This article originally appeared on VICE Sports Canada.
Police were called and forced to break up a massive brawl between players and fans at a New Brunswick Junior Hockey League playoff game on Saturday.
Videos by VICE
With nearly 1,000 people in the stands at Lord Beaverbrook arena in Saint John for Game 6 between the Grand Lake Moose and local Southern Sting, a Grand Lake player left the box after a third-period penalty, climbing the glass and subsequently exchanging blows with a group of Southern Sting fans in the crowd who were reportedly heckling and physically attacking the visiting player as he sat in the box.
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Devin Upham, a spectator with a front-row seat of the carnage, told the Canadian Press he was watching the game when one of the players climbed over the glass and struck someone in the stands in the head with his stick (though this is unclear in any of the videos). He added that someone in the crowd responded by pouring a drink on the Grand Lake player’s head, followed by the ensuing chaos.
Upham and his friends Jake Ingersoll and Mitchell Doyle managed to capture video of a player on skates going toe-to-toe with spectators in the crowd, as the players and fans traded several punches before being separated. According to some who attended the game but wish to remain anonymous, a few fans were spitting and throwing beer on the teenage hockey player in question in the penalty box just seconds before he climbed the glass and entered the stands.
Two police officers were already on scene, and quickly called for backup to help control the escalating brawl. Sgt. Steve Wilson of the Saint John Police Department says officers put “special attention” on the semifinal matchup between the two rival clubs. To absolutely no one’s surprise, excessive booze consumption was a key contributor to the melee.
“It was reported by the police officers that were present that alcohol may have been a contributing factor to the altercation,” said Wilson, also noting that police are investigating one reported assault, but no charges have been laid as of Monday.
“Order was restored and the crowd dispersed. It’s not a typical thing to have police respond to a hockey game,” he said.
The Grand Lake Moose and the player in question have yet to comment publicly on the incident. In a Facebook post on Sunday, the Southern Sting wrote that the scuffle was “beyond its control,” but that the club has hired additional security and will check people at the door [for booze] at all remaining home games.
A committee from Hockey New Brunswick will analyze a report by the referees before making a decision on any punishment for the player or spectators in question.
