On Thursday, January 4th the Toronto Maple Leafs and the San Jose Sharks had an exciting and interesting game. Patrick Marleau got to play his former team and his old friend, Joe Thornton. A fight between Nazem Kadri and Joe Thorton took place and it wasn't exactly typical. San Jose's Joe Thornton didn't hit the deck after a tussle with Nazem Kadri. But instead, a chunk of his beard did. The Leafs ended up winning 3-2 in a shootout. In addition, the fight did benefit the Leafs, as it meant 5 minutes without the top line center. Overall, the San Jose Sharks were predicted to not do so well at the beginning of the season, due to the fact that Marleau went to the Leafs.

But, they are currently third in the Pacific with a 21-12-5 record.

To beard or not to beard?

Nazem Kadri dropped a chunk of Joe Thornton's beard after their scrap. It appeared as though Kadri straight up used his beard as a grip so that he wouldn't fall. You probably didn't think you'd hear this said, but, congratulations to Joe Thornton for getting his first career on-ice beard trim!

So what happened to that clump of Thornton’s beard?

It was preserved by the San Jose Sharks training staff. Kadri commented on the beard grabbing -- saying he had no idea how it happened. He ended up with a chunk of it in his hand. He thought he was a hockey player, not a barber and he didn't mean to grab him there, but Joe's a big guy. He also couldn't reach over his shoulder.

Pete DeBoer who is the head coach of the Sharks, stated, "I’ve been coaching 25 years, and I haven’t seen a clump of beard on the ice before.”

Comical

Inevitably the incident has been viewed as quite comical. 10 more fights like that and Joe Thornton will be down to a normal beard. 20 and he is at sideburns and a goatee. 30 and it's a twirly pirate mustache.

Shawn Mckenzie claimed that "the chunk of hair that came out of Thornton’s beard is more facial hair than I could grow in 5 years." Many people are taking a gander at the incident and making funny jokes on Twitter.

It is definitely something that many people never witnessed in a hockey game and it made it all the more entertaining. While hockey fights normally end with someone on the ground this one ended with a chunk of beard on the ice. It left Thornton and others a souvenir. But, Marleau claimed that he wasn't going to touch it. Some are probably thinking differently, in that they could sell that chunk of Thornton's beard on eBay. In turn, they could make some good money that way.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED