There was some old-school retribution in the AHL Friday night after Boko Imama of the Ontario Reign and Brandon Manning of the Bakersfield Condors dropped the gloves for a fight at centre ice. Manning had recently served a five game suspension for directing a racial slur at Imama. Take a look:
It was never revealed exactly what Manning said to Imama during their last game against each other on January 20th. However, Manning did apologize for his actions, saying "after the game, I spoke with the opposing player in person, which I'm grateful for. He allowed me to apologize and I took full responsibility for what I said."
Later on, Imama released a statement saying "what happened is unfortunate for everyone. No matter how intense or heated a game gets, there is no room for this in our game and no excuse. I am very proud to be an African Canadian hockey player and to stand for all other players that are in the same situation as me."
Imama ended up with a Gordie Howe hattrick in Friday night's 10-3 win over Bakersfield, getting a goal, an assist and the fight against Manning. You can see his goal, which came in the second period, below. Imama, 23, is currently under contract with the L.A. Kings, while Manning, 29, is under contract with the Edmonton Oilers.
