As I’m in New York all week on business, I was watching Freddy Got Fingered (you know, for the professional inspiration which stems from creative meat entrepreneurism) and eventually the Bruins on my computer the other night… when they lost to Phoenix.
It was eerily similar to the loss they had there last year, with the same guy that scored on Jeremy Swayman in OT last year scoring on Jeremy Swayman in OT this year. I can’t remember if Trent Frederic got jumped last year by Liam O’Brien, but he certainly did this time around.
While watching the game, I was struck by how badly Phoenix’s Liam O’Brien was looking for a scrap. He’s a known commodity in the shit-disturbing field, and Phoenix was looking to snap a losing skid. Good thing they played the Bruins, because if you’re in a slump as a team, or an individual, play the Bruins. They just LOVE, and I mean LOVE ending shart streaks for teams and players.
Strokes and Scraps
So, here’s Liam O’Brien running around like his hair is on fire. Thankfully, ESPN+ gives the viewer an option to pick the home or away feed for games. I chose to listen to Phoenix, because I can’t take old Strokey McGee (er, Jack Edwards) slurring his way through games anymore. And so Phoenix were commenting on how badly O’Brien was looking for a scrap.
At the 2:11 mark of the second period, O’Brien gets his chance to fight. Trent Frederic is engaged with Travis Dermott next to the net when O’Brien comes in and decides he wants to get his gloves off and do a bit of scrappin’. Before Freddy can even fully oblige him, O’Brien lands about 4 right hands. Then, when he does finally get his gloves all the way off, O’Brien goes for the takedown, which is a pussy move in hockey in my opinion.
I score no points for takedowns anyway, but I especially don’t in this case because OB jumped Freddy and gets taken down right when he has a chance to start getting truly engaged in the fracas. I suppose I have to score the fight as a clear win for O’Brien, as he did beat the brakes off of a guy that he jumped, but I don’t like it, and I also don’t fully get why.
Aside from jumping a guy being a major code violation – in this instance, O’Brien had zero reason to jump Trent Fredric. As stated, Liam O’Brien was doing his job by running around looking for a scrap. So was Freddy. Then again, Frederic for the most part is kinda always looking for one.
I thought it was gutless and totally unnecessary for O’Brien to jump Freddy there. I’m 100% positive if he had said, “Freddy, leave him. I’ll go ya right now”, Frederic would have disengaged with Dermott, dropped his mitts, and squared up with O’Brien. I’d bet my life on it.
I fully understand hockey is a game of emotion, but for O’Brien to jump a guy, especially a known and willing combatant, was especially erroneous. All he needed to do was honor the code by asking, and not jumping a guy. It would have accomplished what he was trying to do, and selfishly, it would have made for a better fight in my opinion.
Liam O’Brien is right in Trent Frederic’s wheelhouse. O’Brien dishonored the code and robbed us of a potentially entertaining fight by being a gutless punk.