Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The Gwoz walk

If you haven't seen this yet, it's worth watching. Denver coach George Gwozdecky, livid about a call on Saturday night, jumps up on the dasher boards in front of the bench (something I once saw him do in a game against MSU, by the way) and then takes a walk across the Ralph Englestad Arena ice to talk to a linesman after being penalized and tossed from the game. Here's another clip of it, with a better angle.

Neither the University of Denver nor the WCHA were amused by the stunt, but Gwozdecky was not suspended. Both released statements:

Read the WCHA's release, which also includes the DU statement, here.

Gwozdecky's ejection was his second as Pioneers coach. He was also kicked out of a game against the Sioux three years ago.

We've often seen coaches yell at officials, but Gwozdecky has a signature move of standing up on the boards. I saw it several years ago at Denver. If memory serves, the Mavericks were on a power play and there was Pioneers stick on the ice in the middle of a passing lane. It is/was an interference penalty to shoot an opposing team's stick away, and the Mavericks did just that to clear room for their power play (this seems perfectly reasonable to me -- if everyone on the ice indeed has a stick). There was no call, Gwozdecky appealed for a penalty and, yes, jumped up on the boards to make his case. He wasn't penalized either, but he did fire up the crowd.

1 comment:

Eric J. Burton said...

Looks like you have been spammed.