Classic NHL - Roy and Roenick

Post-game press conferences tend to be boring. When interviewed and questioned most players throw out lines that sound nearly scripted. One can only hear the lines,"They're a tough team and it's gonna be a real test", and "We played really well tonight." so many times...

But, occasionally someone manages to utter something beyond the trite cliches and such statements usually end up as part of NHL history. One such incident is the infamous Patrick Roy-Jeremy Roenick battle of words from the 1996 playoffs.

On their way to winning the Stanley Cup that year the Avalanche met the Blackhawks in the Western Conference semi-finals. In game three Roenick scored on a breakaway beating Roy and sending the game into overtime, Chicago would eventually win. In game four Roenick was stopped by Roy on a breakaway in overtime while being hauled down. One can debate whether a penalty shot should have been called, but one never was. Sakic scored the game winner in triple overtime. (The Blackhawks would go down in six games.)

Roenick, never one to keep his thoughts to himself, told the press after the game, "...there should have been a penalty shot [on the play]. I like Patrick's comment when he said he could have stopped me [on the breakaway]. I'd like to know where Patrick was in Game 3, probably up trying to get his jock out of the rafters." (from Wikipedia)

That in itself is a classic line, and had it been someone else other than Roy it probably would have been shaken off as post-game annoyance and frustration. However, Patrick Roy is not and has never been that type of person....and his response was legendary.



"I can't hear what Jeremy says, because I've got my two Stanley Cup rings plugging my ears."