A friendly hockey game between members of the New York City Police Dept and the city’s firefighters turned less than friendly when it became a bloody donnybrook.
The haymakers broke out at the buzzer after the NYPD won their first 3-2 upset victory in more than a decade over the firefighters, according to the Irish Star.
The final round was apparently sparked by an earlier brief scuffle during the game, the site reported. As the buzzer sounded, both benches cleared and the players flooded the ice to seek out an opponent with which to grapple.
Passions were already running high before the teams even reached the arena. NYPD captain and defenseman George Antzoulis said before that game that his players had been in serious training mode over the last few weeks.
“Guys are missing work, missing overtime, missing things with their family, switching their tours around,” Antzoulis said.
Meanwhile, Firefighters goalie Nick Battaglia noted that the game is “basically our Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.”
NYPD general manager Charlie Venticinque even admitted that hockey is of secondary importance to getting to the firefighters.
“The first two minutes of that game, everyone wants to kill each other. Nobody’s worried about the puck. If you have the puck, you’re getting tanked,” he exclaimed.
FDNY right-wing Stephen Kelly agreed and added, “It’s just like your family at home. You’re going to defend them … whether you’re at work or on the hockey rink. That’s the fire department brotherhood.”
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