Noesen Major for a Check to the Head on Tage Thompson

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Thoughts:

I doubt Noesen did that on purpose... BUT, it's a clear cut hit with head contact so the penalty and game misconduct were warranted.

Not sure if he will get suspended... if it's 1-2 games I think that's fair esp if Tage is okay.


Re: the Sabres not responding... That's Lindy Ruff. For some reason last season, the Devils were on the receiving end of a really lopsided number of big hits, questionable plays clean and dirty... and every time the rest of the team just stood around staring at each other.

This year under Keefe, it's completely different. They stick up for each other and fight back.

I don't think it's a coincidence that two Lindy Ruff coached teams had their heads up their asses and didn't stick up for teammates in back to back years.
 
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2 games - it was reckless and Noesen showed throughout the game he was hot and was playing right on the edge. He knew he could initiate contact with Tage and had no issues driving his shoulder into the head.
 
You absolutely have to protect yourself. In the 80s and 90s, leaning forward like a dumb dumb would get you knocked out, rarely did players ever do that. Now, everyone does it and it is so dangerous.

Also, don't hit players in the head, Noesen had plenty of time to not hit someone in the head. Should be a game or two suspension.
 
Some guy is speeding and driving aggressively -- he's a menace. At the same time, I'm looking down at a text just as I take a left turn across traffic. Aggressive Joe t-bones me and I get hurt. Technically I'm a victim but I DO share some responsibility for my circumstances.

Thompson did himself absolutely no favors here. I didn't watch the game, but others say that Noeson was running around. All the more reason why Thompson showed no situational awareness about what and who was coming at him.
 
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The whole "that slut was asking for it" mentality really, really, REALLY needs to die.
Holy fallacy Batman. Way to make what I said really weird and soapbox yourself with an unrelated social cause. Two things can be true regarding this hockey hit. Tage put himself in a terrible position, and Noesen is at fault for his reckless cheapshot.
 
Without commentary on Noesen specifically, this logic about “putting themselves in a bad position” was the exact logic that resulted in Rempe NOT getting any supplemental discipline when he freight trained Bastian directly in head while charging him from the bench.

I’d be happy to see those hits consistently punished, but they aren’t, precisely for the reason you’re pushing against. So you may not like the logic, and I don’t either, but the league has adjudicated these plays differently.
 
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I think Noesen initially went in to play puck, did play puck, saw Tage leaning towards him and threw a hit .. to the head.

Injury + head contact = 2 games maybe
 
The guy I replied to compared what Tage did to texting while driving (which is literally a violation of the law). Please point to where in the NHL rulebook there is a penalty for "putting yourself in a bad position"? And if we want to talk about situational awareness: Noesen was clearly out of control well before this happened, why did the officials not nail the guy after the absolutely filthy hit on Zucker after he scored a goal?
The reason "the guy" did that is because you introduced a completely irrelevant issue by calling it some version of slut shaming. Get over yourself.

Whether Noesen made it a head shot or not is for the League to decide. But that collision was going to happen either way and Thompson made it so by awkwardly lunging for a puck that he wasn't even close to getting.

Slut shaming my ass.
 
Regardless of what someone thinks of the hit, the response (or lack of) by Buffalo is what really stands out to me. That's just inexcusable for your top player.

It’s inexcusable for your top player. It’s inexcusable for any teammate.

The lack of response is inexcusable even if this was some journeyman call up playing his first game for Buffalo.

Embarrassing.
 
Ok, want to bet are accounts? If he gets suspended you delete your account?

Not only does he hit him in the head but he also extends his arm out after the hit.
View attachment 971594
Was nice knowing ya, bud. Write us to let us know what your new handle is when you create your new account.

Like I said above, this is one of those cases comically where the lack of DOPS intervention *is* them exhibiting consistency. I brought up the Rempe/Bastian hit and the logic applies both ways. Neither were suspendable according to the league.
 
Thoughts:

I doubt Noesen did that on purpose... BUT, it's a clear cut hit with head contact so the penalty and game misconduct were warranted.

Not sure if he will get suspended... if it's 1-2 games I think that's fair esp if Tage is okay.


Re: the Sabres not responding... That's Lindy Ruff. For some reason last season, the Devils were on the receiving end of a really lopsided number of big hits, questionable plays clean and dirty... and every time the rest of the team just stood around staring at each other.

This year under Keefe, it's completely different. They stick up for each other and fight back.

I don't think it's a coincidence that two Lindy Ruff coached teams had their heads up their asses and didn't stick up for teammates in back to back years.


Which is shocking considering the way Ruff has played and coached pretty much his entire career.
 
I think this whole incident is emblematic of what problems are besetting the Sabres. Not one teammate stands up. On teams where a player is hit cleanly, it still garners the attention and support of the fellow players to rally around the injured player, and / or take it out on the opposing team (rightly or wrongly).

On a cohesive team where everyone watches everyone's back and actually care about what another, there would have been a response by the team in some manner.

On a team which is merely a collection of individuals and not a single cohesive unit, we saw what happened to Thompson.

In either case, it is a team culture dynamic.

If I was Thompson I'd be looking at my future options, if this current Buffalo leadership structure remains in place by then.
 
I remember a few years ago McAvoy reaching like that and getting whacked by a Penguins player. Was it Hornquist? I don‘t remember. But I remember everyone saying that McAvoy should have kept his head higher and be more aware of his surroundings. I think that the same applies here.
 
Last year, Connor Clifton was suspended two games for this hit:

https://www.nhl.com/news/buffalo-sabres-connor-clifton-suspened-two-games-for-illegal-check

In the video, they say it's because his primary point of contact was the head and he could have avoided the hit. To me it looks like he intentionally tries to make the hit from the front, rather than the back or side, and ends up making some contact with the head while most of the contact is to the midsection.

How can this be 2 games, while Noesen, who ONLY made contact with the head and leaned in order to make the hit as he passed Thompson, gets no suspension at all.

While we should be used to it, because the Sabres ALWAYS get the short end of the stick when it comes to player safety decisions, it's still frustrating.

It doesn't help that the Sabres players on the ice also didn't think it was worth a response. Equally as frustrating.

Sabres fandom = Frustration
 
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Last year, Connor Clifton was suspended two games for this hit:

Clifton suspended 2 games for actions in Sabres game | NHL.com

In the video, they say it's because his primary point of contact was the head and he could have avoided the hit. To me it looks like he intentionally tries to make the hit from the front, rather than the back or side, and ends up making some contact with the head while most of the contact is to the midsection.

How can this be 2 games, while Noesen, who ONLY made contact with the head and leaned in order to make the hit as he passed Thompson, gets no suspension at all.

While we should be used to it, because the Sabres ALWAYS get the short end of the stick when it comes to player safety decisions, it's still frustrating.

It doesn't help that the Sabres players on the ice also didn't think it was worth a response. Equally as frustrating.

Sabres fandom = Frustration
I was at that game and had absolutely no problem with him getting suspended and honestly it probably should've been longer.
 

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