Liambas hit on Fanelli

[furlanitalia 1]

http://www.totalprosports.com/blog/index.p...ter-brutal-hit/

OHL - D man comes behind the net, reverses play and gets hit. Knocked out and game was delayed by 40 minutes. He was left with a broken skull, broken orbital bone, and is in intensive care still but is now breathing on his own.

K, after watching the video about 15 times this is definitely a dirty hit to the back. He could see Fanelli is turning and still proceeded to launch himself into his back. Had he stayed on his feet he probably wouldn't have sent the kid face first into the boards.

This is just my opinion on the hit and I would love to hear everyone else's. My thoughts go out to Fanelli and his family as well.

[KingPest19 0]

Wouldnt say he exactly launched himself into Fanelli and that him leaving his feet by that little amount of didnt have that much to do with his head making contact with the glass. His head was going to make contact with the glass regardless and his helmet popping off like it did didnt help out at all. Its one of those hits that could have gone a different way but unfortunately it didnt.

[hockeyfreak7 0]

definitely a board. probably a charge.

but the helmet coming off and the spin before the hit definitely dont do fanelli any good here.

i think we shouldnt be judging this on the outcome...judge it on the play itself. its not liambis's fault that the helmet came off causing fanelli to fracture his skull.

[KingPest19 0]

definitely a board. probably a charge.

but the helmet coming off and the spin before the hit definitely dont do fanelli any good here.

i think we shouldnt be judging this on the outcome...judge it on the play itself. its not liambis's fault that the helmet came off causing fanelli to fracture his skull.

Most definitely a one of the two.

I can understand why players will sometimes try and spin to avoid the check but sometimes its too late to do that and spinning will actually put them in a much more dangerous position increasing the chances of a severe injury.

[furlanitalia 1]

My initial thought was that this was a completely fluke and was in no way Liambas' fault - but after watching it over and over I'd have to say he definitely followed through on the hit aggressively. I understand to go out give it your all but there was no need for this IMO. Regardless of how much he left the ice, he still hit high and did jump. His feet were off the ice when he made the hit. Had he stayed planted and hit with his body and not his arm he might have taken Fanelli into the boards with him, and her certainly wouldn't have hit him so high

I'm pretty sure Fanelli didn't see Liambas coming down on him, or else he would've braced and not spun.

Regardless, while I believe it was a dirty hit I do think there were enough "random" factors involved to not deem him suspended for life.

That all being said this is my opinion after watching it multiple times. If this had happened while I was reffing I would probably call a hit from behind as that what it is, regardless of Fanelli spinning.

[Race4LastPlace 31]

After seeing this, and several other videos of Liambis, you could almost see something like this happening unfortunately. Most of these videos show him with no intention of making a play, he's just out there to take somebody's head off. Nearly does this same thing 2 years ago. Guy 's a lil off balance coming behind the net and he just misses his head. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd5doNDBZ0c.

[automorph 0]

unfortunately that is hockey.....some players jobs are just to go around and try to kill people.....unfortunate :(

[KingPest19 0]

My initial thought was that this was a completely fluke and was in no way Liambas' fault - but after watching it over and over I'd have to say he definitely followed through on the hit aggressively. I understand to go out give it your all but there was no need for this IMO. Regardless of how much he left the ice, he still hit high and did jump. His feet were off the ice when he made the hit. Had he stayed planted and hit with his body and not his arm he might have taken Fanelli into the boards with him, and her certainly wouldn't have hit him so high

I'm pretty sure Fanelli didn't see Liambas coming down on him, or else he would've braced and not spun.

Regardless, while I believe it was a dirty hit I do think there were enough "random" factors involved to not deem him suspended for life.

That all being said this is my opinion after watching it multiple times. If this had happened while I was reffing I would probably call a hit from behind as that what it is, regardless of Fanelli spinning.

Yeah he would have. He wasnt off the the ice all that much so contact would have still been in the same spot roughly. He still would have hit him high had he been on the ice.

[IniNew 53]

unfortunately that is hockey.....some players jobs are just to go around and try to kill people.....unfortunate :(

There shouldn't be one guy on your roster out to hurt people. Sure, someone to lay hits and create a physical presence, but this is completely different.

[kovyperron5727 0]

unfortunately that is hockey.....some players jobs are just to go around and try to kill people.....unfortunate :(

There shouldn't be one guy on your roster out to hurt people. Sure, someone to lay hits and create a physical presence, but this is completely different.

Agreed. It is unfortunate how many people don't realize this concept

[vek 0]

The OHL shouldn't allow a disparity in ages. The hammer is 20. The nail is 16. There's a world of difference in physical maturity and hockey experience, even at that level.

Seems to me that as an undrafted over-ager, not putting up big points, the only way to impress is to play on the edge physically. That seems to me that it puts the younger guys at an unacceptable risk of being seriously injured. Seems to me that's what happened here.

[hockeyfreak7 0]

thats junior hockey for you..

its like that at every level.

from the whl to the ohl to junior C in the US..

theres even 15 year olds stacked up against 20 year olds.

[Aussie Joe 0]

Fair enough, the only thing a guy can do well is hit. But seriously, what he has done to this kid isn't hockey, it isn't sport. If he's ran out of the league (which I doubt will happen) then all the better.

Don't they have enforcer's in Junior level to stop this sort of thing from happening?

[RecLeagueHero 0]

Minor boarding call, potentially charging. The issue here, and you can see it from the video, is that his helmet comes out of place, and then off, as soon as contact was made. Sending him into the glass with absolutely no protection. Had the chin strap been adjusted correctly the helmet would have remain on and while he may have gotten his bell rung, this would have been no where near this serious. When playing drop in with some of the kids around here that play on the local junior B teams you consistantly see the same thing: chin strap so loose you could probably fit your fist in the space between the strap and the player's chin. He obviously should not have made that hit, but even if the hit was perfectly clean when the helmet comes off like that you could have the exact same result.

I also agree that the differences in age and experience is a big factor. I tend to think that midget hockey should be modified to U18 and juniors to U21-22. With modern training programs the difference in size, strength, and experience between a 20 year old and a 16 year old creates a dangerous enviroment for the younger players.

[n3ss 0]

i don't think the hit was perfectly clean however i would not put 100% of the responsibility for the accident on liambas - when fanelli turned to his side he set himself up big time.

no point an arguing really. Its a shame this happened. i hope fanelli is able to recover and live a somewhat normal life.

edit again: i cringe a bit every time i watch this hit. so glad mens league hockey is typically no check.

[maxamillion 3]

Like the Bergeron hit, it was one of those plays that happens a million times a game, but the player getting hit sets himself up for it. If he had spun so his back was to the wall, he'd have been fine and the play would have kept going. Instead he turned to the boards, ducked his head a little bit, and, on top of that, his helmet flew off. Liambas shouldn't have hit him as hard, but Fanelli put himself in harms way.

[lampliter87 8]

Bullshit, there's no way you can blame this on the kid.

[tro 4]

1 yr suspension for Liambas

http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hock...s_for_the_year/

[DarkStar50 679]

"there was an interesting discussion last evening on TSN’s “Off The Record”, which featured ex-NHLers Greg Hotham and Nathan Lafayette. When asked whether the OHL hit was excessive, Lafayette said that many players will not make it to the NHL by simply “rubbing out” an opponent." From Slap Shot blog in NY Times.

The over-ager mauls the rookie. Vicious, dirty hit that takes place in "No man's land" behind the net. This kid never stood a chance.

[KingPest19 0]

Bullshit, there's no way you can blame this on the kid.

You cant say that he did all the right things either. If a guys coming full speed and the other player turns his back at the last second giving the oncoming player no chance to hold up or not deliver the hit and gets hit in the back and injured is all the blame placed on the guy delivering the hit? Not absolving Liambas of blame but look where hes at when Fanelli starts to turn. Weve seen this situation before where a guy sees a forechecker coming and turns at the last second leaving no chance to avoid the hit and gets injured. Players tried to avoid the hit and end up getting hurt worse than they would have just taking the check.

[furlanitalia 1]

Honestly, the only thing you could possibly blame Fanelli for is not having his helmet tightened enough to stay on, although this could have been a fluke. Yes he turned but I truly believe he didn't see Liambas coming down (Goalie was in his way). The hit was hard, high (IMO he left his feet), and unnecessary.

[KingPest19 0]

Honestly, the only thing you could possibly blame Fanelli for is not having his helmet tightened enough to stay on, although this could have been a fluke. Yes he turned but I truly believe he didn't see Liambas coming down (Goalie was in his way). The hit was hard, high (IMO he left his feet), and unnecessary.

You can see him look up and glance in that direction so theres a very good chance he saw him coming. That doesnt change the fact that he turned at the last possible moment leaving Liambas no time to react or avoid the hit. Im not going to deny the hit was hard but to say it was high I dont agree with. Fanelli got caught on the back of the shoulder as he was sort of hunched over. Is that really a high hit?

[B-Nads 0]

Honestly, the only thing you could possibly blame Fanelli for is not having his helmet tightened enough to stay on, although this could have been a fluke. Yes he turned but I truly believe he didn't see Liambas coming down (Goalie was in his way). The hit was hard, high (IMO he left his feet), and unnecessary.

You can see him look up and glance in that direction so theres a very good chance he saw him coming. That doesnt change the fact that he turned at the last possible moment leaving Liambas no time to react or avoid the hit. Im not going to deny the hit was hard but to say it was high I dont agree with. Fanelli got caught on the back of the shoulder as he was sort of hunched over. Is that really a high hit?

I look at it and I see Stevens head-hunting. Sorry - I will agree that by twisting, Fanelli put himself in harm's way - probably intentionally as many NHL players do to draw a penalty, but Liambas had all the time he needed to avoid the hit. Just as I agree that Fanelli saw Liambas, Liambas saw him, and stopped striding at the face-off circle, setting up for a hit. He was losing speed headed into the boards, and had options - he opted to lift his feet and go high on a player in a vulnerable position. Given his history of reckless aggression (not to be confused with passion), I think he fully deserves what he received.

I do, however, feel the injuries were more resultant from the poorly secured helmet than the impact of the hit itself.

[furlanitalia 1]

I watched it again and you're right, he does know Liambas is coming (he looks before he is even behind the net, I had missed that). Although I don't agree he was hunched over so much he was in hockey stance (his knees were bent). I believe it was high, it could just be the angle of the camera, but I strongly believe he never should have launched himself into Fanelli the way he did. His feet left the ice to make the hit. Is one year suspension overkill? Maybe, but was the hit unnecessary? Definitely.

[KingPest19 0]

Honestly, the only thing you could possibly blame Fanelli for is not having his helmet tightened enough to stay on, although this could have been a fluke. Yes he turned but I truly believe he didn't see Liambas coming down (Goalie was in his way). The hit was hard, high (IMO he left his feet), and unnecessary.

You can see him look up and glance in that direction so theres a very good chance he saw him coming. That doesnt change the fact that he turned at the last possible moment leaving Liambas no time to react or avoid the hit. Im not going to deny the hit was hard but to say it was high I dont agree with. Fanelli got caught on the back of the shoulder as he was sort of hunched over. Is that really a high hit?

I look at it and I see Stevens head-hunting. Sorry - I will agree that by twisting, Fanelli put himself in harm's way - probably intentionally as many NHL players do to draw a penalty, but Liambas had all the time he needed to avoid the hit. Just as I agree that Fanelli saw Liambas, Liambas saw him, and stopped striding at the face-off circle, setting up for a hit. He was losing speed headed into the boards, and had options - he opted to lift his feet and go high on a player in a vulnerable position. Given his history of reckless aggression (not to be confused with passion), I think he fully deserves what he received.

I do, however, feel the injuries were more resultant from the poorly secured helmet than the impact of the hit itself.

The only way he could have avoided the hit was not to make it all. He was committed to the hit and Fanelli turned to reverse the play at the lost possible second. Liambas had no chance at that time to avoid a hit. Look at the video and youll see that Fanelli is perpendicular to the boards and Liambas is already past the goal line near the back of the net. What option does he realistically have at that point but to continue with hit?

I have no problem with a suspension but I have a problem with the length of the suspension. Had Fanelli had his back to him the entire time I would agree with it but considering the circumstances of this hit I feel its overkill.