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Tocchet shrugs off boos from Canucks fans with hilarious response

Trevor Beggs
Trevor Beggs
|
Jan 25 2023, 3:13 pm
Tocchet shrugs off boos from Canucks fans with hilarious response

Welcome to the Rick Tocchet era with the Vancouver Canucks.

During the first commercial break of his first game behind the Canucks bench, Tocchet was introduced on the big screen as head coach.

The announcement was met with an audible chorus of boos.

After the game, Tocchet was asked about the “mixed” reaction from the fans.

“You don’t know what my middle name is? It’s Lou,” Tocchet said to reporters after the game.

“Listen, when they were cheering the players, they were loud. Like, you know, when we were scoring goals 5-2 at the end there, they were cheering.

“I’m not trying to suck up to them or anything, but they’re a great fan base. They’re passionate and they were loud as hell.”

The first few minutes of Tocchet’s tenure were also tenuous, as a jersey was thrown onto the ice.

Tocchet did end up with a win in his debut, as the Canucks beat the lowly Chicago Blackhawks 5-2.

Vancouver outshot Chicago 48-14 overall, and they had a 38-5 shot advantage at even strength.

Even though the Canucks weren’t playing a strong opponent, Tocchet acknowledged that the team played well in spite of everything that transpired over the last week.

“It’s been some tough circumstances the last few days. There’s been a lot of emotions, heads spinning, and I thought those guys did a nice job.”

Tocchet mentioned that there was a lot of teaching happening on the bench.

“It was like a football team out there.”

Although Andrei Kuzmenko scored the first two goals for the Canucks, it was two depth players, Sheldon Dries and Dakota Joshua, who stood out.

Both players had a fight and a goal, meaning each was one assist short of the Gordie Howe Hat Trick.

“It felt a little different having a new coach back there,” Joshua said after the game, “but everybody was pulling together, wanting to take a step in the right direction.

“Happy to see this group get a win again.”

Among all Canucks skaters, it was Dries who had the first fight of the Tocchet era. The 5’9″ forward dropped the gloves with 6’4″ Blackhawks defender Connor Murphy in the first period.

He followed that up with a between-the-legs goal late in the third period, giving the Canucks a 4-2 lead.

“I think it was just more instinct,” Dries said when asked about his between-the-legs goal. “Something you do in practice, right? Went to the net, puck was right on my stick and it worked out. Would have been embarrassing if I missed that though.”

Luke Schenn, the eldest player on the team at 33 years old, talked about what it meant to get a victory during Tocchet’s first game.

“We wanted to get that one off the hop for him. Obviously, there’s a lot going on here the last couple of days and I think we did a good job of preparing, and [the coaching staff] prepared as well too. We were able to settle in and relax.”

Trevor BeggsTrevor Beggs
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