Report: Coach Q loses it in practice, storms off the ice

You don’t need to be a lip reader to know that Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville can get a little animated during games. The veteran bench boss is one of the most competitive and fiery coaches in the game and is unafraid to let his emotions show during the heat of battle. In practice though, Quenneville is usually more reserved. He’s a teacher, a motivator and a leader. Maybe that’s why it was so surprising when he launched into an “F-bomb” laced tirade at center ice of the United Center on Tuesday afternoon’s practice before storming off the ice.

Chicago Sun Times reporter Mark Lazarus was at practice yesterday and reported on the events live:

Afterwards, a composed Coach Q broke it all down for reporters:

“I didn’t like the last part of our practice. The intensity and the pace went down to a tough-to-watch [level]. It was just, ‘Let’s go.’”

Let’s go, indeed. If Quenneville’s plan was to wake up his players, it appears to have worked. Veteran winger Patrick Sharp echoed his coaches sentiments saying, “We want to get off to a good start this year, and the first few games I thought we did that. And then every game recently, it’s been a different story. It starts with good practice habits. [Let’s] raise the level of intensity, raise the level of urgency a little bit across the board, and get back on the winning side.”

Tonight’s contest against the Philadelphia Flyers will prove whether or not Quenneville’s message was received.