Posted this over in the Panthers thread, but thought it might be worth reposting here :
My memories of the Panthers are Paul Laus and Rudy Poeschek beating the hell out of each other from one end of the ice to the other and then back to center ice.
It was a preseason game in the mid to late 90's at the Thunderdome in St. Pete (when the Bolts still played there). Laus and Poeschek squared off in a main event. Both of those dudes were not to be trifled with back in the day. They started swinging and the refs back off - way off. They beat on each other as they slowly moved from one end of the ice to the other. And not some huggy-dance with no punches landed either - these guys were connecting with some heavy shots that would bring down a lesser pugilist. The refs were afraid(?) to get involved and just let it go on. One or both of them fell at one point and got back up to fight some more. Finally, after fighting the entire length of the ice, they ran out of gas back at center ice and got sent to the box. Longest and most brutal fight I have ever seen at a hockey game. Both were bloody messes.
There were six other fights in that same game. Funny thing is, I don't even remember who won the game. It was like a boxing tournament.
These teams really hated each other then and the Panthers got the better of it on the score sheet, more often than not. They had the original "Rat" Mellanby, Beezer in net, and Jovo Cop patrolling the blue line.
Good times.
