Here’s an excerpt from the Canadiens.com article by Manny Almela who spoke to Georges Laraque about his fight card with Mr. Thornton:
“It was thanks to [Guy Carbonneau] that I got to play tonight. It was like Carbo was doing me a favor,” admitted Laraque, grinning from ear-to-ear. “I mean, I haven’t even been practicing with the team and I still got to play. This isn’t a beer league I’m playing in either, I’m going to have to really get my legs back at practice. I definitely felt sluggish out there, but it was electrifying to be a part of it all, that’s for sure.”
Sidelined for the entire preseason with a nagging groin injury, Laraque was a surprise addition to the Habs’ lineup. That was bad news for the Bruins and terrible news for Shawn Thornton, whose attack on Steve Begin back on Sept. 22 in Halifax didn’t not go unnoticed by Laraque.
“After what he pulled on Begin, I think he knew he was going to have to cross me tonight. I guess he just wanted to get it over with. I can’t say I blame him,” said Laraque, who was just grabbed and held by Thornton in what proved to be more of a wrestling match. “You could tell he was just trying not to get hurt. He’s a smaller guy but at least he had the guts to face me.”
The 6-foot-2, 217-pound Thornton proved to be no match for the 6-foot-3, 253-pound Laraque. According to the Canadiens’ new enforcer, the fact that Laraque dropped the gloves only seven seconds into his first shift as a Hab may prove to only be a sign of things to come.
Speaking of fights…..in a rather bizarre incident, University of Michigan defenseman Steve Kampfer was fairly seriously injured recently when attacked by U of M football player Mike Milano in an off field incident. Kampfer suffered broken bones in his face and neck after being body slammed into the ground by Milano. He will wear a neck brace for the next 3 months and is not likely to play again this season.
Tough break for a real good kid. With another U of M defender (and Anaheim draft pick), Mark Mitera, possibly gone for the year with a knee injury, young Hab prospect Greg Pateryn figures to see a lot more action than he might otherwise have expected.
Rob,
Bad news for Kampfer, Mitera and Red Berenson who will have no other choice but give some of his younger defensemen like Pateryn more ice time.
It should help accelerate Pateryn’s development if he’s ready for #3-4 ice time.
He played in Michigan’s home opener against St. Lawrence last Friday and was a -1 but wasn’t in the lineup for the re-match game the next night.
Needless to say, Berenson and the U of M program took a huge hit with quality players like Pacioretty, Porter and Quick leaving/graduating from the program. Granted, Red was able to fill the gaps with some quality first year players (Brandon Burlon and Pateryn to name a couple)but it will be a transition year for Michigan.
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