At this weekend's Ohio State/BGSU game, Ohio State's head coach John
Markell exchanged words with a BGSU fan at the end of the game. This was
reported on in several posts to this discussion group.
 
To set the record straight, the "fan" was extremely vocal and degrading
every time the team went by his area (before and after every period). For
anyone who was there, this was a very close game that could have gone
either way. The last-second empty net goal makes the score seem a little
further apart, but I don't think there wasn't a BG fan that wasn't sweating
the last five minutes.
 
Anyway, here's what happened at the end of the game:  as Ohio State was
leaving the ice, the heckler leaned over the glass and started yelling at
Coach Markell. Some of the choice comments included "You guys are a bunch
of f***ing lowlifes," etc. This person was also spitting in the coach's
direction. Having taken three periods of this, Coach Markell felt the
heckler had crossed the line and yelled back at him (he made a comment
about the heckler's weight). At no point did Coach Markell use profanity,
and at no point did Coach Markell act like he was "about to go into the
stands," as was reported on this discussion group. It was only after
extreme provocation that the coach said anything at all, and in fact, if it
were not for the spitting, he probably wouldn't have said anything at all.
 
Coach Markell regrets that he got caught up in the heat of the moment, and
he apologizes to the other fans in the area who supported their team with
dignity. As most of you probably know, John is a graduate of BGSU and is
one of the best players to ever come out of that school. He enjoys going
back there to play and has fond memories of his days there as a player.
 
At the same time, Coach Markell feels that there is a difference between
supporting your team, joking about the opposition, and degrading and
spitting on the opposition. Obviously the last item crosses the line of
appropriate conduct. The coach has taken steps to ensure that this will not
happen at future games, including bringing the team through a different
gate.
 
Finally, let me say that this way really a minor incident in an otherwise
exciting game (that could have been a boring game - Ohio State came back
from a 5-1 deficit to make it 5-4 before the empty netter). Let's not let
it mar an otherwise enjoyable evening.
 
OTHER GAME NOTES -- Ohio State's first goal was announced as being scored
by Tyler McMillan. It was later changed to Pierre Dufour (his 5th) with
assists from McMillan and Al DiPasquo.
 
Also, OSU winger Todd Compeau was assessed a game misconduct, not a game
DQ. The scorekeeper wrote it down wrong, and the ref corrected it after the
game. It was just your everyday
yapping-a-little-too-much-at-a-ref-that-didn't-want-to-hear-it kind of
thing. It wasn't any big deal, like some others have made it out to be.
 
John Patterson
Ohio State University
Hockey Sports Information Director
(614) 292-6861
 
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