A Buffalo Sabres Goalie Fight is Trending Today [WATCH]
One of the all-time greatest Sabres brawls and Rick Jeanneret calls is trending today, and for good reason.
May 3, 1997. The Buffalo Sabres are playing the Philadelphia Flyers at home. These 2 teams did NOT like each other in the 90s. Or 80s. or 70s. or 2000s. Or ever. These were the days though of Matt Barnaby running his mouth. A team that lacked a lot of skill but had the best goalie to ever play the game in Dominik Hasek, which is a statement of fact. They were nasty to play against, and on this night you could see why.
In net was backup goalie Steve Shields. He would later go on to be a hero against the Ottawa Senators in the 1st round of that year's playoffs after Hasek got hurt. We focus on Shields today, and back on this date, for 2 reasons: 1. July 20th is his birthday! Happy Birthday Steve! 2. He gets in a fight against one of the most overrated goalies and one of the worst GMs of all time in Garth Snow. Snow had bookshelves for shoulder pads he cheated so badly.
Shields turned 50 today. That will make some Sabres fans shutter and feel old. Both he and Snow are 6'3" tall. That was MASSIVE for the time. Shields was a little heavier. The scrum began in the Philly end of the ice. Shields decides to mosey on down and the rest is hockey fighting history. Watch the video. It's satisfying.
Shields retired in 2006 having last played in the NHL for the Atlanta Thrashers (now the Winnepeg Jets). He'll always be beloved in Buffalo for this fight and that playoff series where he played his heart out.