Jakub Dobes Reacts to Physical Play From Phantoms

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms scored an empty net goal with under four minutes remaining in regulation against the Laval Rocket to make it 3-0. That should have been the nail in the coffin for the game.

Instead, on the next shift, Phantoms forward Rhett Gardner initiated contact with Jakub Dobes when he went to play the puck behind his net. The unnecessary hit triggered a scrum involving all 10 skaters.

“I do not know what happened. I just looked and the guy was right there. I was surprised,” said Dobes after the game. He didn’t have an opinion at the time whether he felt the contact was avoidable, as he hadn’t seen the video.

“Luckily I wasn’t on the ice, because worse things would have happened," remarked an obviously upset Tobie Paquette-Bisson. "Good thing that [the referees] ejected him from the game because it makes no sense that a guy hits a goalie like that.”

While the skaters were exchanging pleasantries, Dobes skated in front of his net and looked towards Phantoms goaltender Cal Petersen, but the veteran netminder did not budge.

“I did want to get a little bit involved," said Dobes. "I was a little bit scared because I’ve never fought before and [Petersen] has played in the NHL but if he wanted to go, I’m there for it. What do I have to lose?,” the Canadiens 2020 fifth-round pick explained.

Dobes admitted he had weighed the pros and cons of challenging Petersen to drop the gloves. “You’ll either miss a couple of teeth or knock the guy out. There’s nothing else to do. Maybe next time,” he said lightly.

The officials handed out 45 penalty minutes as a result of the contact. A five-minute major was called for the initial contact, where the Rocket scored twice to make it a one-goal game.

The rematch between the two teams takes place on December 15th in Lehigh Valley. 

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