then IT happened: Sidney had his first fight in the NHL. Sid earned the Gordie Howe hat trick after Andrew Ference hit him into the boards and then took a punch at the back of the Saint's head. [Late edit: Upon seeing the fight again this morning, Ference actually punched Sid in the face, not the back of the head. My apologies for the mistake. I guess that's what happens, though, when you recap in real time!] Sidney snapped. Immediately he tossed his gloves and went nuts on Ference's face. When they finally fell to the ice and were separated, it appeared that Ference might be bleeding. They both were given 5 minutes in their sin bins for fighting, and Ference was given 2 extra minutes for roughing. With 11 seconds left on the Penguins power play, Dennis Wideman took a penalty for holding. During the extended power play, Chara took Roberts down but was not called for it. The Pens didn't score on these advantages.

Sidney opens up a can of whoop ass on Ference. Below are clips of the brawl from two different angles.

Then Malkin was called for tripping. As he went to the box, we learned that Ference went to the locker room for medical treatment following his tangle with The Kid and is now sporting a visor on his helmet. [Late edit: This morning, I found a better photo as well as video clips of the fight which revealed that Ference had been wearing a visor prior to the incident.] FSN then showed a closeup of our captain. It revealed that droplets of Ference's blood were on Sid's jersey just above the C. Less than a minute into Malkin's penalty, a penalty was given to Wideman. During the ensuing 4-on-4, Ryan Whitney made a beautiful pass to Christensen, who tipped it in to make it Pens 4, Bruins 0. Then Adam Hall was called for high sticking when Chara lifted Hall's stick into another Bruin's face. The Bruins got 50 seconds of 5-on-3 when Sergei Gonchar was called for tripping. Just seconds after Hall's penalty expired, Glen Metropolit finally got his club on the board with a power play goal. Pens 4, Bruins 1.

Crusher celebrates his goal.

Later, Metropolit was given a penalty. During the Bruins power play, Gonchar got away with a blatant interference on Kessel during a breakaway, but the Bruins would get their revenge as just off the very next faceoff, Axelsson scored a shorthanded goal. The second period ended with the Pens 4, Bruins 2.

The third period saw Sidney wearing a fresh blood-free jersey, and the Bruins turning things up even more. Jarrko Ruutu took a penalty for hooking, but the Bruins didn't score on this power play. Then Malkin got a good chance for a hat trick as Sidney centered a pass for him, but Thomas sprawled out to prevent it from happening. Gonchar got another penalty, this time for holding Chara. Just as the penalty ended, Petteri Nokelainen scored to bring the Bruins within one goal of tying the game. The Pens really dropped the ball in this period. With about six minutes left in the period, Christensen took a penalty for hooking. The Bruins power play cashed in when Wideman was wide open for a shot. You can call it a 4 goal comeback for the Bruins or you can say the Pens blew a 4 goal lead. Either way, the game was now tied. With just minutes left to go, Mark Eaton went down when Vladimir Sobotka made no effort to avoid hitting him while he had his head down low. After writhing in pain for what seemed like an eternity, Eaton left the ice under his own power (he did not return for overtime). The third period ended, and overtime began.

I don't have enough space to detail everything that happened during the 5 minutes of overtime. There was some insane hockey played - up and down and back and forth and so many scoring chances - but neither team was able to get it in the net, so the game went to a shoot out. Here's how that played out:

Christensen - 1 (They don't call him Mr. Shoot Out for nothing, you know!)
Kessel - 0
Letang - 1 (He's a shoot out savant, I swear.)
Marco Sturm - 0

Letang (again) is the man.

The Penguins took the extra point. The Pens come home to host the Islanders tomorrow night at 7:30pm Eastern. GO PENS!!!