Flyers: Riley Cote and the punch heard ’round the league

A look at the one-punch K.O. that was clearly the highlight of the NHL career of Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Riley Cote.

March 6, 2008 was just a typical Philadelphia Flyers game, and on this particular night they scored a 3-2 victory at the Wells Fargo (then Wachovia) Center over the Tampa Bay Lightning on the strength of a late winner by Jeff Carter. But this contest is best remembered for what happened at the 3:51 mark of the second period, when Flyers enforcer (some might say “goon”) Riley Cote squared off against seasoned Lightning tough guy Andre Roy.

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The two players had already engaged in a spirited bout in the first period that night, with HockeyFights.com declaring Roy a narrow winner, though it looked like a draw to me. Fair enough, but there would be no doubt about the victor when they clashed once again in the second period.

Following a whistle, Cote and Roy found each other and took their stances. After a grab by Cote managed to get Roy’s arm tangled in his jersey, Cote pounced with a fierce left to the the side of the face. He also managed to get another quick shot in as Roy was crumpling, but it was essentially a one-punch knockdown.

Here it is. The place went absolutely nuts.

And it got even louder because ArenaVision showed the “fight” over and over again, from every available angle, probably a dozen times at least. You could tell that Roy was positively seething over the whole scene, and when he returned to the Tampa bench after serving the penalty, he was ready to fight the entire Flyers team and presumably the fans who had just had time of their lives at his expense.

Lightning coach John Tortorella didn’t allow Roy back on the ice for the rest of the game, and had to physically restrain him, fearing that he’d do something stupid to cost his team the game. He definitely would have. The Lightning sent Roy away from the team after that, and he’d never get back into the lineup even after rejoining the team. The loss to Cote was Roy’s final on-ice moment with the Lightning, as he went on to finish his career in Calgary the following season.

There were a couple upshots to this whole thing. First, for Cote, it was basically the highlight of his NHL career, as it definitely ranks higher than his one career NHL goal. He was even named third star in the game, one of just three times that he earned a star in his 156 games in the league. Yet, even if the rest of his time with the Flyers was fairly forgettable, his demolition of Roy will never be forgotten.

As far as league-wide impact, the NHL had something to say about the fact that the Flyers showed the replay to the fans over and over again, as they enacted a policy (or started enforcing one that was supposedly already there) limiting the number of replays, especially something as provocative as Roy’s Glass Joe impression. Yet another example of the NHL taking issue with fans having too much fun. You could understand this stance if Roy was injured, but he wasn’t (other than his pride). I believe I even remember hearing that the Flyers were fined for it, but I can’t substantiate that at this point.

Riley Cote spent much of his NHL career as a willing but infrequently successful pugilist for the Flyers, and he now spends his time as a passionate advocate for medical marijuana use. As for Andre Roy, he’s still looking for his jock that’s hanging from the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center above the scoreboard where he became a laughingstock.