Cartoonish Windmill Punch Highlights Danbury Hat Tricks Fight Video
“I went to a fight and a hockey game.” That is the old joke about hockey, and it’s stood the test of time with sports fans, and it’s especially true of minor league hockey teams or affiliate clubs.
Our Danbury Hat Tricks are no exception to this, and they carry the reputation of the city on their back when they hit the ice. I’ve seen this firsthand at a bunch of games this season, they are there to win and leave an impression on their opponent. Sometimes, they leave that impression on their forehead, sometimes their teeth but it’s always present.
On Sunday morning, I went in search of all things Danbury and came across the funniest hockey fight I’ve seen in a long time. The video was posted to the Danbury Hat Tricks/Ice Arena Instagram page with the caption “Throwing it back to one of our favorite fights on the ice. Who do you think won?”
That second sentence in the caption, is one of the funniest I’ve read in a long time because the result is clear. Whenever someone can coil their punch in windmill fashion like in a Looney Tunes cartoon, they are the winner and it’s not close.
If I was there, I would have shouted "oooh, he leakin'!"
According to my Danbury Hat Tricks insider, Ron Rogell, the Hat Tricks player in the video is Nicola Levesque and that makes sense to me. Nicola is the name of someone who punches people in the face, or a mad scientist trying to access stargates in his basement. There is no middle ground on this one.
The Danbury Hat Tricks next home game is March 10 versus the Carolina Thunderbirds, be sure to get your tickets here. When you are at the arena checkout the Axe Tricks lounge on the second floor. It's a bar/axe throwing course. Yep.
P.S. - What does this video and others like it say about our society? I find this topic fascinating because I know all kinds of personalities and I understand the points of view for and against certain acts of violence. What I’m about to say has nothing to do with gun violence in our society, although someone will argue that it somehow is related. I’m talking about hand-to-hand combat and the need some people have for it.
I know people who identify themselves by their strength, toughness and violent capabilities. This is who they are. They were born with physical and mental gifts that make them effectively violent.
Where do they go to release this energy in a civilized society? Most are drawn somewhere where their physicality still makes sense. Sometimes they are hockey players, sometimes boxers, mixed martial artists or they are waiting at their local bar for someone to step on their foot. Hundreds of years ago, tough guys were soldiers who were honored and celebrated for their abilities, but today they are looked down upon.
I also know people who don’t find violence of any kind funny, appealing or attractive. I can understand the evolution of civilization, where we want to go, and how we should try and be. “Civilians” should not have to live in fear that these goons will attack. But you don’t have to dig far back into our history to see the human attraction to violence. It’s obviously part of our genetic makeup in some way, even if we can’t explain it.
I think there is a middle ground between denying that this kind of physical aggression is part of humanity, and the guy at the bar waiting for someone to pop off. I think it’s smart and healthy for people who need this outlet to find arenas where it’s still acceptable like hockey and combat sports. Otherwise, they will be waiting at the bar for someone who doesn’t see the world that way. They should be around like-minded people who wouldn’t be traumatized by a punch in the head.
I’m certain the two men in the video above didn’t give this moment a second look, not another thought after the fight was over, yet it would have emotionally and mentally damaging others.
Some of you already figured this out but I’ll tell the rest of you, I wrote this post script for Ethan Carey. Ethan is my morning show partner. For someone who can usually see both sides, he’s not tried to do it here.
There are people walking among us who see their value in their strength. They grade themselves on their ability to protect their families, what they did on the high school football field, on a wrestling mat or inside a ring. I think, as long as these men and sometimes ladies keep their acts of aggression in the places our society allows it, there is nothing wrong with that.
If you're reading this and you are the guy waiting at the bar to unleash hell on some poor unsuspecting "civilian', stop it. That is weak, if you are the "bad man" you think you are, then measure yourself against others who can/want to fight.