Av's Moore taken off on stretcher
Canadian Press
3/9/2004
VANCOUVER (CP) - Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore was taken from the ice on a stretcher after being pummelled to the ice from behind by the Vancouver Canucks' Todd Bertuzzi during the third period of an NHL game Monday night.
Bertuzzi grabbed the back of Moore's sweater and delivered a round-house swing with his gloved right hand that struck Moore's head. Moore fell head first to the ice under the weight of Bertuzzi, who came down on top of him at the 8:41 mark. Colorado was leading 8-2 at the time.
A pool of blood formed around Moore's head as he lay motionless on the ice. A stretcher was wheeled out and after a delay of nearly 10 minutes the 25-year-old native of Windsor, Ont., was taken off for medical attention.
Colorado coach Tony Granato, screaming at Vancouver coach Marc Crawford, had to be restrained at his team's bench. Bad blood between the two teams had been simmering since Moore's hit on Vancouver captain Markus Naslund during a game Feb. 16 in Denver. That resulted in Naslund suffering a concussion that cost him three games.
Moore wasn't penalized for the hit and the league took no action. That was of little solace at the time to Crawford, who called Moore's hit ``a cheap shot by a young kid on a captain, the leading scorer in the league.''
Vancouver entered the game Monday night one point behind Colorado atop the NHL's Northwest Division. There were several fights in the game before Bertuzzi attacked Moore. It was the last regular-season meeting between the teams.
Cheers,
Aquaman