I feel pretty lousy about something I did tonight. I was fairly riled up over the play of my hockey team, and tried to put a stamp on it by getting the first goal of the game and having several other chances. At one point, in the corner, a guy fell down on top of the puck, and I took some hard whacks to dig it out that he rightfully took offense to. He then tried to trip me when I skated away, talked a fair amount of shit to me skating next to me, pushed me, then turned around and skated back at me.
Now, I'm around 6'4" and rather scary on skates. This guy was about 5'9" I reckon, maybe 5'10". I've got at least 75 pounds on him too. He gets in my face and I level him with a cross check across his body that sends him straight to his back.
Looking at this guy, Id say he was in his mid to late thirties, not a strong player or skater by any stretch, and with my strength and mass I really put the hurt on him.
He stayed on his back for a moment, and I took the low road and jawed (talked shit) with his teammates. Surprisingly, none came to his defense physically.
I spent my two minutes in the box, this player eventually got up, made it to his bench, stretched, and got back into the game.
After the game, I apologized, shook his hand, and told him I really didnt mean to hit him that hard, several of his team mates were actually very nice about the situation.
The thing that eats at me, is that I don't ever want to be that target. I'm a good player; aggressive, confident, and fairly skilled. I think about what I've done to the guy, essentially level an injury against him, and realize that not only was it a bad decision on my part, it's the sort of thing I try to avoid in the rest of my life - unchecked aggression. It's a bad idea to let the sour milk in your cup spill over. This time it did, and to that guy who like me, probably has a family, a job, and a whole load of life outside the ice, I again apologize.
Now, I'm around 6'4" and rather scary on skates. This guy was about 5'9" I reckon, maybe 5'10". I've got at least 75 pounds on him too. He gets in my face and I level him with a cross check across his body that sends him straight to his back.
Looking at this guy, Id say he was in his mid to late thirties, not a strong player or skater by any stretch, and with my strength and mass I really put the hurt on him.
He stayed on his back for a moment, and I took the low road and jawed (talked shit) with his teammates. Surprisingly, none came to his defense physically.
I spent my two minutes in the box, this player eventually got up, made it to his bench, stretched, and got back into the game.
After the game, I apologized, shook his hand, and told him I really didnt mean to hit him that hard, several of his team mates were actually very nice about the situation.
The thing that eats at me, is that I don't ever want to be that target. I'm a good player; aggressive, confident, and fairly skilled. I think about what I've done to the guy, essentially level an injury against him, and realize that not only was it a bad decision on my part, it's the sort of thing I try to avoid in the rest of my life - unchecked aggression. It's a bad idea to let the sour milk in your cup spill over. This time it did, and to that guy who like me, probably has a family, a job, and a whole load of life outside the ice, I again apologize.
[Edited on Jul 31, 2005 5:03PM]