Old Time Hockey Is Still Very Much Alive And Well In The AHL With This Old School Fight
There was a time when the AHL was referred to as "the jungle". The type of league where you'd go to watch a bunch of fights with a few minutes of hockey being played in between. Some of the biggest, baddest dudes to ever step on a sheet of ice cut their teeth making their way through the AHL.
Then as time went on and calculator boys started ruining the game, the AHL actually started to become a developmental league for skill guys to thrive. Long gone are the days of fans paying $5 to watch a few on-ice decapitations. Now you get highlight reel dangles, nasty snipes, and players weaving their way through the middle of the ice like a hot knife through butter.
But every so often, the AHL finds its roots again and puts on a heavyweight tilt to remind the world that the jungle still exists. Like this scrap last night between Boko Imama and Tyrel Bauer. Just a couple of big boys going at it. All gas, no brakes. You have 6'1", 220lb Imama taking on 6'3", 207lb Bauer. A couple of former 6th round draft picks going at it, and just trying to prove that they'll do whatever it takes for their team.
From the moment they lock onto their opponent's sweater, it's go time. They're just feeding each other fists for 40 straight seconds. No real defense being deployed here, just knuckle sandwich after knuckle sandwich. And at the end of the tilt, it's head taps and bloody visors. A sign of the respect and brutality it takes to be an enforcer in the game. Fuck, do you absolutely love to see it.