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I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve watched a lot of hockey in my day. Still, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a player tap out of a rear naked choke in the middle of the game, but that’s what we got on Monday night courtesy of the American Hockey League.

The Iowa Wild — the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild (but I think you could probably do that math on your own) — traveled to Grand Rapids to take on the Detroit Red Wings’ AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.

According to the game notes, by the time the second period rolled around there had already been some rough stuff, and at the 15:49 mark of the period a scrum broke out with Grand Rapids’ William Lagesson and Iowa’s Adam Raska.

The two went to the ice, with Lagesson grabbing Raska in a chokehold.

A good one.

So good, in fact, that Raska had to tap out of it.

Alright, I’ve seen enough; that guy Brazilian Jiujitsus.

Now, I would have assumed that choking one’s opponent into submission would result in a pretty hefty penalty, but I’d be wrong. Lagesson got a two-minute minor for roughing.

That is it.

Fortunatley, Raska appeared to be okay after the incident.

This felt very Slap Shot. It was like a throwback to old-school AHL. The league has morphed more into a development league, which is a good thing, but this was kind of a refreshing throwback to the lawless days of yore when pugilists like Dennis Bonvie — the AHL leader in PIMs with 4,493 (the next closest player is Rob Murray with 2,940) — were chucking knucks on a nightly basis. 

And by “days of yore,” I’m talking as recently as the early ’00s.

Now, I don’t want to see this kind of thing now and then, but it was refreshing to see it once in awhile. 

I feel the same way about this as I do when I walk past the smoking section in a casino. 

I don’t love it, but it is like getting into a time machine, and I can appreciate it.