Matt Carle's First NHL Fight Not Blogworthy


(above) DU Alum Matt Carle want to spend the offseason training in a Philly boxing gym

From: Philly Sports Daily
by Stephen Whyno

Madison Square Garden has been the scene for many great fights, including the first showdown between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

Let’s just say that Sean Avery vs. Matt Carle will not go down as one of the best fights in the history of the legendary arena.

Eight minutes into the second period with the Flyers leading the Rangers 3-0, a melee ensued that included guys pairing off and at least getting some words in with each other. Matt Walker (who’s a big guy) went with Kris Newbury, and it was a throwback kind of brawl. That is, until Avery got a hold of Carle and took some swings at the defenseman who simply isn’t a fighter.

“You know what kind of player he is; I didn’t really know what was going on and then the scrum happened and he tied me up and had my jersey wrapped over my head,” Carle told reporters afterward. “Next thing I knew I was getting punched in the face and I was on the ice.”

It was technically Carle’s first career NHL fight.

“I don’t know if I’d really call it a fight,” Carle said. “That’s what it says on the score sheet.”

Coach Peter Laviolette, tough guy Jody Shelley and others weren’t happy about how the incident happened.

“The hitting and the fighting, everything’s part of the game. I think what’s frustrating is we had lots of guys that wanted to have a little dance with Avery, but he wouldn’t respond. That’s what’s frustrating about the whole thing – he goes after matt Carle. I don’t think he has any fights in his whole career. We got lots of guys that wanted to do it; he just didn’t want to respond.”

Fighters taking on other fighters is a code of hockey; bad things usually happen when guys who don’t drop the gloves get picked on. As Carle pointed out, the Rangers were “up in arms” last season when Dan Carcillo fought Marian Gaborik.

But there was little retribution for Avery, though Shelley said it took a lot of restraint to keep him from doing something about it.

“It’s part of a 3-0 game in their building; you don’t wanna take a penalty, there are all kind of scenarios,” Shelley told reporters. “You know he’s gonna try to suck you in. it’s part of the game and that’s how it shook down.”

But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t trying to engage Avery throughout the rest of the game.

“I had identified a problem; I had a lot of things going in my head,” he said. “I just try to deal with it, as I’ve learned, between the rules. …

“You don’t like to see one of our guys take a punch. That was pretty much it; it’s not who it is or whatever. I don’t know what to say about that. It’s one of those situations that happens; you’d like to settle it a different way.”

22 comments:

achsdu17 said...

Ya, Carle didn't know what he was getting into... especially with Avery.

Anonymous said...

Typical punk move by Avery. He won't go with anyof the fighters, but takes a cheap shot on the non-fighters. He is bad for the game.

Anonymous said...

Well....it had to happen eventually. Matt needs to learn that the NHL on-ice altercations isn't quite like the post-whistle pushing & shoving your glove in guys' faces at Ralph Engelstead Arena back in your college days. What's cool about the NHL is - these guys remember this.... and the next time they play... I guarantee you someone will repay Avery; and you can bet it won't be Carle. He's a lover - not a fighter!

puck swami said...

Avery is a punk and and idiot, and certainly broke the hockey code for hitting a guy while down. He'll get his later, as hockey players have long memories.

That said, as much as I admire Matt Carle as a player and person, he needs to do better than turtling. You can't drop the gloves and not expect to get hit. For a guy who is 6-0 and 205, he should be a better fighter than that...

du78 said...

Matt got 5 minutes for receiving ;-)

A couple of boxing lessons might help.

achsdu17 said...

I think he should call up his former teammate Lappy and see if he could give him some MMA Lessons.

Anonymous said...

Get rid of the instigator penalty and Avery get's his lunch fed to him.Shelley is an enforcer, do your damn job.I get so tired of hearing the 2 points are more important. Carle should well know that anything can happen when Avery is involved.

Twister said...

Avery is a Grade A hack. i'm sure there are quite a few Philly players who took notice of his transgressions. But come on Matt Carle---at least try to get a few jabs in!!

Anonymous said...

Avery, everyone hates him unless he's on your team, he's a hack and a punk but that's what he's paid to do, just like Lemieux; Claude not Mario

Amy said...

What a d-bag. Both Carle and Avery had nothing to do with the scrap. And yet Avery drags Carle in even though he doesn't fight.

pesimisticfan said...

You all are morons. If any of you had a guy like Sean Avery on you're team you would jump on his bandwagon in a second. He provides a spark for the team and also works well around the net, and protects guys like Lundqvist, Gaborik, and Zuccarello. Yeah, he's careless and take's dumb penalties and has a troubled past (i.e. "sloppy seconds" and "all French players wear visors," but you can't sit there and tell me if DU or the Avs, or whoever had a guy like him on the team you wouldn't be a fan of him right away. I loved Carle at DU, but this was one instance where I was enjoying every minute of Avery smoking him. Flyers suck!

Anonymous said...

All you tools forgot last year when Philly's hack sought out Gaborik. nice selective memory. Payback is a......

Anonymous said...

Everyone was paired,off shit happens, Prust had Powe(a non fighter) but let him off the hook.

Anonymous said...

pessimistic fan.....Avery is a loser......even his own teammates hate him. Why do you think he's switched teams something like 5 times in the last 10 years? Get your head out of your ass.

Amy said...

I would hate having Sean Avery on my team...just like how I would hate seeing Bertuzzi in Colorado. If I wanted an enforcer it would be someone like Lappy.

Anonymous said...

Matt Carle is one of my all time favoriate DU players but he embarrassed himself in the fight with Avery. Turtling? come on dude, you are in the NHL, try to defend yourself. Man up Matt and take responsbility for a bad showing. Also- all of you apologists you give him a pass by calling Avery a hack- you all need to grow a pair and realize that Avery the "hack" used that fight to motivate his team which came back and nearly tied the game. Hey, I am not an Avery fan, but this isn't about who Avery is and that he didn't follow fighting protocol. Its about Matt looking like a deer in headlights.

its called objectivity- try it some times bitches.

Anonymous said...

8:49....what are you smoking, homes? Whatever it is, I want some. The only motivation from that scrum gleaned by the Rangers was likely from the other guys mixing it up. You think the Rangers were motivated by watching Avery punch Carle while he's down on the ice? There's no honor in that. Motivation is watching your teammate go toe to toe with somebody. Quit hugging Avery's nuts.

Anonymous said...

Man- I thought that posters on this blog understood hockey- appearently not.

Anonymous said...

Please explain the game to us, o mighty one.

pesimisticfan said...

Obviously all of you only watch Avery on highlights or once a year. Or just read about crap he's done in his past. To say play's on his own team resent him is a completely false statement. Yes, that was the case in Dallas. Marty Turco, Mike Modano, and co. couldn't stand him. Since his suspension, taking anger management and re-evaluating his situation he has become a much better person on and off the ice. As I mentioned before, he's provides a spark for the team. We were down 3-0 to the Flyers and almost came back to tie the game after the fight (But the Rangers always fold, so I;m used to that). But not only does he jumpstart his team but he also has around 16 assists this season. Which is more than a lot of other players in the NHL. I understand if you dont like him if he's not on your team. I dislike Dan Carcillo on the Flyers, and Matt Cooke on the Penguins, but it just depends on your team. But at least have respect for the guy. And as I said before, I loved Matt Carle at DU, but Matt's gotta at least try and get some balance and throw some blows.

Anonymous said...

Typical Rangers homer.

Mike B said...

Looks like Avery took some time off of his unpaid intership with Vogue and his purse fetish to fight Matty. Although Carle is a great d-man and generates offense for the hated Flyers, at some point in any player's career they are bound to get into a tilt. I mean, even the "Great One" dropped the gloves in his storied career. Matt is a big, strong dude but it just goes to show you that there are needed skills in fighting. I am sure that when he saw who tapped him on the shoulder tons of thoughts went through his head. As far as Avery goes, he is who he is and he isnt going to back down from a fight. After watching his history on the ice, I was a bit surprised that he didnt throw a few more cheap punches after Carle was on the ice. To summarize, "That's just hockey." He will make up for this one at some point in his career.