Fight Card – McQuaid vs. Crombeen, 02-22-12

Some of the best fights come after a goal has been scored early in the game . . . some of the worst, too. This bout between Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid and St. Louis Blues grinder BJ Crombeen would fall somewhere in between, but only slightly closer to “worst” than “best”, and this one ended without a clear winner.

Let’s look at the film:

Something I harp on A LOT in reporting about hockey fights is the tendency for modern fighters to utilize the so-called “Sweater Jab” or “Jersey Jab” in which, to keep distance away from the opponent, a fighter punches his opponent while having hold of the collar of his jersey. I absolutely abhor the move, as it looks ridiculous and rarely inflicts a great amount of damage, nor does it really work to the advantage of the “Sweater Jabber”. There were a lot of “Sweater Jabs” in this fight, more so by Crombeen (who carries on with the practice more often than I would like to see) than McQuaid, and that’s why – other than the slight reach advantage McQuaid holds on Crombeen – he got better punches on Beej in this fight. Crombeen got some good shots in of his own, and that’s why this fight ended in a draw, but the case could be made that McQuaid got a slight edge in this bout.

I would not disagree with such an assessment, but this was a draw, as the voters and my “trained” (HAHA) eye see it.