So I’m sure a lot of you are pretty angry about how horribly the Hawks played on Saturday. If I hadn’t numbed myself with booze I’d probably still be really upset too. And there’s really only one way to get over your feelings of frustration.. watch two men repeatedly punch each other in face. They fight so we don’t have to – and because we’re complete pansies compared to them.
A few other sites have been doing this so I figured I’d give it a go too. I’ve collected the top 15 Blackhawk fights since the lockout based on the ratings of HockeyFights.com. These are all user generated so there’s not really official about it but here they are:
|
Rank |
Date |
Fighters |
Winner |
Rating |
Video |
| 1 | 11.2.05 | Jim Vandermeer vs. Aaaron Downey | Vandermeer (55.7%) | 9.2 | Link |
| 2 | 12.07.06 | Jim Vandermeer vs. Josh Gratton | Vandermeer (83.2%) | 8.7 | Link |
| 3 | 10.07.05 | Jim Vandermeer vs. Ryane Clowe | Draw (58.6%) | 8.4 | Link |
| 4 | 3.23.06 | Mark Bell vs. Josh Gratton | Bell (83.3% | 8.4 | Link |
| 5 | 3.10.07 | David Koci vs. Josh Gratton | Koci (59.8%) | 8.2 | Link |
| 6 | 12.26.07 | James Wisniewski vs. Jordan Tootoo | Wisniewski (91.3%) | 7.9 | Link |
| 7 | 12.26.08 | Craig Adams vs. Josh Gratton | Draw (48.6%) | 7.8 | Link |
| 8 | 10.04.07 | David Koci vs. Derek Boogaard | Koci (59.4%) | 7.8 | Link |
| 9 | 10.25.07 | David Koci vs. Zdeno Chara | Chara (92.1%) | 7.8 | Link |
| 10 | 2.10.08 | Adam Burish vs. Byron Ritchie | Draw (63.0%) | 7.6 | Link |
| 11 | 10.25.05 | Martin Lapointe vs. Jamie Allison | Lapointe (65.0%) | 7.5 | Link |
| 12 | 1.22.06 | Jim Vandermeer vs. Derek Boogaard | Boogaard (97.6%) | 7.5 | Link |
| 13 | 3.23.07 | David Koci vs. Raitis Ivanans | Koci (43.5%) | 7.4 | Link |
| 14 | 10.20.07 | David Koci vs. Wade Belak | Belak (49.3%) | 7.2 | Link |
| 15 | 11.19.06 | Jim Vandermeer vs. Taylor Pyatt | Pyatt (40.2%) | 7.1 | Link |
What I find most surprising is just how much Josh Gratton seems to like to fight Blackhawks – 4 fights in the top 15 and they’re all against different Hawks. Why does he hate us so much?
A lot of people (including me) give Koci shit for how much blood he lost in the fight againt Chara and perhaps rightfully so but what I think a lot of people forget is that Koci already had a broken nose from a fight the night before. He does land one good one punch that buckles Chara’s knees though. He might have been a lousy hockey player and not a great fighter but he does have massive Blagojevich-like balls.
The Burish fight that’s up there might be my favorite he’s ever been in (even better than when he dropped Nystrom) because you get to see just how much he loved his role of getting the Hawks pumped up before he became the key offensive weapon and penalty killer that he is today.
Which fight is your favorite? Are there fights you think deserve to be up here? Or are you one of the few that thinks fighting doesn’t belong in the NHL anymore? Lets hear from you in the comments.