Toledo Walleye head coach Nick Vitucci has had a few lessons in anger management since a rinkside freakout in 2012, and enough time has passed that the team is making light of the situation.
During a game against the Wheeling Nailers in Feb. 2012, Toledo’s Joey Ryan fought Ryan Schnell. Vitucci made an argument to the referees that Schnell had instigated the fight against Toledo’s top defenseman, but it fell on deaf ears. That’s when Vitucci snapped, hurling three water bottles, a stick and a clipboard onto the ice — all while yelling obscenities at the referee.
Vitucci was thrown out of the game and suspended from the ECHL for one match.
To honor that proud moment, the Walleye will be giving away Nick Vitucci bobbleheads to the first 2,000 fans to show up for their Jan. 3 game against the Reading Royals. The bobblehead captures the moment just before Vitucci threw a green Gatorade bottle at the ref.
Check it out in the photo below, with a stick tap to Puck Daddy.
And check out the video below to see Vitucci’s 2012 tirade.
Photo via toledowalleye.com
