- Tyrel Bauer dropped Keegan Kolesar after a big hit on J.T. Compher
- Winnipeg scored twice on the power play right after the scrap
- Read below to watch the fight video and what Bauer said about his first one
Tyrel Bauer is two games into his NHL career and already has two fights on his record.
The Jets rookie dropped Keegan Kolesar in the first period of Sunday’s game against the Red Wings in Detroit. Bauer flattened J.T. Compher along the boards at 12:06, Kolesar came over to answer for his teammate, and Bauer put him on the ice with a couple of lefts.
Watch the fight video:
Both players got five minutes for fighting. Kolesar was also tagged with an extra two for unsportsmanlike conduct, and Winnipeg made Detroit pay for it. Cole Perfetti scored on the ensuing power play at 13:04.
Compher took an unsportsmanlike minor of his own on that same whistle. Kyle Connor buried another power-play goal at 14:36, and the Jets carried a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
Check out Connor’s goal:
Our slow-motion replay shows just how decisive the finish was. Kolesar goes down hard as Bauer lands the last left, and the linesmen step in right after. Kolesar returned for the second period.
Bauer’s first NHL fight came Friday in his debut, a 4-3 overtime loss to the Bruins in Winnipeg’s home opener. Just over seven minutes in, he hit Alex Iafallo and then squared off with Boston heavyweight Mark Kastelic, who skated away bloodied.
During his walk-off interview on the broadcast, Bauer was asked about that fight.
“It goes a lot more than just the actual physical act of fighting,” Bauer said. “I’ve been fighting a long time to get here. I’ve stayed in that fight. That was for my teammates, that was for my family, that was for this city for keeping faith in me.”
Here’s the full interview:
His new teammates took notice. Goaltender Stuart Skinner talked about what Bauer brings to the room after Friday’s loss.
“That guy, from me just meeting him, that’s a guy you’d run through a train for,” Skinner said. “He’s that type of player that will do anything for the guys.”
Before this week, the 24-year-old spent four seasons in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose before getting his shot. Winnipeg signed him to a two-year contract in August, a two-way deal this season that flips to one-way in 2027-28.
Two NHL games, two fights for Bauer. Sunday’s ended with Kolesar on the ice and the Jets cashing in twice on the power play.
