Flyer Fights: Why You Still Shouldn't Mess with Simmonds, but Might Be Okay with Rinaldo and Harry Z

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Hockey games can tend to get out hand when a team opens up an early lead.

The trailing club's enforcer usually tries to turn the momentum with a fight, Dan Carcillo usually happily and stupidly obliges (see: Game 6 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals) and the team whose behind on the scoreboard either seizes that opportunity to climb back into the game, or the whole production just devolves from there.

Saturday night against the Blue Jackets, we were treated to the latter.
A 9-2 hockey game broke out in the middle of a three-fight boxing card, featuring Wayne Simmonds vs. Derek Dorsett, Zac Rinaldo vs. Cody Bass and (believe it or not) Harry Zolniercyzk vs. James Wisniewski (*nervously tugs collar*).

Of the three Flyers, only Simmonds could claim definitive victory, after bloodying Dorsett's nose. If we're giving Rinaldo the benefit of the doubt, we can call his fight a "draw;" sadly, we can't say the same for the young Harry Z, who was badly outmatched by the larger Wisniewski. Still, gotta' hand it to kid for stepping up in an effort to prove that he was the one with the goofier last name.

And, now that we're looking into it, he did have 127 penalty minutes in just 29 games during his senior of college hockey at Brown University. Bear in mind, fighting is not allowed in the college game, meaning he's probably done some pretty nifty work with his stick.

And now, videos of guys trying to punch each other in the face...on skates! Pay extra attention to the commentary from the Blue Jacket announcers in the Rinaldo video, who clearly weren't ready to give up on the game. I think the play-by-play guy was about to challenge the Flyer bench himself.

Simmonds-Dorsett:

Rinaldo-Bass:

Zolniercyzk-Wisniewski:

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