Smith makes preseason impact

Rory Smith has certainly made an impact this preseason, not with his skating ability, not putting pucks in the net but with his left fist. The man who most just refer to as Rory didn't take long to get things going Friday in Port Huron when he landed multiple punches on Generals tough guy Rusty Mckie only 28 seconds into the game.

Coming into camp, Icehawks head coach Stan Drulia had 2 players battling for the enforcer role, Paul Yovanic and Rory Smith. Yovanic seemed to have the edge during camp looking much bigger than Smith and also getting praise from his coach for his play on the ice. But Yovanic could only keep pace with Rory on Friday night. Being tabbed as the Bash Bros. by some fans, Rory Smith and Paul Yovanic both fought twice Yovanic following Smith both times. But it may of been Smith's fight with the veteran leader for the Generals Kris Mallette that showed that Rory Smith is for real.

The question for Rory Smith coming out of St. Michael's of the OPJHL was could he fight with the pros after only fighting juniors. Smith answered that question with a powerful left hand to Mallette's head that dropped Mallette down to his knees in shock. Yovanic tried to answer with a fight right after but it couldn't make the impact that Smith just made.

It seemed Rory Smith was going all out everytime on the ice. Most fans looking for Number 22 noticed him mixing it up attempting to get trouble started with the Generals. Chants of Rory were heard throughout the arena and even though Rory is probably far from the most talented player on the ice, he made alot of new fans in just one night.

Saturday in Flint Rory did no different, winning a fight against a Veteran LNAH fighter Maxime Mathieu early in the 2nd period.

Has Rory made the team yet, that's yet to been seen. But either way he certainly made an impact in Port Huron and the IHL.

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