Post by John Davidson on Jun 10, 2008 19:41:44 GMT -5
“We had a pretty tough team at the time, but anytime you're facing off against Mick Vukota and Ken Baumgartner you always have to have your head up." Mark Janssens on the infamous linebrawl between the Islanders and Rangers.
"Rod Dallman: Ken was and wanted to be the heavyweight of the league and he really knew how to go about that also. He was more of an intimidator. There were times that all he had to do was skate by a crowd on the ice and smile and it was enough to let the opposition know he was around. I guess you could say that he terrorized the league [WHL]. He definitely made a point of going out and fighting everyone that he heard was tough or thought that they were. He wanted to let everyone know that it was his league and no one else’s."
"The Bomber knows his role very well. He’ll stick up for his teammates and do anything for his team – and a very astute man also." - Tony Twist
"The Bomber could take a punch and could throw with equal skill with both hands. He taught me the importance of being ambidextrous." - Jacques Mailhot"
Ken Baumgarter was a product of Flin Flon, Manitoba, a small town in Northern Manitoba that has produced its fair share of tough guys. The Bomber played his Juniors career in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders and quickly established himself as one of the toughest guys in the WHL. I don't have any of his WHL footage on tape, other than the incredibly famous brawl at the Memorial Cup where Baumgartner fought Bob Probert in a wild brawl that spilled into the penalty box. Here's the clip:
youtube.com/watch?v=73TxczSfcqw
After finishing up his Juniors career, Baumgartner was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres and played for parts of two seasons with the New Haven Nighthawks, before his professional rights were picked up by the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings brought him up for 30 games in January and Baumgartner was BUSY. Here's a clip of his first official NHL fight which occured during a partail linebrawl against Craig Wolanin. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak-Z4HePsWo&eurl
The Bomber's first real NHL heavyweight test though would come in the form of entertaining Canucks fighter Craig Coxe of wide open "you punch me, I punch you" school of fighting. This one was a BEAUTY, no point in describing it blow by blow. Here's the clip, enjoy it for yourself: www.youtube.com/watch?v=25lIxttlcPI&eurl
Baumgartner then fought a tough customer in Marty McSorely and while it was a hell of a fight, McSorely took the clear decision. Baumgartner then fought Rod Buskas and while it was mostly a grapplefest, the Bomber did land a solid shot that cut Buskas and opened him up. Here's the clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXuaTvSfeSI&eurl
Baumgartner than had an absolute slugfest with an underrated Herb Raglan that was a real war. Great toe to toe scrap which can't be scored anything but a draw. Took on Ronnie Stern in a short fight where he landed a dandy punch that looked to draw blood, then had a wrestling match with Kevin McClelland before tagging Sergio Mommesso with a beauty left that dropped Momesso for the bigtime TKO. The next victim on the Bombers agenda would be legendary Bruins tough guy Lyndon Byers. This one started off the face-off and Byers was beating Baumgartner before Baumgartner took over landing several lefts and put Byers into the turtle/cover up position. Here's the clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQXuEOKmWjk&eurl
Baumgartner then had a two fight series with Peter Bakovic. The first fight wasn't very much as the camera didn't get there quickly enough to pick up anything and Baumgartner was just on top of Backovic. The second fight was different as the Bomber looks to smoke Bakovic with a nasty left along the boards and the zebras jump in immediately. I scored it a TKO. Then after this Baumgarter fought Gerald Diduck and after a nice even exchange, the Bomber got his left hand free and tagged Diduck with two dandy lefts that dropped Diduck to the ice with a nasty cup on his forehead. Back to back TKOs for Baumgartner. Baumgartner's next scrap was a wild back and forth exchange with Dirk Graham that I scored an edge for Baumgartner but I wouldn't argue against a draw.
The next game was a 3 fight marathon night for Baumgartner as he fought Shane Churla on two separate occasions and Tim Hunter as well - Talk about earning your money for being a rookie enforcer! I called the first two fights against Churla as solid draws while the fight with Hunter was a win for Baumgartner. Here's a clip of all of Baumgartner's scraps against Churla: youtube.com/watch?v=us-GtxRhLUI
The Hunter fight was awesome as both guys were going with the lefts and each landed some hard punches although I thought Bomber landed better, specifically with one terrific left uppercut which clearly hurt Hunter. Baumgartner then tried Churla in a rematch from their two fight game from a week before and clearly got the better of the exchange landing a couple of decent lefts while not absorbing anything telling from Churla. Baumgartner ended his stellar rookie season with a fight in a linebrawl against Jim Peplinski of the Flames. Here's the clip of the brawl: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_94HXF2k5k&eurl
1988-89
Baumgartner started the season off on the right note with a beating of Gary Roberts and followed that one up with another beatdown on Don Nachbauer pounding him mercilessly with rights. Had a very uninspired two fight game against the New Jersey Devils taking on Jimmy "Cracked" Korn and Jamie Huscroft in two grapplefests before beating Jay Caufield in a fight that was mostly in tight wrestling. Then took on Kris King after he had run King from behind and King landed a couple of wild punches to take the "win" in what was more of a mugging than anything. The Bomber than beat both Kevin McClelland and Warren Rychel before taking a tough loss to powerforward extraordinaire Cam Neely. This was a wild swinging fight and Neely drilled Baumgartner with a great shot that dropped him for the flash TKO but the Bomber got right back up. Both guys were bleeding as they were led to the box. Bomber's night wasn't over yet though as he took on Bruins tough guy Lyndon Byers in a nice scrap. Baumgartner landed some solid lefts in this scrap in fact he ended up breaking Byers' orbital bone in this fight and Byers was forced to spend the night in the Mass Eye and Ear Hospital which was in back of the old Garden. Bomber then took on Craig Berube and Berube caught him flush to the face with a big time right that dropped Baumgartner for the flash TKO. Here's the clip of the fight: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OASfIbGbqLQ&eurl
The next opponent on the list would be Kelly Buchberger. These two had been sticking each other and Bucky turned around and dropped the gloves and they had a quick go. Not much happened here as they were in close. Here's the clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcNhhdhbLRY&eurl
The last action that Baumgartner would see this season would be in a brawl against the Calgary Flames. Ken Sabourin of the Flames had drilled Gretzky with a hard hit and then Tim Hunter also gave Gretzky a shot and this sent the Bomber off the deep end. Baumgartner ended up fighting Gary Roberts and beating him and leaving him bloody and beat the snot out of Theoren Fleury, breaking his nose and leaving a bloody mess everywhere. Baumgartner was on a mission that night. Here are a couple of articles detailing the brawl:
Hockey Notebook
Jim Matheson. Edmonton Journal. Mar 25, 1989.
[EXCERPT]
When all hell broke loose in Thursday's Calgary-LA game (the teams had 866 penalty minutes in the eight games), Baumgartner was furious at Tim Hunter for knocking down Wayne Gretzky for no reason. "When (Ken) Sabourin hit Gretzky (to start a lot of wrestling), we realized that his kind of hit is part of the game. But we had to come over as a show of force, to show it wouldn't be tolerated. Tim Hunter coming over, though, and hitting Gretzky again, that's a challenge. He looked right at me, like 'what are you going to do about this?' " said Baumgartner. The weird thing about all this: Hunter ended up clobbering Steve Duchesne and Baumgartner made short work of little Theoren Fleury when the fireworks resumed.
Otto's pursuit of freedom is costly
Eric Duhatschek. Calgary Herald. Mar 25, 1989.
Joel Otto - eyes perplexed, face set in a quizzical `who me?' expression - tried to understand the commotion.
"Did it really look like I hit the official?" asked Otto. "I just tried to get away, that's all."
Someone - referee Bill McCreary and/or supervisor of officials Bryan Lewis - apparently disagreed.
Otto broke one of the National Hockey League's more stringent rules: Do not fold, spindle, mutilate or otherwise tamper with the officials.
It happened in Thursday's 4-2 National Hockey League win over Los Angeles Kings when Otto fell on top of linesman Ron Finn, grabbed him by the jersey and shook him up and down a number of times.
Otto received an automatic three-game suspension under Rule 67 which governs the physical abuse of officials.
There is a slim possibility that president John Ziegler could review the tape and increase the length of Otto's suspension.
"I don't think that'll happen," said general manager Cliff Fletcher. "We looked at the tape. The tape shows nothing."
In describing the incident, Otto said he told Finn to "let go" because he was getting repeatedly pummelled by the Kings' Jim Wiemer.
"I was ticked off," Otto said. "They weren't really doing their job. He hit me twice from under the pile. One came through and then about 20 seconds later, another one came through and hit me in the nose.
"I got a little mad. I just wanted to get back at (Wiemer). I wasn't trying to do anything to the official."
Kings' defenceman Dean Kennedy, nearest player to the fight, said Otto, "kind of lost it a bit. He kind of flipped out, but I don't think he hit him . . . He could have, but he didn't. He was trying to get away from him."
The play in question began when Otto brushed Kelly Hrudey as he skated between the Kings' goaltender and the post.
"I didn't see him hit the official," said Hrudey, "but I saw him throwing him around. That's not a good sight. I don't think that's legal."
When asked to comment further, Hrudey replied: "I could say more, but who cares? It's their problem, not mine. Whatever he gets is good for him. I could care less. He knows the rules."
Flames' coach Terry Crisp was upset with the speed of the league's decision. The last time the teams met, a 9-3 Calgary win in Los Angeles, Kings' winger Marty McSorley repeatedly punched linesman Kevin Collins in an attempt to hit the Flames' Tim Hunter and got away with it.
"I'm trying to figure out where they're coming from on this," said Crisp, rubbing a hand over his face, shaking his head. "I watched the whole thing. I don't know. I guess I need to find an optometrist pretty quick and get my glasses changed - because I don't understand how all this stuff can go on around us.
"A guy (McSorley) suckers three guys and goes completely ape and he gets the same suspension as a man (Gary Roberts) who stands there and holds a guy off and does nothing. I don't know where it all equals out.
"You start to get a little amazed at what we can do with our game sometimes."
The Otto-Wiemer matchup capped a rough night of hockey in which McCreary assessed 193 minutes in penalties, bringing the total for the eight-game season series to a whopping 866 minutes.
Kings' defenceman Ken Baumgartner set off the night's major melee by challenging Flames' rookie defenceman Ken Sabourin, who had bodychecked Wayne Gretzky into the boards.
By the time McCreary sorted things out, four players - Hunter and Roberts from Calgary, Baumgartner and Jay Miller from L.A. - were ejected from the game. Because of their accumulation of misconducts, Hunter and Baumgartner were automatically suspended for two games, Roberts and Miller for one.
Baumgartner especially took exception to a little bump that Hunter put on Gretzky that knocked the Kings' centre to the ice.
"He (Hunter) kind of looked at me like: `What are you going to do about this?' " he said. "I took it as a direct challenge. It was a challenge to the whole bench. You can't do it any better than that. It can't be any more obvious.
"We'll deal with him (Hunter) later. Sabourin is still on the list and Hunter, he's always been there."
Of his bump on Gretzky, Hunter replied: "Baumgartner bumps (Mike) Vernon. I did the same thing to Gretzky. I stuck out my chest and he went down like a stick man. What's Baumgartner doing talking to Vernon anyway? If they play around with Vernon, we'll play around with Gretzky.
1989-1990
Started off the season on a winning note with a win over Allan Kerr before besting Lou Crawford in what would be his last fight as a LA King. Baumgartner was then traded to the New York Islanders and in his first fight with the Isles, Bomber beat the snot out of Ed Kastelic before dominating Dave Maley and TKOing Paul Gillis in short order. Tried fighting Troy Loney but it never really got going, and then took on Alan May where both guys went lefty and Bomber landed the better shots to take the narrow win. Baumgartner then beat up Duane Sutter during a partial linebrawl. Tony Horacek was next on the agenda and it was a good fight with both guys landing some dandies and it ended with Baumgartner dropping Horacek to his knees and the zebras getting in quickly. Baumgartner then took on Joey Kocur in a nice fight. Both guys exchanged lefts and rights behind the net in a very even exchange. I called the fight a draw, but you can decide for yourselves, here's the clip: youtube.com/watch?v=s5GSJciOfZI
Baumgartner then took on his old rival Tim Hunter and out-pointed him a close scrap that featured alot of grappling back and forth. Baumgartner's last scrap of the season was the infamous linebrawl against the New York Rangers where he beat the piss out of Kris King who was VERY unwilling to trade punches with the Bomber. Here are some articles about the brawl in question:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0JGUaeA79U&eurl
By JOE LAPOINTE
Published: April 8, 1990
Football, cold and methodical and filled with prediagramed collisions, produces more serious injuries. Boxing, ''the sweet science,'' is clearly more dangerous, with constant punches to the head and body often damaging the vital organs.
But it is hockey, with its occasional brawling, sticking incidents and its sometimes unbridled passion, that is perceived by much of the public to be the most violent of spectator sports.
That perception was heightened this week after the ugly incident at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night during a Stanley Cup playoff game between the Rangers and the Islanders. Change in Attitude? The aftermath - swift and harsh sanctions against those judged responsible - may signal a subtle and important change in how the sport polices itself and where its attitude is moving in the 1990's. Then again, the National Hockey League's vigorous justice might be only a result of something happening in its biggest market before the angry eyes of the league president in high-profile tournament play.
Nevertheless, the question is intriguing: Is fighting, especially when it is premeditated and used as a part of strategy, going out of fashion?
''The beauty, the effort, the discipline, the dedication and the skill that had been invested was trashed by a complete lack of respect for N.H.L. rules and principles,'' John Ziegler, the president of the league, said in an unusually blunt statement Friday afternoon.
His comments came after he suspended one Islander player, Mick Vukota, for 10 games and another, Ken Baumgartner, for one. He also fined the team $25,000 and its coach, Al Arbour, $5,000, for the brawl that began at the end of Thursday's game, won by the Rangers, 2-1.
Islanders to Appeal
Yesterday, Bill Torrey, the general manager of the Islanders, said in a statement through his public relations department that he would appeal the league's ruling.
''If people would search the history of past incidents, the league has been responsive to the timing of them,'' Ziegler said yesterday through a spokesman. ''In the playoffs, we have always made decisions more quickly. People are more available. All these cases depend on circumstances. If it happened in Los Angeles or in Calgary, it would have been difficult to do it as quickly.
''It may appear that this was done more quickly, but we are not doing anything differently.''
'A Serious Situation'
Brian O'Neill, the N.H.L. executive vice president, who held the hearing with Ziegler, said yesterday that he didn't wish to speculate about premeditation in this incident.
''This is a serious situation,'' he said, in a telephone interview from Buffalo. ''I don't want to add to it.''
But, in general, he said: ''I'm not going to say to you that some fights are not there as tactics. In some cases, this does happen and that's an issue that has to be addressed. This particular case is a perfect example of how the league does not encourage fighting and has instituted several rules to deal with it. Some of what we consider stupid incidents and fighting have no place in the game.''
In retrospect, Thursday's brawl seems to have been inevitable. During the days before the New York-New York series, fans, reporters and players discussed the history of the rivalry between the teams and the occasional injuries and violence.
''These two teams,'' said Vukota, ''have been brought up to hate each other.''
Thursday's brawl took place shortly after Pat LaFontaine, the Islanders' skilled and gentlemanly star, was carried from the ice on a stretcher with a concussion. The injury occurred on a body check by James Patrick of the Rangers that was unpenalized and, most players and observers said, legal.
A few minutes later, with 2 seconds left in the game, the Islanders lined up for a face-off by sending out Vukota and Baumgartner, both of whom have extensive penalty records for fighting. Unlike most players, who stand still before the puck is dropped, Baumgartner skated energetically, back and forth, like a predatory fish looking for a victim.
That's Hockey, Says Nicholls
''Baumgartner was kind of foaming,'' said Bernie Nicholls of the Rangers. ''Mick Vukota was looking for somebody. Anybody surprised by that doesn't know hockey.''
Roger Neilson, the Ranger coach, sent out Chris Nilan and Kris King, two of his frequent fighters. The puck was dropped, the last 2 seconds ticked off the clock, and the fights began. But instead of engaging one of the Rangers' usual enforcers, Vukota sought out Jeff Bloemberg, who refuses to fight, and punched him repeatedly.
Ranger fans showered the ice with debris and many in the seats shouted profanities at the Islanders and their coach.
John D'Amico, the N.H.L.'s supervisor of officials on duty for this series, said the referee, Don Koharski, could have done little to prevent what obviously was brewing.
''As an official, you sense something that is going to happen, but you cannot stop players from coming on the ice,'' said D'Amico, a second-year supervisor who spent 24 years as a linesman.
Supervisor Doesn't Mind
''I don't know if the league is cracking down on fighting or not,'' D'Amico said. ''Myself, I feel nothing is wrong with a fight in a heated game. The league is cracking down on activities before the game, between the periods and after the games. I don't think the N.H.L. is out to hang anybody. I'd rather see two guys fight that two guys swinging their sticks.''
That traditional N.H.L. argument - that fistfighting is a relatively safe and spontaneous outlet for frustration and aggression - was difficult to justify after Thursday's nonspontaneous brawl.
Moreover, there is a growing attitude among some players that fighting should be banned. Ever since the Flyers ruled the league as the Broad Street Bullies in the mid-1970's, most N.H.L. teams have hired two or three players whose best skills are fighting. Still, most N.H.L. players rarely fight. A small number of players have a disproportionate share of major fighting penalties.
Twenty years ago, most N.H.L. players were from Canada and played as teen-agers in Canadian junior leagues, where fighting is tolerated. In recent years, the N.H.L. has been hiring a growing percentage of players from American colleges and European leagues, where fighting is harshly penalized with automatic suspensions.
Among the N.H.L.'s leading conscientious objectors are Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings and Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins, both among the top players in the game, both Canadians from Canadian junior leagues.
Gretzky, in particular, has become more outspoken about fighting since moving to Los Angeles from Edmonton before last season and being exposed to the difference in the attitudes between American and Canadian fans.
''We have such a poor image in California and the United States, just because we allow fighting,'' Gretzky told Ken Dryden in ''Home Game,'' Dryden's book about hockey in Canada. ''We don't need it any more.''
LEAD: By JOE SEXTON
The Islanders' chances to get back into their Stanley Cup playoff series with the Rangers were diminished today when the condition of Pat LaFontaine was listed as doubtful for Game 3 on Monday night at the Coliseum.
The Islanders' chances to get back into their Stanley Cup playoff series with the Rangers were diminished today when the condition of Pat LaFontaine was listed as doubtful for Game 3 on Monday night at the Coliseum.
The Islanders lost the first two games of the Patrick Division semifinal at Madison Square Garden, where LaFontaine suffered what the team called a moderate concussion in the opener on Thursday night.
On Saturday night, before the Rangers won by 5-2, LaFontaine had been listed as questionable, but neither played nor attended the game.
Mark Aldridge, the Islanders' trainer, said today that LaFontaine was suffering from ''post-concussion syndrome.''
''His reflexes are a little slow,'' Aldridge said. ''He still has headaches. He gets queasy when he bends over to tie his shoes.''
'50-50 or Zero'
LaFontaine wanted to attend practice today but was told by his doctor to stay home, Aldridge said. But LaFontaine may participate in the morning skate on Monday.
Al Arbour, the coach of the Islanders, said LaFontaine's chances of playing were ''50-50 or, maybe, zero.''
LaFontaine, who led the Islanders in goals with 54, was knocked unconscious late in the first game when checked by James Patrick. That game ended with fights that resulted in a $25,000 fine to the Islanders, a $5,000 fine to Arbour, a 10-game suspension of Mick Vukota of the Islanders and a one-game suspension of Ken Baumgartner of the Islanders.
Saturday's game had no similar outbreaks of violence, although major stick fouls were called against Mark Fitzpatrick, the Islanders' goalie, Jeff Norton, an Islander defenseman, and Normand Rochefort, a Ranger defenseman. All were ejected from the game.
The Unfortunate Pacifist
The Islanders are appealing the fines and Arbour said he would have no comment on the fines or on the harsh words of John Ziegler, the National Hockey League president, who called the Islanders' behavior in Game 1 disgraceful. Arbour did say he was tired of people ''dumping on us,'' but he wasn't specific about who is doing the dumping.
Arbour said Baumgartner, a defenseman who has played a few shifts at forward, ''might resurface there.'' Baumgartner, with one goal and 222 penalty minutes in the regular season, said he was tired of ''propaganda'' being used against the Islanders in recent days, particularly charges that Vukota shouldn't have repeatedly punched the head of Jeff Bloemberg of the Rangers, who is a religious person who does not fight.
''Mick was not aware of Bloemberg's religious convictions,'' Baumgartner said. ''It's unfortunate that Mr. Bloemberg was a pacifist, but we didn't know about that. He's a big kid.''
Avoiding 'Dumb Penalties'
Reflecting on LaFontaine's injury, Baumgartner said: ''Whether or not it's a clean hit, he's our star player. Look where it's put us now.'' ''With Paddy out, we don't have the firepower to wheel with them,'' Baumgartner said of the Rangers. ''So we have to check them. If it gets ugly on occasion, and that's what it takes to win, so be it.''
Baumgartner, Arbour and a chorus of Islanders said they had to avoid ''dumb penalties,'' like some of those they took in Game 2. Although nobody singled him out for criticism, there was an obvious inference to Fitzpatrick, who was cited by the officials for ''butt-ending'' Troy Mallette in the second period.
Fitzpatrick hit Mallette with his stick after Bryan Trottier had dumped him in front of the net with a holding penalty. At the time, the Islanders trailed by 4-2. Although they killed off the two minutes of the two-man disadvantage, they were victimized by the Rangers' power play near the end of Fitzpatrick's penalty as Patrick's goal at 11:35 gave the home team its commanding, three-goal lead.
Fitzpatrick said today that Mallette, Kris King and Mark Janssens of the Rangers were ''cement heads'' who ''try to take me off my game'' with distraction tactics.
''They've been getting me rattled,'' Fitzpatrick said. ''I have too much talent to get mixed up with that stuff. It's over and done with.'' Arbour did not say who would play in goal Monday night. Greg Bouris, the public relations director of the Islanders, said extra security would be in force at the Coliseum and that beer sales would be cut off after the first intermission, instead of after the second, which is the normal cut-off point.
1990-1991
Baumgartner started the season off with a dominating performance over Alan Stewart knocking Stewart to the ice with some solid lefts, not a TKO but certainly a knockdown win. Then the Bomber took on Marty McSorely in a long drawn out battle that I felt Baumgarter got the better of - it was a very close fight but I thought Baumgartner landed the better shots. Here’s the clip youtube.com/watch?v=jADbhnO4gHc The Bomber was then involved with Rick Tocchet in a famous mugging - Here's the clip of the incident: youtube.com/watch?v=2TJdtUtDSXM
Baumgartner recognizes his mistake
The Gazette. Montreal, Que. Dec 2, 1990.
Ken Baumgartner of the New York Islanders was the goat as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Islanders 5-1 Tuesday. The Flyers scored three times during a five-minute penalty assessed against Baumgartner for cutting Rich Tocchet with his stick during a fight.
"Hitting Tocchet was a stupid thing," Baumgartner said. "It cost the game and I feel badly about it. I was trying to throw a punch and my stick, which I had tried to drop, got tangled and hit him in the face and cut him."
By ALEX YANNIS, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: November 28, 1990
The Islanders paid dearly for Ken Baumgartner's pugnacity tonight. After Baumgartner, the team leader in penalty minutes, drew a five-minute major for fighting early in the second period, the Philadelphia Flyers scored the first three goals of the game during his absence and went on to a 5-1 victory at Nassau Coliseum.
Baumgartner was assessed the major penalty for drawing blood after punching Rick Tocchet at 4 minutes 24 seconds of the middle period.
"I didn't feel it was blatant; there were a lot of people there," Baumgartner said of the pile-up to the right of Glenn Healy, the goaltender for the Islanders. "I threw a left and it appeared that it hit him."
Pelle Eklund scored two of the Flyers' goals and Mike Ricci the other during the penalty to Baumgartner, who covered his face in despair after the third goal as he sat in the penalty box, with 53 seconds still left on his penalty.
"I try to play my role," said Baumgartner, the acknowledged policeman for the Islanders.
"He went down," he said of Tocchet, "and sometimes if you're not the first to swing, you'll be on the receiving end." Cut Over Eye
Baumgartner took a swing with his glove on and caused a a cut over Tocchet's right eye that required four stitches. Tocchet didn't even make an attempt to fight back, so Andy van Hellemond, the referee, penalized Baumgartner only.
"You get a five-minute major for fighting when you jump someone and you don't stop punching," Baumgartner said. "I took a swing that hit a stick that hit his eye. How often do you cut a guy with a glove on? It hurt the team."
It was Ricci, a 18-year-old rookie center and the Flyers' first choice in the draft last June, who capitalized first on Baumgartner's penalty by getting his sixth goal of the season just 50 seconds after the start of the penalty.
Gord Murphy, who scored twice in the Flyers' 4-1 triumph over the Islanders at the Spectrum Sunday night, started the play that led to the goal with a blistering shot from inside the blue line. Tocchet managed to control Murphy's shot with his left skate and shoot on the turn as he pivoted to his right. Ricci tipped the puck in as he skated across the crease from right to left. 'Floodgates Opened'
Eklund's first goal came at 7:26 of the period, when Healy's clearing attempt found his stick directly in front instead. Eklund's second goal came 65 seconds later by on a tip of Terry Carkner's shot.
"They got the first goal after the penalty and the floodgates opened," said Coach Al Arbour of the Islanders. "I think we were mentally tired. We weren't into it."
When Mark Berube extended the lead to four goals with his second of the season just 12 seconds into the last session, it deflated the Isladners. All hope was lost for them when Keith Acton stretched the lead to five goals with his fifth of the season at 4 minutes 55 seconds.
Arbour made a change after Acton's goal. He sent in Jeff Hackett to take the place of Healy, who departed after allowing five goals on 27 shots. The Flyers let down considerably, allowing the Islanders to take control, but all the Islanders managed was Dave Chyzowski's goal with 4:53 left that spoiled the shutout for Pete Peeters (7-3-1).
"Rod Dallman: Ken was and wanted to be the heavyweight of the league and he really knew how to go about that also. He was more of an intimidator. There were times that all he had to do was skate by a crowd on the ice and smile and it was enough to let the opposition know he was around. I guess you could say that he terrorized the league [WHL]. He definitely made a point of going out and fighting everyone that he heard was tough or thought that they were. He wanted to let everyone know that it was his league and no one else’s."
"The Bomber knows his role very well. He’ll stick up for his teammates and do anything for his team – and a very astute man also." - Tony Twist
"The Bomber could take a punch and could throw with equal skill with both hands. He taught me the importance of being ambidextrous." - Jacques Mailhot"
Ken Baumgarter was a product of Flin Flon, Manitoba, a small town in Northern Manitoba that has produced its fair share of tough guys. The Bomber played his Juniors career in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders and quickly established himself as one of the toughest guys in the WHL. I don't have any of his WHL footage on tape, other than the incredibly famous brawl at the Memorial Cup where Baumgartner fought Bob Probert in a wild brawl that spilled into the penalty box. Here's the clip:
youtube.com/watch?v=73TxczSfcqw
After finishing up his Juniors career, Baumgartner was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres and played for parts of two seasons with the New Haven Nighthawks, before his professional rights were picked up by the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings brought him up for 30 games in January and Baumgartner was BUSY. Here's a clip of his first official NHL fight which occured during a partail linebrawl against Craig Wolanin. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak-Z4HePsWo&eurl
The Bomber's first real NHL heavyweight test though would come in the form of entertaining Canucks fighter Craig Coxe of wide open "you punch me, I punch you" school of fighting. This one was a BEAUTY, no point in describing it blow by blow. Here's the clip, enjoy it for yourself: www.youtube.com/watch?v=25lIxttlcPI&eurl
Baumgartner then fought a tough customer in Marty McSorely and while it was a hell of a fight, McSorely took the clear decision. Baumgartner then fought Rod Buskas and while it was mostly a grapplefest, the Bomber did land a solid shot that cut Buskas and opened him up. Here's the clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXuaTvSfeSI&eurl
Baumgartner than had an absolute slugfest with an underrated Herb Raglan that was a real war. Great toe to toe scrap which can't be scored anything but a draw. Took on Ronnie Stern in a short fight where he landed a dandy punch that looked to draw blood, then had a wrestling match with Kevin McClelland before tagging Sergio Mommesso with a beauty left that dropped Momesso for the bigtime TKO. The next victim on the Bombers agenda would be legendary Bruins tough guy Lyndon Byers. This one started off the face-off and Byers was beating Baumgartner before Baumgartner took over landing several lefts and put Byers into the turtle/cover up position. Here's the clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQXuEOKmWjk&eurl
Baumgartner then had a two fight series with Peter Bakovic. The first fight wasn't very much as the camera didn't get there quickly enough to pick up anything and Baumgartner was just on top of Backovic. The second fight was different as the Bomber looks to smoke Bakovic with a nasty left along the boards and the zebras jump in immediately. I scored it a TKO. Then after this Baumgarter fought Gerald Diduck and after a nice even exchange, the Bomber got his left hand free and tagged Diduck with two dandy lefts that dropped Diduck to the ice with a nasty cup on his forehead. Back to back TKOs for Baumgartner. Baumgartner's next scrap was a wild back and forth exchange with Dirk Graham that I scored an edge for Baumgartner but I wouldn't argue against a draw.
The next game was a 3 fight marathon night for Baumgartner as he fought Shane Churla on two separate occasions and Tim Hunter as well - Talk about earning your money for being a rookie enforcer! I called the first two fights against Churla as solid draws while the fight with Hunter was a win for Baumgartner. Here's a clip of all of Baumgartner's scraps against Churla: youtube.com/watch?v=us-GtxRhLUI
The Hunter fight was awesome as both guys were going with the lefts and each landed some hard punches although I thought Bomber landed better, specifically with one terrific left uppercut which clearly hurt Hunter. Baumgartner then tried Churla in a rematch from their two fight game from a week before and clearly got the better of the exchange landing a couple of decent lefts while not absorbing anything telling from Churla. Baumgartner ended his stellar rookie season with a fight in a linebrawl against Jim Peplinski of the Flames. Here's the clip of the brawl: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_94HXF2k5k&eurl
1988-89
Baumgartner started the season off on the right note with a beating of Gary Roberts and followed that one up with another beatdown on Don Nachbauer pounding him mercilessly with rights. Had a very uninspired two fight game against the New Jersey Devils taking on Jimmy "Cracked" Korn and Jamie Huscroft in two grapplefests before beating Jay Caufield in a fight that was mostly in tight wrestling. Then took on Kris King after he had run King from behind and King landed a couple of wild punches to take the "win" in what was more of a mugging than anything. The Bomber than beat both Kevin McClelland and Warren Rychel before taking a tough loss to powerforward extraordinaire Cam Neely. This was a wild swinging fight and Neely drilled Baumgartner with a great shot that dropped him for the flash TKO but the Bomber got right back up. Both guys were bleeding as they were led to the box. Bomber's night wasn't over yet though as he took on Bruins tough guy Lyndon Byers in a nice scrap. Baumgartner landed some solid lefts in this scrap in fact he ended up breaking Byers' orbital bone in this fight and Byers was forced to spend the night in the Mass Eye and Ear Hospital which was in back of the old Garden. Bomber then took on Craig Berube and Berube caught him flush to the face with a big time right that dropped Baumgartner for the flash TKO. Here's the clip of the fight: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OASfIbGbqLQ&eurl
The next opponent on the list would be Kelly Buchberger. These two had been sticking each other and Bucky turned around and dropped the gloves and they had a quick go. Not much happened here as they were in close. Here's the clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcNhhdhbLRY&eurl
The last action that Baumgartner would see this season would be in a brawl against the Calgary Flames. Ken Sabourin of the Flames had drilled Gretzky with a hard hit and then Tim Hunter also gave Gretzky a shot and this sent the Bomber off the deep end. Baumgartner ended up fighting Gary Roberts and beating him and leaving him bloody and beat the snot out of Theoren Fleury, breaking his nose and leaving a bloody mess everywhere. Baumgartner was on a mission that night. Here are a couple of articles detailing the brawl:
Hockey Notebook
Jim Matheson. Edmonton Journal. Mar 25, 1989.
[EXCERPT]
When all hell broke loose in Thursday's Calgary-LA game (the teams had 866 penalty minutes in the eight games), Baumgartner was furious at Tim Hunter for knocking down Wayne Gretzky for no reason. "When (Ken) Sabourin hit Gretzky (to start a lot of wrestling), we realized that his kind of hit is part of the game. But we had to come over as a show of force, to show it wouldn't be tolerated. Tim Hunter coming over, though, and hitting Gretzky again, that's a challenge. He looked right at me, like 'what are you going to do about this?' " said Baumgartner. The weird thing about all this: Hunter ended up clobbering Steve Duchesne and Baumgartner made short work of little Theoren Fleury when the fireworks resumed.
Otto's pursuit of freedom is costly
Eric Duhatschek. Calgary Herald. Mar 25, 1989.
Joel Otto - eyes perplexed, face set in a quizzical `who me?' expression - tried to understand the commotion.
"Did it really look like I hit the official?" asked Otto. "I just tried to get away, that's all."
Someone - referee Bill McCreary and/or supervisor of officials Bryan Lewis - apparently disagreed.
Otto broke one of the National Hockey League's more stringent rules: Do not fold, spindle, mutilate or otherwise tamper with the officials.
It happened in Thursday's 4-2 National Hockey League win over Los Angeles Kings when Otto fell on top of linesman Ron Finn, grabbed him by the jersey and shook him up and down a number of times.
Otto received an automatic three-game suspension under Rule 67 which governs the physical abuse of officials.
There is a slim possibility that president John Ziegler could review the tape and increase the length of Otto's suspension.
"I don't think that'll happen," said general manager Cliff Fletcher. "We looked at the tape. The tape shows nothing."
In describing the incident, Otto said he told Finn to "let go" because he was getting repeatedly pummelled by the Kings' Jim Wiemer.
"I was ticked off," Otto said. "They weren't really doing their job. He hit me twice from under the pile. One came through and then about 20 seconds later, another one came through and hit me in the nose.
"I got a little mad. I just wanted to get back at (Wiemer). I wasn't trying to do anything to the official."
Kings' defenceman Dean Kennedy, nearest player to the fight, said Otto, "kind of lost it a bit. He kind of flipped out, but I don't think he hit him . . . He could have, but he didn't. He was trying to get away from him."
The play in question began when Otto brushed Kelly Hrudey as he skated between the Kings' goaltender and the post.
"I didn't see him hit the official," said Hrudey, "but I saw him throwing him around. That's not a good sight. I don't think that's legal."
When asked to comment further, Hrudey replied: "I could say more, but who cares? It's their problem, not mine. Whatever he gets is good for him. I could care less. He knows the rules."
Flames' coach Terry Crisp was upset with the speed of the league's decision. The last time the teams met, a 9-3 Calgary win in Los Angeles, Kings' winger Marty McSorley repeatedly punched linesman Kevin Collins in an attempt to hit the Flames' Tim Hunter and got away with it.
"I'm trying to figure out where they're coming from on this," said Crisp, rubbing a hand over his face, shaking his head. "I watched the whole thing. I don't know. I guess I need to find an optometrist pretty quick and get my glasses changed - because I don't understand how all this stuff can go on around us.
"A guy (McSorley) suckers three guys and goes completely ape and he gets the same suspension as a man (Gary Roberts) who stands there and holds a guy off and does nothing. I don't know where it all equals out.
"You start to get a little amazed at what we can do with our game sometimes."
The Otto-Wiemer matchup capped a rough night of hockey in which McCreary assessed 193 minutes in penalties, bringing the total for the eight-game season series to a whopping 866 minutes.
Kings' defenceman Ken Baumgartner set off the night's major melee by challenging Flames' rookie defenceman Ken Sabourin, who had bodychecked Wayne Gretzky into the boards.
By the time McCreary sorted things out, four players - Hunter and Roberts from Calgary, Baumgartner and Jay Miller from L.A. - were ejected from the game. Because of their accumulation of misconducts, Hunter and Baumgartner were automatically suspended for two games, Roberts and Miller for one.
Baumgartner especially took exception to a little bump that Hunter put on Gretzky that knocked the Kings' centre to the ice.
"He (Hunter) kind of looked at me like: `What are you going to do about this?' " he said. "I took it as a direct challenge. It was a challenge to the whole bench. You can't do it any better than that. It can't be any more obvious.
"We'll deal with him (Hunter) later. Sabourin is still on the list and Hunter, he's always been there."
Of his bump on Gretzky, Hunter replied: "Baumgartner bumps (Mike) Vernon. I did the same thing to Gretzky. I stuck out my chest and he went down like a stick man. What's Baumgartner doing talking to Vernon anyway? If they play around with Vernon, we'll play around with Gretzky.
1989-1990
Started off the season on a winning note with a win over Allan Kerr before besting Lou Crawford in what would be his last fight as a LA King. Baumgartner was then traded to the New York Islanders and in his first fight with the Isles, Bomber beat the snot out of Ed Kastelic before dominating Dave Maley and TKOing Paul Gillis in short order. Tried fighting Troy Loney but it never really got going, and then took on Alan May where both guys went lefty and Bomber landed the better shots to take the narrow win. Baumgartner then beat up Duane Sutter during a partial linebrawl. Tony Horacek was next on the agenda and it was a good fight with both guys landing some dandies and it ended with Baumgartner dropping Horacek to his knees and the zebras getting in quickly. Baumgartner then took on Joey Kocur in a nice fight. Both guys exchanged lefts and rights behind the net in a very even exchange. I called the fight a draw, but you can decide for yourselves, here's the clip: youtube.com/watch?v=s5GSJciOfZI
Baumgartner then took on his old rival Tim Hunter and out-pointed him a close scrap that featured alot of grappling back and forth. Baumgartner's last scrap of the season was the infamous linebrawl against the New York Rangers where he beat the piss out of Kris King who was VERY unwilling to trade punches with the Bomber. Here are some articles about the brawl in question:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0JGUaeA79U&eurl
By JOE LAPOINTE
Published: April 8, 1990
Football, cold and methodical and filled with prediagramed collisions, produces more serious injuries. Boxing, ''the sweet science,'' is clearly more dangerous, with constant punches to the head and body often damaging the vital organs.
But it is hockey, with its occasional brawling, sticking incidents and its sometimes unbridled passion, that is perceived by much of the public to be the most violent of spectator sports.
That perception was heightened this week after the ugly incident at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night during a Stanley Cup playoff game between the Rangers and the Islanders. Change in Attitude? The aftermath - swift and harsh sanctions against those judged responsible - may signal a subtle and important change in how the sport polices itself and where its attitude is moving in the 1990's. Then again, the National Hockey League's vigorous justice might be only a result of something happening in its biggest market before the angry eyes of the league president in high-profile tournament play.
Nevertheless, the question is intriguing: Is fighting, especially when it is premeditated and used as a part of strategy, going out of fashion?
''The beauty, the effort, the discipline, the dedication and the skill that had been invested was trashed by a complete lack of respect for N.H.L. rules and principles,'' John Ziegler, the president of the league, said in an unusually blunt statement Friday afternoon.
His comments came after he suspended one Islander player, Mick Vukota, for 10 games and another, Ken Baumgartner, for one. He also fined the team $25,000 and its coach, Al Arbour, $5,000, for the brawl that began at the end of Thursday's game, won by the Rangers, 2-1.
Islanders to Appeal
Yesterday, Bill Torrey, the general manager of the Islanders, said in a statement through his public relations department that he would appeal the league's ruling.
''If people would search the history of past incidents, the league has been responsive to the timing of them,'' Ziegler said yesterday through a spokesman. ''In the playoffs, we have always made decisions more quickly. People are more available. All these cases depend on circumstances. If it happened in Los Angeles or in Calgary, it would have been difficult to do it as quickly.
''It may appear that this was done more quickly, but we are not doing anything differently.''
'A Serious Situation'
Brian O'Neill, the N.H.L. executive vice president, who held the hearing with Ziegler, said yesterday that he didn't wish to speculate about premeditation in this incident.
''This is a serious situation,'' he said, in a telephone interview from Buffalo. ''I don't want to add to it.''
But, in general, he said: ''I'm not going to say to you that some fights are not there as tactics. In some cases, this does happen and that's an issue that has to be addressed. This particular case is a perfect example of how the league does not encourage fighting and has instituted several rules to deal with it. Some of what we consider stupid incidents and fighting have no place in the game.''
In retrospect, Thursday's brawl seems to have been inevitable. During the days before the New York-New York series, fans, reporters and players discussed the history of the rivalry between the teams and the occasional injuries and violence.
''These two teams,'' said Vukota, ''have been brought up to hate each other.''
Thursday's brawl took place shortly after Pat LaFontaine, the Islanders' skilled and gentlemanly star, was carried from the ice on a stretcher with a concussion. The injury occurred on a body check by James Patrick of the Rangers that was unpenalized and, most players and observers said, legal.
A few minutes later, with 2 seconds left in the game, the Islanders lined up for a face-off by sending out Vukota and Baumgartner, both of whom have extensive penalty records for fighting. Unlike most players, who stand still before the puck is dropped, Baumgartner skated energetically, back and forth, like a predatory fish looking for a victim.
That's Hockey, Says Nicholls
''Baumgartner was kind of foaming,'' said Bernie Nicholls of the Rangers. ''Mick Vukota was looking for somebody. Anybody surprised by that doesn't know hockey.''
Roger Neilson, the Ranger coach, sent out Chris Nilan and Kris King, two of his frequent fighters. The puck was dropped, the last 2 seconds ticked off the clock, and the fights began. But instead of engaging one of the Rangers' usual enforcers, Vukota sought out Jeff Bloemberg, who refuses to fight, and punched him repeatedly.
Ranger fans showered the ice with debris and many in the seats shouted profanities at the Islanders and their coach.
John D'Amico, the N.H.L.'s supervisor of officials on duty for this series, said the referee, Don Koharski, could have done little to prevent what obviously was brewing.
''As an official, you sense something that is going to happen, but you cannot stop players from coming on the ice,'' said D'Amico, a second-year supervisor who spent 24 years as a linesman.
Supervisor Doesn't Mind
''I don't know if the league is cracking down on fighting or not,'' D'Amico said. ''Myself, I feel nothing is wrong with a fight in a heated game. The league is cracking down on activities before the game, between the periods and after the games. I don't think the N.H.L. is out to hang anybody. I'd rather see two guys fight that two guys swinging their sticks.''
That traditional N.H.L. argument - that fistfighting is a relatively safe and spontaneous outlet for frustration and aggression - was difficult to justify after Thursday's nonspontaneous brawl.
Moreover, there is a growing attitude among some players that fighting should be banned. Ever since the Flyers ruled the league as the Broad Street Bullies in the mid-1970's, most N.H.L. teams have hired two or three players whose best skills are fighting. Still, most N.H.L. players rarely fight. A small number of players have a disproportionate share of major fighting penalties.
Twenty years ago, most N.H.L. players were from Canada and played as teen-agers in Canadian junior leagues, where fighting is tolerated. In recent years, the N.H.L. has been hiring a growing percentage of players from American colleges and European leagues, where fighting is harshly penalized with automatic suspensions.
Among the N.H.L.'s leading conscientious objectors are Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings and Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins, both among the top players in the game, both Canadians from Canadian junior leagues.
Gretzky, in particular, has become more outspoken about fighting since moving to Los Angeles from Edmonton before last season and being exposed to the difference in the attitudes between American and Canadian fans.
''We have such a poor image in California and the United States, just because we allow fighting,'' Gretzky told Ken Dryden in ''Home Game,'' Dryden's book about hockey in Canada. ''We don't need it any more.''
LEAD: By JOE SEXTON
The Islanders' chances to get back into their Stanley Cup playoff series with the Rangers were diminished today when the condition of Pat LaFontaine was listed as doubtful for Game 3 on Monday night at the Coliseum.
The Islanders' chances to get back into their Stanley Cup playoff series with the Rangers were diminished today when the condition of Pat LaFontaine was listed as doubtful for Game 3 on Monday night at the Coliseum.
The Islanders lost the first two games of the Patrick Division semifinal at Madison Square Garden, where LaFontaine suffered what the team called a moderate concussion in the opener on Thursday night.
On Saturday night, before the Rangers won by 5-2, LaFontaine had been listed as questionable, but neither played nor attended the game.
Mark Aldridge, the Islanders' trainer, said today that LaFontaine was suffering from ''post-concussion syndrome.''
''His reflexes are a little slow,'' Aldridge said. ''He still has headaches. He gets queasy when he bends over to tie his shoes.''
'50-50 or Zero'
LaFontaine wanted to attend practice today but was told by his doctor to stay home, Aldridge said. But LaFontaine may participate in the morning skate on Monday.
Al Arbour, the coach of the Islanders, said LaFontaine's chances of playing were ''50-50 or, maybe, zero.''
LaFontaine, who led the Islanders in goals with 54, was knocked unconscious late in the first game when checked by James Patrick. That game ended with fights that resulted in a $25,000 fine to the Islanders, a $5,000 fine to Arbour, a 10-game suspension of Mick Vukota of the Islanders and a one-game suspension of Ken Baumgartner of the Islanders.
Saturday's game had no similar outbreaks of violence, although major stick fouls were called against Mark Fitzpatrick, the Islanders' goalie, Jeff Norton, an Islander defenseman, and Normand Rochefort, a Ranger defenseman. All were ejected from the game.
The Unfortunate Pacifist
The Islanders are appealing the fines and Arbour said he would have no comment on the fines or on the harsh words of John Ziegler, the National Hockey League president, who called the Islanders' behavior in Game 1 disgraceful. Arbour did say he was tired of people ''dumping on us,'' but he wasn't specific about who is doing the dumping.
Arbour said Baumgartner, a defenseman who has played a few shifts at forward, ''might resurface there.'' Baumgartner, with one goal and 222 penalty minutes in the regular season, said he was tired of ''propaganda'' being used against the Islanders in recent days, particularly charges that Vukota shouldn't have repeatedly punched the head of Jeff Bloemberg of the Rangers, who is a religious person who does not fight.
''Mick was not aware of Bloemberg's religious convictions,'' Baumgartner said. ''It's unfortunate that Mr. Bloemberg was a pacifist, but we didn't know about that. He's a big kid.''
Avoiding 'Dumb Penalties'
Reflecting on LaFontaine's injury, Baumgartner said: ''Whether or not it's a clean hit, he's our star player. Look where it's put us now.'' ''With Paddy out, we don't have the firepower to wheel with them,'' Baumgartner said of the Rangers. ''So we have to check them. If it gets ugly on occasion, and that's what it takes to win, so be it.''
Baumgartner, Arbour and a chorus of Islanders said they had to avoid ''dumb penalties,'' like some of those they took in Game 2. Although nobody singled him out for criticism, there was an obvious inference to Fitzpatrick, who was cited by the officials for ''butt-ending'' Troy Mallette in the second period.
Fitzpatrick hit Mallette with his stick after Bryan Trottier had dumped him in front of the net with a holding penalty. At the time, the Islanders trailed by 4-2. Although they killed off the two minutes of the two-man disadvantage, they were victimized by the Rangers' power play near the end of Fitzpatrick's penalty as Patrick's goal at 11:35 gave the home team its commanding, three-goal lead.
Fitzpatrick said today that Mallette, Kris King and Mark Janssens of the Rangers were ''cement heads'' who ''try to take me off my game'' with distraction tactics.
''They've been getting me rattled,'' Fitzpatrick said. ''I have too much talent to get mixed up with that stuff. It's over and done with.'' Arbour did not say who would play in goal Monday night. Greg Bouris, the public relations director of the Islanders, said extra security would be in force at the Coliseum and that beer sales would be cut off after the first intermission, instead of after the second, which is the normal cut-off point.
1990-1991
Baumgartner started the season off with a dominating performance over Alan Stewart knocking Stewart to the ice with some solid lefts, not a TKO but certainly a knockdown win. Then the Bomber took on Marty McSorely in a long drawn out battle that I felt Baumgarter got the better of - it was a very close fight but I thought Baumgartner landed the better shots. Here’s the clip youtube.com/watch?v=jADbhnO4gHc The Bomber was then involved with Rick Tocchet in a famous mugging - Here's the clip of the incident: youtube.com/watch?v=2TJdtUtDSXM
Baumgartner recognizes his mistake
The Gazette. Montreal, Que. Dec 2, 1990.
Ken Baumgartner of the New York Islanders was the goat as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Islanders 5-1 Tuesday. The Flyers scored three times during a five-minute penalty assessed against Baumgartner for cutting Rich Tocchet with his stick during a fight.
"Hitting Tocchet was a stupid thing," Baumgartner said. "It cost the game and I feel badly about it. I was trying to throw a punch and my stick, which I had tried to drop, got tangled and hit him in the face and cut him."
By ALEX YANNIS, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: November 28, 1990
The Islanders paid dearly for Ken Baumgartner's pugnacity tonight. After Baumgartner, the team leader in penalty minutes, drew a five-minute major for fighting early in the second period, the Philadelphia Flyers scored the first three goals of the game during his absence and went on to a 5-1 victory at Nassau Coliseum.
Baumgartner was assessed the major penalty for drawing blood after punching Rick Tocchet at 4 minutes 24 seconds of the middle period.
"I didn't feel it was blatant; there were a lot of people there," Baumgartner said of the pile-up to the right of Glenn Healy, the goaltender for the Islanders. "I threw a left and it appeared that it hit him."
Pelle Eklund scored two of the Flyers' goals and Mike Ricci the other during the penalty to Baumgartner, who covered his face in despair after the third goal as he sat in the penalty box, with 53 seconds still left on his penalty.
"I try to play my role," said Baumgartner, the acknowledged policeman for the Islanders.
"He went down," he said of Tocchet, "and sometimes if you're not the first to swing, you'll be on the receiving end." Cut Over Eye
Baumgartner took a swing with his glove on and caused a a cut over Tocchet's right eye that required four stitches. Tocchet didn't even make an attempt to fight back, so Andy van Hellemond, the referee, penalized Baumgartner only.
"You get a five-minute major for fighting when you jump someone and you don't stop punching," Baumgartner said. "I took a swing that hit a stick that hit his eye. How often do you cut a guy with a glove on? It hurt the team."
It was Ricci, a 18-year-old rookie center and the Flyers' first choice in the draft last June, who capitalized first on Baumgartner's penalty by getting his sixth goal of the season just 50 seconds after the start of the penalty.
Gord Murphy, who scored twice in the Flyers' 4-1 triumph over the Islanders at the Spectrum Sunday night, started the play that led to the goal with a blistering shot from inside the blue line. Tocchet managed to control Murphy's shot with his left skate and shoot on the turn as he pivoted to his right. Ricci tipped the puck in as he skated across the crease from right to left. 'Floodgates Opened'
Eklund's first goal came at 7:26 of the period, when Healy's clearing attempt found his stick directly in front instead. Eklund's second goal came 65 seconds later by on a tip of Terry Carkner's shot.
"They got the first goal after the penalty and the floodgates opened," said Coach Al Arbour of the Islanders. "I think we were mentally tired. We weren't into it."
When Mark Berube extended the lead to four goals with his second of the season just 12 seconds into the last session, it deflated the Isladners. All hope was lost for them when Keith Acton stretched the lead to five goals with his fifth of the season at 4 minutes 55 seconds.
Arbour made a change after Acton's goal. He sent in Jeff Hackett to take the place of Healy, who departed after allowing five goals on 27 shots. The Flyers let down considerably, allowing the Islanders to take control, but all the Islanders managed was Dave Chyzowski's goal with 4:53 left that spoiled the shutout for Pete Peeters (7-3-1).