In shopping malls and department stores across the country, shoppers stop being polite and start getting real. With all the fabulous deals out there for Black Friday, you gotta be quick and if you’re not quick, then you better be tough.
It’s an unseemly way to start the holiday season, but hey, buying presents for the family isn’t cheap.
About 13 miles from Mall of America, some of that contentious Black Friday energy may have made its way to the Xcel Energy Center for a game between Central Division foes Winnipeg Jets and the Minnesota Wild.
Early in the first period, Jets forward Anthony Peluso, who is building a reputation as one of the league’s toughest customers, went toe to toe with Wild callup Kurtis Gabriel.
This was quite a heavyweight bout. The 6-foot-4, 212-pound Gabriel was getting into just the second fight of his NHL career, while the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Peluso has engaged in his share of fisticuffs over his career, credited with 21 fighting majors entering Friday according to hockeyfights.com.
The result was one of the longest fights we’ve seen this season and it may have had more punches landed than any this year. The big boys sure threw ‘em.
Gabriel may be gaining a bit of a reputation in Winnipeg. His only other fight came just two weeks ago when he dropped the gloves with Chris Thorburn of the Jets.
On a date where “mall brawls” have become a thing, it’s best to leave the fisticuffs to the professionals, folks. You should be enjoying the most wonderful time of the year without ice packs if at all possible.
