Malc
02-13-2011, 12:46 PM
By Doyle Potenteau
Colton Jobke can expect a call from the WHL and disciplinarian Richard Doerksen in the near future for delivering an injury-causing bodycheck.
On Friday night, in what was a heated game between the Kelowna Rockets and Chilliwack Bruins at Prospera Place, Jobke slammed into Tim Traber with a blindside hit. Skating up the right-side boards and looking back for a clearing pass near the Bruins‘ blue-line, Traber, an 18-year-old Chilliwack forward, was levelled when Jobke, anticipating the play, exploded into him with a hard hit.
Traber fell to the ice, with his right leg collapsing awkwardly underneath him. The 6-foot-2 right-winger was down for a few minutes before being helped off the ice, then to hospital. Reports say that Traber suffered a broken fibula and will miss the rest of the year.
On Saturday, the league said that Jobke has been suspended, with the length of the suspension to be announced. Last season, the WHL handed out 110 games in suspensions; this season, it‘s already at 135, excluding Jobke‘s suspension.
The play came exactly one week after Bruins blue-liner Brandon Manning was suspended seven games for a hit on Austin Madaisky of the Kamloops Blazers...
As for Jobke‘s hit, don‘t be surprised if he‘s handed a five-game suspension or longer.
"I didn‘t think it was a good hit," Rockets head coach Ryan Huska said immediately after the game. "Traber didn‘t have the puck, and, from what I saw originally - and I haven‘t looked at it since - I thought it wasn‘t a very good hit. Even though he‘s our player, it‘s one of the hits where I wouldn‘t want to see one of our guys get hit that way."
"It wasn‘t good. It was not a good hit," added Bruins general manager and head coach Marc Habscheid, who called the contest "a fierce game, an edgy game."
The game featured four fights, including Emerson Hrynyk taking on Jobke immediately after the Traber hit; Chilliwack forward Ryan Howse laying out Kelowna defenceman Tyson Barrie with a clean, but hard, check early in the first period; and two end-boards close calls.
The first was when Rockets forward Evan Bloodoff was slightly pushed from behind at the goal-line while trying to turn the corner on a Bruins defenceman and cut to the net with speed. Bloodoff lost his balance and fell into the end boards, but luckily wasn‘t injured.
The other was when Bruins blue-liner Curt Gogol fell into the end boards on a race for the puck after getting pushed from behind at the goal-line. Only the slimmest of balance margins prevented Gogol from wiping out hard into the boards, and he became understandably incensed at an official for not calling a penalty.
These dangerous plays, however, aren‘t going to go away, especially not now with most of the Western Conference involved in tight playoff races...
"It‘s a tough division... this whole Western Conference is tough," said Habscheid. "It‘s a grind-em-out place, the buildings are tough to play in, but it‘s a great developmental ground for young players to hone their skills. It‘s good teams, lots on the line to play for and most games are very competitive."
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=332802
Colton Jobke can expect a call from the WHL and disciplinarian Richard Doerksen in the near future for delivering an injury-causing bodycheck.
On Friday night, in what was a heated game between the Kelowna Rockets and Chilliwack Bruins at Prospera Place, Jobke slammed into Tim Traber with a blindside hit. Skating up the right-side boards and looking back for a clearing pass near the Bruins‘ blue-line, Traber, an 18-year-old Chilliwack forward, was levelled when Jobke, anticipating the play, exploded into him with a hard hit.
Traber fell to the ice, with his right leg collapsing awkwardly underneath him. The 6-foot-2 right-winger was down for a few minutes before being helped off the ice, then to hospital. Reports say that Traber suffered a broken fibula and will miss the rest of the year.
On Saturday, the league said that Jobke has been suspended, with the length of the suspension to be announced. Last season, the WHL handed out 110 games in suspensions; this season, it‘s already at 135, excluding Jobke‘s suspension.
The play came exactly one week after Bruins blue-liner Brandon Manning was suspended seven games for a hit on Austin Madaisky of the Kamloops Blazers...
As for Jobke‘s hit, don‘t be surprised if he‘s handed a five-game suspension or longer.
"I didn‘t think it was a good hit," Rockets head coach Ryan Huska said immediately after the game. "Traber didn‘t have the puck, and, from what I saw originally - and I haven‘t looked at it since - I thought it wasn‘t a very good hit. Even though he‘s our player, it‘s one of the hits where I wouldn‘t want to see one of our guys get hit that way."
"It wasn‘t good. It was not a good hit," added Bruins general manager and head coach Marc Habscheid, who called the contest "a fierce game, an edgy game."
The game featured four fights, including Emerson Hrynyk taking on Jobke immediately after the Traber hit; Chilliwack forward Ryan Howse laying out Kelowna defenceman Tyson Barrie with a clean, but hard, check early in the first period; and two end-boards close calls.
The first was when Rockets forward Evan Bloodoff was slightly pushed from behind at the goal-line while trying to turn the corner on a Bruins defenceman and cut to the net with speed. Bloodoff lost his balance and fell into the end boards, but luckily wasn‘t injured.
The other was when Bruins blue-liner Curt Gogol fell into the end boards on a race for the puck after getting pushed from behind at the goal-line. Only the slimmest of balance margins prevented Gogol from wiping out hard into the boards, and he became understandably incensed at an official for not calling a penalty.
These dangerous plays, however, aren‘t going to go away, especially not now with most of the Western Conference involved in tight playoff races...
"It‘s a tough division... this whole Western Conference is tough," said Habscheid. "It‘s a grind-em-out place, the buildings are tough to play in, but it‘s a great developmental ground for young players to hone their skills. It‘s good teams, lots on the line to play for and most games are very competitive."
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=332802