When it comes to bizarre characters in the world of minor league hockey, folks don’t come a whole lot more twisted than Albany River Rats team captain and defenseman Tim Conboy. My friend Jon Press had already identified Conboy as something of a reprobate during the preseason, but what he did last weekend really turned it up a notch when it came to human de-evolution. Here’s Ed Moran of Philly.com:↵↵⇥The AHL should be looking into a suspension for Albany River Rats captain Tim Conboy, who was assessed a fighting major, instigation and unsportsmanlike minors, a game misconduct for instigating and a game misconduct for persisting in a fight, following a high-sticking incident and fight with Steve Downie during the Phantoms’ 3-0 win Saturday afternoon.↵⇥↵⇥“I’ve never heard of (persisting) in a fight before,” said Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren. “The report I got was that (Conboy) bit Downie on the hand. He had blood and teeth marks on his hand.”↵⇥
Twisted AHL Player Enjoys Fighting, Biting
↵↵Here’s the video of the incident. Stick with it -- it’s obvious that Downie is trying to show the officials that something has gone terribly wrong.↵
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Phil Janack of the Daily Gazette in Schenectady, N.Y., says the team doesn’t expect the league will levy any supplementary discipline, something that has to be considered a shock once teeth get involved. Here’s Conboy trying to explain himself:↵↵⇥“I kind of went bananas,” Conboy said. “Maybe I should have calmed down a little bit, but when you see a guy swinging his stick around like that, there’s no place in the game for that. I have no problem with playing aggressive and playing tough and fighting, stuff like that, but there’s no need to swing your stick at someone.”↵↵Conboy played 19 games with the Hurricanes last season when Glen Wesley went down with an injury, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him back in the NHL before long. If I’m NHL disciplinary czar Colin Campbell, I make a quick call to AHL headquarters and suggest that Conboy get slapped with a suspension and a stiff fine—just so he won’t think he can afford to go bananas without putting a potential NHL career in jeopardy.↵↵(HT: Puck Daddy)↵
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