Family, fans and supporters who attended the annual charity hockey game between New York City’s firefighters and police officers on Sunday were treated to a benches-clearing brawl that was worth the price of admission. With the score tied 3-3 in the second period at the Nassau Coliseum, a series of one-on-one fights turned into an all-out melee.
Referees tried to break up several individual fights, but there was simply too much going on. The game was delayed for 25 minutes as gloves and sticks were picked up off the ice and penalties were handed out.
“It was reminiscent of the old-time Rangers-Flyers games in the mid-70s,” one NYPD officer who watched the game from the stands told the NY Post. “I was waiting for [legendary Philadelphia Flyers enforcer] Dave Schultz to come out on the ice.”
The brawl must have lit a fire under the cops, because the NYPD went on to win the game 8-5. The FDNY had won the previous five matchups heading into Sunday. The officer who spoke to the Post said he had been attending the game for 20 years and that was the first bench-clearing brawl he has ever seen. There are some more videos of the action below:
H/T Deadspin
