HouseLeague
01-22-2008, 10:50 AM
Still remember him setting the PIM's record in Swift.
Dan Coughlin: Monsters defenseman relishes role as fighter
Dan Coughlin | The Chronicle-Telegram
Mitch Love, a 23-year-old defenseman with the Lake Erie Monsters hockey team, knows how to plunk the heartstrings of a hockey fan’s heart.
“It never hurts to drop the gloves at the ‘Q’ and get the fans riled up a little bit,” says the native Canadian with the bent nose.
The Monsters have been in town only three months and have played only 22 American Hockey League games at the downtown “Q,” yet the fans already have their favorite. Mitch Love, come on down!
“Because I’m a fighter. People love a fighter,” he says. “I enjoy it and obviously the fans do, too.”
He says a fight engergizes the crowd and it radiates down to the ice.
“It’s my job,” Love continues. “If it will change the momentum of a game, get my teammates in a better mood when they come back on the ice, that’s what I’m doing. I did it when I was little in the back door rink and I still enjoy it.”
He estimates that his nose has been broken four or five times. He had it reset only the first time. Obviously, it still needs some work but he will wait until his playing days are over.
Did he have his nose reset without anesthesia?
“Yes,” he said.
Did the doctor just push it back into shape with the heel of his hand, so you could feel the cartilage in your nose crunching?
“Yes,” he said.
Did it make your eyes water?
“Yes, it did,” he said.
It reminded me of my own experience in a doctor’s office in South Bend, Ind., after a football game long, long ago. Evidently, this primitive medical procedure hasn’t changed in 50 years.
Fighting on ice may look easy, but it takes practice.
“It’s a talent,” Love said. “Anybody can throw a punch. But not when you’re standing on pieces of steel attached to boots. Some guys can do it better than others.”
A traditional tactic is to pull your opponent’s jersey over his head.
“The new Reebok jersey is easier to pull over their head. With your jersey over your head you can’t see where the punch is coming from.”
Occasionally, Love and veteran defenseman Dale Purinton have been seen demonstrating the tricks of the trade to young defensemen after practice.
Nobody comes out of a hockey fight unscathed. Even the winner is hurting by the time he takes a seat in the penalty box.
“You’re looking around for an ice pack for your knuckles,” Love said.
Love grew up in Quesnel, a lumber town in British Columbia 10 hours north of Vancouver. He didn’t say if this was 10 hours by train, car or dogsled. His father also grew up there and still works in the paper mill. In his day Love’s father also played pro hockey for three years in Germany.
Love says he has no idea how close he is to the National Hockey League. The Monsters are a farm club of the Colorado Rockies, who own Love’s contract.
“It will be a thrill for my parents to sit back on Saturday night, hockey night in Canada, and watch me on television, the way my dad and I would watch hockey games together,” said Love.
It will be easy for Love’s dad to pick him out of a crowd. Love will be the guy with the bloody nose.
Contact Dan Coughlin at 329-7137 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.
Dan Coughlin: Monsters defenseman relishes role as fighter
Dan Coughlin | The Chronicle-Telegram
Mitch Love, a 23-year-old defenseman with the Lake Erie Monsters hockey team, knows how to plunk the heartstrings of a hockey fan’s heart.
“It never hurts to drop the gloves at the ‘Q’ and get the fans riled up a little bit,” says the native Canadian with the bent nose.
The Monsters have been in town only three months and have played only 22 American Hockey League games at the downtown “Q,” yet the fans already have their favorite. Mitch Love, come on down!
“Because I’m a fighter. People love a fighter,” he says. “I enjoy it and obviously the fans do, too.”
He says a fight engergizes the crowd and it radiates down to the ice.
“It’s my job,” Love continues. “If it will change the momentum of a game, get my teammates in a better mood when they come back on the ice, that’s what I’m doing. I did it when I was little in the back door rink and I still enjoy it.”
He estimates that his nose has been broken four or five times. He had it reset only the first time. Obviously, it still needs some work but he will wait until his playing days are over.
Did he have his nose reset without anesthesia?
“Yes,” he said.
Did the doctor just push it back into shape with the heel of his hand, so you could feel the cartilage in your nose crunching?
“Yes,” he said.
Did it make your eyes water?
“Yes, it did,” he said.
It reminded me of my own experience in a doctor’s office in South Bend, Ind., after a football game long, long ago. Evidently, this primitive medical procedure hasn’t changed in 50 years.
Fighting on ice may look easy, but it takes practice.
“It’s a talent,” Love said. “Anybody can throw a punch. But not when you’re standing on pieces of steel attached to boots. Some guys can do it better than others.”
A traditional tactic is to pull your opponent’s jersey over his head.
“The new Reebok jersey is easier to pull over their head. With your jersey over your head you can’t see where the punch is coming from.”
Occasionally, Love and veteran defenseman Dale Purinton have been seen demonstrating the tricks of the trade to young defensemen after practice.
Nobody comes out of a hockey fight unscathed. Even the winner is hurting by the time he takes a seat in the penalty box.
“You’re looking around for an ice pack for your knuckles,” Love said.
Love grew up in Quesnel, a lumber town in British Columbia 10 hours north of Vancouver. He didn’t say if this was 10 hours by train, car or dogsled. His father also grew up there and still works in the paper mill. In his day Love’s father also played pro hockey for three years in Germany.
Love says he has no idea how close he is to the National Hockey League. The Monsters are a farm club of the Colorado Rockies, who own Love’s contract.
“It will be a thrill for my parents to sit back on Saturday night, hockey night in Canada, and watch me on television, the way my dad and I would watch hockey games together,” said Love.
It will be easy for Love’s dad to pick him out of a crowd. Love will be the guy with the bloody nose.
Contact Dan Coughlin at 329-7137 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.