Luke Witkowski was looking for a fight. The Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman – who was recently recalled by the team earlier in the week – dropped his gloves twice during one shift looking to fight on Saturday night. Unfortunately, Witkowski never got his wish.
It was all quite comical. Patrick Maroon, a left wing on the Anaheim Ducks, and Witkowski dropped their gloves and sticks before a faceoff and did a little dancing before realizing the puck had never been dropped. They reset, watched the faceoff and ultimately decided not to go, even though Maroon was ready to drop his equipment once again. A few seconds later, Witkowski and the Ducks’ Chris Stewart were ready to go at it, but they had their fight broken up by the referees before it even got started.
The two were sent to the penalty box with unsportsmanlike minors. Maybe Tampa should just avoid the whole fighting thing altogether. The team is one of three teams in the NHL who have not received a fighting major all season. While the non-fight was funny, it doesn’t hold a candle to the greatest non-fight in hockey history. No, that honor would belong to Matt Puntureri and Jesse Felton during a FHL game between the Danville Dashers and Dayton Demoz in 2014.
They threw their gloves, circled each another, and shared a hug followed by a beer. Unfortunately Felton and Puntureri were sent to the penalty box and ultimately suspended for the non-fight.
The message is simple kids: Don’t fight – or even pretend to fight – because you’re getting in trouble regardless of win, lose, or fail.
