2018: Jay Rosehill's stick throwing, wall-punching outburst against Fife Flyers
Manchester Storm’s former NHL enforcer was a throw back to old-time hockey - a guy who play, who could scrap, and who knew how to light up a rink.
He came to the UK in the twilight of a career which saw him ice with Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers, as well as their affiliate teams.
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Hide AdSeason 2016-17 saw him join Braehead Clan where he laced up in 40 games, delivered 22 points and 140 PIMs.
The next season he followed coach, Ryan Finnerty, south to Manchester Storm where he found himself on the radar of the league’s Department of Player Safety (DOPS).
Safe to say, it wasn’t a fan of his style of play.
January 2018 brought Storm to Kirkcaldy. Rosehill was thrown out after just 14 minutes, and ended up with a six match ban and a withering rebuke from DOPS.
He was one of its infamous repeat offenders with three previous suspensions on his rap sheet.
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James Isaac’s tasty, legal check on the plexi was the spark that lit the fuse.
One Storm player had a jab at him with his stick, and then Rosehill entered the fray with a slash and a hook - before levelling the wrong player.
Realising it was game over as the stripeys ushered him away, he trashed his stick on the ice, punched the boards as he left and stormed down the tunnel, all to the glee of a Fife crowd that had been cranking up the noise all night.
DOPS’ verdict ran to 700-words, and, in all honesty, and still reads like an admonition from a prickly headmaster.
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Hide AdRosehill’s stick chucking, wall thumping exit also earned scorn - “this response ...is not something which should be tolerated in professional hockey.’’ - and, before being sent to the naughty step, the disciplinary body said it was “ ‘’imperative that the suspension reflect the need for Rosehill to take some time to consider his ability to play hockey in a legal and meaningful manner in the EIHL.’’
The irony of the situation was that Rosehill loved the old-time atmosphere that is unique to Flyers’ rink.
That season he recorded an interview for the Storm’s podcast which revealed his passion for the game and his love of the rivalry it can generate.
He’s the sort of guy Fife fans loved to hate in opposition, but wouldn’t mind in a gold, white and yellow top.
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Hide AdRosehill absolutely nailed it when he said: ‘It’s fun to see fans with passion. They scream at you, we yell back! They get more excited, and your adrenaline goes through the roof!
‘’But when you turn your head, they grin and you grin, so it’s pretty respectful too. At the end of the game, the guys who are ruthless as they yell at you are the ones who clap you.
‘’You look back and say ‘that was fun - let’s do it again next week!’’
Only, in Rosehill’s case, next weekend was on hold as he began his lengthy ban.