It was sent to me anonymously. You can judge for yourself by watching it here.
My immediate thoughts: Mac obviously told Van Drunen he was coming so it should not have been a surprise. Seems to me he hit him straight on, but you could certainly debate that until the cows come home. I can understand why the league reacted the way it did. Still do not know if anything led up to this. Maybe nothing. I trust that the league did its best to find out.
Comments
Yeah, he earned the suspension.
It's hard to see from the angle. You see Mac mouthing to someone diagonal from him. He then squares off and mouths in front of him. Looks like he is saying we are gonna go at it. Problem is that VD is cut off and you can't see if he is the one being talked to or if he is paying attention.
Is it me, or are DVD and Mac jawing before hand? Seems fair to me. It looks to me (and this is just my interpretation) that at :05 seconds, DVD looks right at him and the other player that Mac has to go around to get to DVD, hasn't even moved yet. I'm going to get a lot of stares on this one, but this is just Mac. 22 games is EXTREMELY excessive based on this video. JMO.
Also, the commentators are talking about fighting (although it's unclear who they're talking about). This leads me to believe that fighting was inevitable or that tensions ran extremely high during the 3rd period.
I agree with Adam and KometsfanX, Mac is obviously talking to someone but can't see for sure who. I would be confident that DVD saw it coming but didn't have time to react. I'm less comfortable with the 22 games now, I think it's possible the league is trying to make a statement. Be interesting to see how the appeal goes.
I don't think DVD saw it coming at all. By the time he registered Mac was coming at him, the punch was launched and his jaw was smashed into pieces. If #9 hadn't skated between them, he may have had time to defend himself. And Mac was jawwing with someone else entirely before the face-off.
Looks like Mac never gave DVD a chance to drop the gloves like a normal goon would do. Mac just dropped his and sucker punched him. DVD should do major surgery to Mac's face the next time they play each other. Mac got what he deserved, if not a little less. IMO.
Are you telling me that guys that register split second passes and split second rebounds cant register 3 seconds of Mac coming at him after being warned (Mac looked right at DVD and nodded his head like "alright it's on")?
We have no idea what Mac said to DVD or who he even was talking to. So don't act like you do.
Give me a break Hockey Fan. Everyone on that ice knew Mac was going with someone on that face off. EVERYONE. Anybody that has watched Mac or knows anything about him knew he was going on that face off. DVD knew it, and he even tried to get his shoulder up but didn't make it in time.
Sucker punch? I don't think so. Deserving of suspension? Sure, but 22 games is too many. You're right about one thing, none of us knows what was said between Mac and DVD or whomever was on the ice, but whatever it was had Mac ready to go, and he let everyone else know it was coming. So he gets 22 games off because DVD likes pretending to be a heavy bag? Bogus - broken jaw or not.
Suggesting that DVD slice Mac up the next time they meet, well, that's shows your intelligence. Dude can't fight so he should resort to stick work? Yeah, that's smart coming from a "true" hockey fan.
Wow, Chad, couldn't have said it better. He was clearly either talking to DVD or someone behind him (there's nobody behind him). Mac couldn't have given any clearer signals that DVD was toast.
sucker punch IMO.. 22 sounds fair. good thing we have video proof to clear it all up? As i said a week ago.. Video proves nothing. Everyone will see what they want to see. take into account everything else we heard on the matter too. All those fans who where there and disagreed with it.. why do you think that is?
nah... poor angel Mac with his halo so high would never cross the line.. afterall he was a Komet once, and we are still permitted to use orange glasses when judging him.
Mrs. MIGHTBITE HERE: MY HUSBAND SAID A SUCKER-PUNCH & TOP MOUNT :)
Should Mac get 22 for that? No. Now did he skate over to DVD and kindly ask him to drop his gloves, no, but he also didn't jump him from behind and bash his head on the ice with a Top Mount!
I say he should get reduced to 10-15 games.
Leave it to the wife to point out when the husband is DEAD WRONG!
Funny who those who already made up their mind that Mac was the 2nd coming of the Devil keep to their guns despite clear video evidence showing otherwise..
Mac is talking to DVD the whole time, you can see his head follow DVD to where he setup for the drop and probaby even told him that he was going to kick his, um, butt...Looks to me like DVD just froze because he was looking right at Mac the whole time. DVD got hit a total of 3 times and only once in the face (there was no mounting and slamming his face in the ice like some claimed...shocker!) and then Mac starts with #19...Having watched DVD play for Musky for years, i'm sure DVD was doing his usual cheapshots and chirping and given the already high tensions in the game, Mac had enough. (but that part is a complete assumption and we all know what those do)
If DVD isn't hurt to the extent that he was, no way does he get 22 games. They suspended him as a result of the injury, not the action which is wrong IMO. Without the injury, I'd say 5 games max. Is it bad? Sure, but not 22 games bad. I've a lot seen worse
I'm reading your post I/ve seen this video and more Macmillian suckerpunched no dought he even uses Bernard as a screen to go after him. As far a Van Drunen doing cheapshots get over yourself I've watched the guy play for most of his career and that is not the type of player he is. The whole thing is bad I don't know Macmillian actually never really seen him play but the actions he took were wrong I guess you don't have video showing Macmillian slashing Bernard before the face off and maybe we don't see who Macmillian is yapping with, You do know that Macmillian had time to decide his next move and that he thought of what he was going to do is what makes it bad he intended to hurt someone, and he did plain and simple. That is what makes it so bad
chad, that major surgery line was from the movie Slap Shot. Go buy a sense of humor. game- your post is pure speculation. You were not on the ice so you have no idea what was said. If DVD didn't want to fight then thats his choice and Mac should have respected that. Mac didn't even give him a chance to turtle. It was a pure sucker punch and Mac got what he deserved, maybe a little less. If that happened to you I bet you would have wanted him banned for life. IMO.
I said as much that it was an assumption as far as what was being said. What is obvious tho is that Mac was talking to DVD the entire time and that DVD was looking right at him. DVD froze and didn't defend himself. If I know someone is jawing at me and will be coming after me in acouple seconds, i'm going to be in a defense position and not just standing there like DVD did. Actually I wouldn't be harping on him to be banned for life because fighting is an accepted part of the game, he knew the risks when putting on the skates. He signed his waiver
True Hockey fan: Was he making dinner plans with DVD? What they had going on Saturday and a possible rendevous? I don't think it's ANY coincidence that hes talking to DVD and then nods his head like "it's on" then pummels him. Theres a clip on youtube where they have the players mic-ed and one player is talking to another player and says "We gonna do this?" and then proceeds to fight him and that is exactly what this looks like. Again I pose the question: What was he talking to DVD about if not "Hey just a fair warning youre going to shut your mouth or ill shut it for you"?
After reviewing the tape, 22 games is ridiculous. That kind of stuff happens in hockey all the time. The league cannot suspend based off of injuries, when it is a part of the game. Mac's appeal should go through and have his suspension reduced significantly.
It doesn't matter what Mac said to DVD. Mac never gave DVD a chance to square off and fight. He just suckered him like a coward. Fighting is a part of Hockey but sucker punching someone and breaking their jaw and nose is not. Mac is an idiot for what he did. He got a lesser suspension then what I would have given him. IMO.
Defending Mac here seems useless.. He was wrong.. If you ask someone to go and they say no, then the answer is no. Does the injury make the punishment worse? yes.. should it? yes.. It should be taken into account..
To say DVD was running his mouth and deserved it is quite simply being ignorant of the game and having no respect or understanding of that role at all. Getting under someones skin is a huge part of certain players game.. They do it to try to entice the other team into a hold, trip, slash... you know, normal retaliation.. Not sucker punching someone and causing serious damage that requires surgery...
Nobody is trying to make Mac out to be the devil.. just not holding him on the Fort Wayne Komet pedestal some seem to have him super glued to. Still like him.. still respect him.. darn glad he is serving 22 games for the sucker punch. it is fair. He will be back before ya know it and have plenty of season left to change the mind of his Colorado eagles fans who think he is a cheap shot artist. Yeah, thats right.. his own team.. own fans who wear their teams colored glasses thought it was classless and cheep.. but oh no.. not some die hard komet fans.. they still see him high upon the orange pedestal.
Ive said multiple times that it doesnt matter who thru the punch, Mac, Goulet, Shrock, Sgroi, etc...That was not worth 22 games. You had my mind made up in the subject well before you even saw the video..Try opening your eyes a bit
eyes wide open.. watched it many many many times.. took all things into account.. 22 games. fair. end of story IMO.. You see one thing i see another. I said this before the video even came out. 2 people more often than not watch the same thing and see something totally different.
You assume i had my mind made up.. partially i did. By listening to all the other evidence. everything involved. Video confirmed what i had been told and what i had expected.
I assume you had your mind made up because it is Mac.. deny it all you want. i still think your mind was made up before you saw it.
Bottom line.. agree to disagree. you think he is a little angel. I think he is the devil... league and I saw it eye to eye. colorado fans and I say it same way.. But oh my.. Komet fans must be the ones to have it right.. maybe oper your eyes this time and look at EVERYTHING involved.. video. news. fans. league. on and on and on and on....
Hockey Fan ... I'll give you that. I should probably lighten up a bit. It was a long miserable day in the newspaper business before I left my comment. I'm most disappointed in the fact that I missed the "Slap Shot" reference. I must be slippin'.
Anyway, I will say that I am not defending Mac because I have some kind of allegiance to the Fort Wayne Komets. I'm saying that having talked directly with Brad, person-to-person, on more than one occasion about this very topic, I found it hard to believe he jumped somebody totally unprovoked. After watching the video I don't believe at all that DVD had no idea it was coming. I'm not saying he deserved it, but he knew something was about to happen and his fight or flight reaction failed him.
Again, I'm not saying Mac shouldn't have been suspended, just that 22 games seems a bit much given what I saw in the video. Oh, and Komets123, not every fight is mutually agreed upon. I'll bet Shaf didn't give the nod when he got pummeled last year. Fights happen under emotional duress sometimes and in this instance, I believe Mac served notice the stuff was about to hit the fan.
Fighters play a role and I appreciate what Mac did for this team, and I would defend him to the death over the melee with Muskegon last Halloween, but there were also any number of times during his stint with the Komets I thought he went overboard and made me a bit embarrassed.
No matter how much chirping is going on I don't know if one really can expect to be jumped so quickly. Also, somebody else made the point earlier that it appeared #9 may have inadvertently screened VanDruden for a split second as to what exactly was coming, and then after that it just appeared that Mac was completely out of control.
Argue all you want about whether VanDruden knew Mac wanted to go or how things were building up during the game prior to this incident. Mac could've just dropped his gloves and squared up, and maybe VanDruden would have skated away because his team had a lead in a PRESEASON game and you would all be calling him a coward. But that's not what Mac chose to do... he clearly wanted to get the first, best shot he could in as quickly as possible giving VanDruden as little time to react as possible, and in doing so seriously injured another player. He then continued to be out of control for the duration of what we can see in this clip. Suspension warranted in my opinion, no question.
True hockey fan.. Please crawl backunder the bridge..its obvious you know nothing about hockey and you obviously despise the komets and frankes. So why do you waste your time with this blog? Why don't you take your negativity to your favorite teams blog?
Ooooh, a vicious attack from little brian. Big surprise there.Whats wrong brian? don't like it when other peoples opinions differ from yours. Waaa, Waaaa. Sad, truely sad.
Go back under the bridge troll..I don't recall stating my opinion. Just tired of reading all your negative entries regarding the komets and the frankes. Its quite obvious you have little knowledge of the game. Still curious why you waste your time here considering you don't like the frankes or komets. I do realize though not everyone likes a winner