Hirsch Proves His Point
His coach called it "bizarre." I call it hilarious.
If you haven't seen footage of Gopher hockey player Tyler Hirsch slamming himself into the net after Minnesota's loss to Colorado College in the semifinals of the WCHA playoffs, you might want to hit up Google and find it. Coach Don Lucia was right about one thing: it's definitely bizarre.
Apparently, Lucia got in Hirsch's face at some point in a recent game and told him he wasn't going to the net hard enough. Lucia followed up his speech by benching Hirsch. After the game, the Gophers leading scorer decided to show his coach, and all the fans still packing the rafters, just how hard he can go to the net.
With the ice completely empty, Hirsch skated to center ice, handling a puck with his stick. Then he skated, full speed, toward the goal. About ten feet before reaching the net (still going full speed) Hirsch ripped off a slap shot, then catapulted himself into the net, dislodging it from the ice. Both Hirsch and the unsuspecting net tumbled to the ice.
That looked like it was all Hirsch had planned, but just before he reached the bench, he veered back to center ice and placed his stick down, Terrell Owens-like. Then, finally, he skated off the ice.
It was an astonishing display of...well, no one really knows what. But something. Something odd. Something strangely hockey. Something Canadian, if only Hirsch didn't hail from Faribault.
The 5'9'', 172-pound junior is back on the ice for Minnesota's practices now, but he's not yet cleared to play in games. I would expect, with the Gophers again well-positioned on the road to the Frozen Four, that Lucia will welcome his leading scorer back with open arms, after he lets him sit for a while longer to prove a point.
Obviously, Hirsch has already proven his.
If you haven't seen footage of Gopher hockey player Tyler Hirsch slamming himself into the net after Minnesota's loss to Colorado College in the semifinals of the WCHA playoffs, you might want to hit up Google and find it. Coach Don Lucia was right about one thing: it's definitely bizarre.
Apparently, Lucia got in Hirsch's face at some point in a recent game and told him he wasn't going to the net hard enough. Lucia followed up his speech by benching Hirsch. After the game, the Gophers leading scorer decided to show his coach, and all the fans still packing the rafters, just how hard he can go to the net.
With the ice completely empty, Hirsch skated to center ice, handling a puck with his stick. Then he skated, full speed, toward the goal. About ten feet before reaching the net (still going full speed) Hirsch ripped off a slap shot, then catapulted himself into the net, dislodging it from the ice. Both Hirsch and the unsuspecting net tumbled to the ice.
That looked like it was all Hirsch had planned, but just before he reached the bench, he veered back to center ice and placed his stick down, Terrell Owens-like. Then, finally, he skated off the ice.
It was an astonishing display of...well, no one really knows what. But something. Something odd. Something strangely hockey. Something Canadian, if only Hirsch didn't hail from Faribault.
The 5'9'', 172-pound junior is back on the ice for Minnesota's practices now, but he's not yet cleared to play in games. I would expect, with the Gophers again well-positioned on the road to the Frozen Four, that Lucia will welcome his leading scorer back with open arms, after he lets him sit for a while longer to prove a point.
Obviously, Hirsch has already proven his.
posted by Joe Siple | 8:47 PM
2 Comments:
Actually, Hirsch is from Bloomington. His Faribault connection is only via his stint at Shattuck-St.Marys.
Correction noted. Those hockey players do like to have their little stints all over the place.
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