By NICK CARBONI The Hartford Courant
February 15, 2009
February 15, 2009
Hockey bad boy Sean Avery returned to two of his passions Saturday night — skating and talking.In his first game in two months, Avery was quick to mix it up, but the Wolf Pack lost to the Manitoba Moose 4-1 at the XL Center. Avery even provided a bit of postgame entertainment.
Avery, a notorious agitator, found himself in the center of two scuffles in his highly anticipated debut, which drew 5,899 fans, 2,055 above the Wolf Pack's average attendance. Jason Krog, Guillaume Desbiens, Dusty Collins and Alexandre Bolduc scored for Manitoba. Dale Weise scored for Hartford.
Avery entered 1:43 into the first period, and was soon involved in a fracas behind the Manitoba net when cornered near the boards. Hartford's P.A. Parenteau and Jared Nightingale were quick to jump in and help, but things escalated with Avery.
"A couple of guys said something," said Avery, who played just under 20 minutes and had three shots on goal. "Nothing that I could probably repeat."With 2:26 remaining in the second period,
"A couple of guys said something," said Avery, who played just under 20 minutes and had three shots on goal. "Nothing that I could probably repeat."With 2:26 remaining in the second period,
Avery joined a melee that broke out at the end boards. He wound up trading shoves with several Manitoba players. He then got into a long yapping match with Bolduc well after the whistle, and came away with a grin plastered across his face.
"I had a few comments," Avery admitted. "But nothing that was too drastic or something the old Sean would say."
Avery, 28, was suspended by the NHL in December for making an offensive statement regarding his ex-girlfriends dating other players. After completing league-ordered counseling, the Dallas Stars put him on waivers Feb. 7 and assigned him to the Wolf Pack on Monday. His likely destination is with the New York Rangers, who are looking for a spark down the stretch. Avery played for the Rangers for 1 1/2 seasons before signing with the Stars in July.
"I felt good," he said. "I was just happy that I was out there. It's fun to be around the guys again."
Although he slid around questions regarding his past comments in a brief, but cordial postgame press conference, Avery did offer one quip as he stood up to leave.
After being asked what hurt the most about his ordeal, Avery replied: "When a girlfriend dumps me."Smiling, he then added: "No, I feel good."
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