Bizarre Occurrences at Games

[DaveG]

Looking at the PIM thread and not wanting to sidetrack things there I decided to start this one up. What are some of the most bizarre things that you've ever seen or read about happening at games in the past?

Here is one that come to mind immediately:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2441016

Canadian-born Iob, a ninth round Buffalo Sabres draft pick in 1991, has been involved in a long list of disturbing episodes throughout a career spent primarily in European leagues.

The most bizarre incident occurred in the 1994 Italian league season when Iob picked up a lighter from the debris thrown on the ice during a bench clearing brawl and grabbed an opponent's jersey before attempting to set him on fire.

And of course there is this classic:


On the non-violent front the Nelson Emmerson "goal" probably will be hard to top:

Click to read more...

 

[SealsFan]

You've already posted the Mike Milbury shoe incident which would have been among my choices.

Let's see, I just picked up an old Hockey News from Ebay which had the Leafs-Rangers brawl in the '71 quarterfinals where Vic Hadfield grabbed Bernie Parent's mask and threw it into the Madison Square Garden crowd where it kept getting passed up through the rows. I remember clipping all the pictures of that out of the NY Daily News when I was a kid.

I used to listen to Seals games here on Long Island over many of the east coast teams' radio stations. I remember the Pittsburgh announcer complaining on air that the Oakland fans were pelting him with peanuts. I recall another game where there was a mysterious flat spot on the Oakland ice and it had to be resurfaced mid-period. There was another game where Joey Johnston came on the PA system to implore the Seals fans to stop throwing things on the ice.

I remember a televised Rangers-Barons Sunday afternoon game from Cleveland. Apparently both teams played the night before as play was exceptionally ragged. Ranger announcer Jim Gordon must have been feeling groggy too, because he began getting on Cleveland winger Bobby Girard's case, laughingly mocking how he was just coasting up and down his wing, trying not to get hit and just collect his paycheck. It got to the point where everytime Girard stepped on the ice, he set Gordon off where all he could focus on was Girard's listless play. Finally he lost it and had one of those deep, convulsive laughing fits where you simply can't stop.

I should go back and re-read the WHA book, Rebel League, for a lot more examples.

 

[DaveG]

You've already posted the Mike Milbury shoe incident which would have been among my choices.

Let's see, I just picked up an old Hockey News from Ebay which had the Leafs-Rangers brawl in the '71 quarterfinals where Vic Hadfield grabbed Bernie Parent's mask and threw it into the Madison Square Garden crowd where it kept getting passed up through the rows. I remember clipping all the pictures of that out of the NY Daily News when I was a kid.

I used to listen to Seals games here on Long Island over many of the east coast teams' radio stations. I remember the Pittsburgh announcer complaining on air that the Oakland fans were pelting him with peanuts. I recall another game where there was a mysterious flat spot on the Oakland ice and it had to be resurfaced mid-period. There was another game where Joey Johnston came on the PA system to implore the Seals fans to stop throwing things on the ice.

I remember a televised Rangers-Barons Sunday afternoon game from Cleveland. Apparently both teams played the night before as play was exceptionally ragged. Ranger announcer Jim Gordon must have been feeling groggy too, because he began getting on Cleveland winger Bobby Girard's case, laughingly mocking how he was just coasting up and down his wing, trying not to get hit and just collect his paycheck. It got to the point where everytime Girard stepped on the ice, he set Gordon off where all he could focus on was Girard's listless play. Finally he lost it and had one of those deep, convulsive laughing fits where you simply can't stop.

I should go back and re-read the WHA book, Rebel League, for a lot more examples.

Just read that one recently, it was part of what made me think of starting this thread when I saw the PIMs one up.

Not necessarily in game but after a game in but there was a story about how a player in the WHA was stuffed in an equipment bag and rode a good bit of the way out of town under the bus to avoid arrest. I'll have to dig through the book again to see who and where it happened but I want to say Birmingham was either the team or city.

 

[revolverjgw]

Oh man, I remember the Emerson grab-n-throw from Don Cherry 6, so incredibly ridiculous.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

The Edmonton-Boston Stanley Cup Final game that was canceled due to the power failure.




http://www.oilersheritage.com/history/dynasty_highlights_88cup.html

With Game 4 slated for Boston Garden, it looked like the Oilers would get the chance to celebrate a Cup win away from home. However, with the score tied 3-3 in the second period, the players, coaches, officials and standing-room-only crowd were plunged into darkness. The rickety wiring and breakers at the old Garden had finally failed, and everyone was in the dark. After a short delay, NHL president John Ziegler announced that he was canceling the game and would invoke an old never-before-used rule to have game four played in Edmonton.

It was the first time since 1919—when the final between the Montréal Canadiens and Seattle Metropolitans was called due to the Influenza epidemic—that a Cup game had to be scrubbed.

+++++++++++++++++++

Also, in March 1992, the Kings at Flyers game was canceled after one period due to a massive snowstorm due to high winds which shattered glass on the concourse level.

 

[vikash1987]

Let's see, I just picked up an old Hockey News from Ebay which had the Leafs-Rangers brawl in the '71 quarterfinals where Vic Hadfield grabbed Bernie Parent's mask and threw it into the Madison Square Garden crowd where it kept getting passed up through the rows. I remember clipping all the pictures of that out of the NY Daily News when I was a kid.

That brawl was apparently so interesting that it made the ABC Evening News! I own a copy of that newscast, and (unfortunately) I don't recall them ever showing Bernie Parent or his mask being shuffled around among the MSG fans.

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

I was at the game where Happy Gilmore took off his skate and tried to stab an opposing player with it

 

[SealsFan]

Trying to recall the specifics of the Flyers-Sabres "fog" game of the 70's - found this description on the net, which also includes an incident with a bat:

There was this thing about a bat. Somehow a bat had gotten into the old Memorial Auditorium and was flying around the ice for quite a while during the game. Jim Lorentz, now the Empire Sports Network Sabres color commentator, decided to take matters into his own hands. He was about to take the faceoff when he saw the bat coming. He raised his stick and swatted the bat in mid-air, ending his tour of the Stanley Cup finals. Rick MacLeish picked up the dead bat and dumped him into the penalty box. The crowd loved this extra-curricular activity. The appearance of a bat should have been a good indication to the fans that this was going to be an Erie, I mean eerie night of hockey between the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers in game 3 of the 1975 Stanley Cup finals.

And you thought that this year's Stanley Cup finals in Dallas was hot? On this date, May 20, 1975, it approach sauna conditions! You see, back then arenas were not air conditioned. The Aud was a very steamy place that night, and that doesn't mean it was in the blue light district. Temperatures at ice level reached 90 degrees. With the humidity, the heat and the presence of over 16,000 screaming fans, it produced the first ever fog game! Right after the bat met his untimely death at the hands of Lorentz, a fog settled on the ice. It was as if the bat's spirit decided to haunt the game in revenge. The refs had to delay the game several times because the fog had become so dense that the players could not see halfway down the ice. Players skated around in a unsuccessful attempt to clear the fog. Auditorium workers had to come out with white bed sheets to try to dispel the low cloud cover. Some of the fog dissipated, so play was resumed, only to be halted again and again because visibility was so poor. The coaches for both teams, Fred Shero of the Flyers, and Floyd Smith of the Sabres instructed their players to shoot the puck anytime they got it because the goalies would have trouble seeing it.

This was a game where the fog did have an important part. The Sabres had lost the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals in Philly. Down by two games and two goals in this game, the Sabres fought back hard. Danny Gare and Rick Martin scored for the Sabres within 17 seconds to tie it at 2. Gerry Desjardins was the temperamental Buffalo goalie. He seemed to be fighting the puck the first two Flyer goals. MacLeish put a shot on Desjardins from 40 feet away and it got past him for the third Flyer goal. During the intermission between the first and second periods, Desjardins asked to be relieved from his duties.

"After the second goal against me, I thought it was a grand time to get the hell out of there. I knew if I had stayed in, everything would have gone down the drain," Desjardins said after the game. "After all, we were only down by one goal. It was close at the end of the first period. Why waste it?"

In comes Roger Crozier, ill of health (bleeding ulcers and all) to tend the ship. Crozier was stellar in his mop-up role. He made three saves in a wild scramble in front of the net before Reggie Leach put in his own rebound to give the Flyers their fourth goal. Don Luce scored for the Sabres in the second period also, so going into the third period, the Flyers were up 4-3.

Rookie defenseman Bill Hajt pounded in a rebound of a Rick Martin shot past Bernie Parent to tie the game and send it into overtime. The fog settled on the ice for the extra session and the players settled down to what seemed to be a long night. The play had to be stopped seven times during the first overtime. But with around a minute left to play in the first overtime, Martin got the puck along the boards and passed it to Gilbert Perreault, who skated into the Flyer zone and then passed it to Rene Robert in the far corner.

"Rene yelled to me - Jill-bear - and I saw him going to the corner," Perreault said. "I was in the middle, about 5 feet over the red line. I passed to the boards in the corner."

Robert got in front of Flyer defenseman Jimmy Watson and he retrieved the pass right before the goal line.

"It's almost impossible to score from that angle," Robert related. "But I shot at the net, hoping somebody could get the rebound. It seemed to me he (Bernie Parent) wasn't ready for the shot. It went between his legs."

So there you have it! The Sabres win their most memorable game in their 29-year history in the strangest of conditions. The crowd went crazy.

"I didn't see Perreault's pass," Bernie said afterwards. "I saw Robert's shot too late for me to come out and stop it. I'm surprised the overtime took so long. It was hard to see the puck from the red line. If three men came down and one made a good pass from the red line, you couldn't see the puck. A good shot from the red line could have won it. But it was the same thing for Crozier."

Robert, who scored 40 goals during the regular season, had scored his third playoff overtime winner.

"There had been a lot of pressure on our line (French Connection)," Robert said. "People saw we scored so many goals during the season, what has happened to us now, that we're letting down, that we don't check. Philadelphia double shifts our line, you know, and they are a real good team, too. Getting a big goal like that makes you feel good. It has been tough for us."

The victory put the Sabres back into the series, being down 2-1. Fans who were at that game can remember sweating this one out, in more ways than one. It was a good way to lose weight in this huge sauna bath. And there was talk of giving players fog horns. Buffalo sports fans who have sit through snowstorms and driving rainstorms to see Joe Namath throw bloopers, had this new weather element to watch a hockey game. And they loved every second of it!

 

[seventieslord]

No one has yet mentioned the steve sullivan incident?

Sullivan was hit by a puck in the face somewhere. It was in Colorado. A fan right at ice level was yelling at him. Couldn't hear him but it must have been something to the effect of "Hey Sullivan, how did you like that? You got hit in the face!!!" all while pointing at his own face.

Later in the game, Sullivan was on the ice when a Patrick Roy clearing attempt went over the glass and hit that fan in the face. While this fan, now bleeding, was being attended to, Sullivan seized the opportunity to go ask the fan how he liked it. When the fan raised his head and saw a satisfied Sullivan skating away, the look on his face was priceless.

I'm sure it's on youtube, but I can't access that at work.

 

[EventHorizon]

No one has yet mentioned the steve sullivan incident?

Sullivan was hit by a puck in the face somewhere. It was in Colorado. A fan right at ice level was yelling at him. Couldn't hear him but it must have been something to the effect of "Hey Sullivan, how did you like that? You got hit in the face!!!" all while pointing at his own face.

Later in the game, Sullivan was on the ice when a Patrick Roy clearing attempt went over the glass and hit that fan in the face. While this fan, now bleeding, was being attended to, Sullivan seized the opportunity to go ask the fan how he liked it. When the fan raised his head and saw a satisfied Sullivan skating away, the look on his face was priceless.

I'm sure it's on youtube, but I can't access that at work.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

This certainly seemed bizarre when I saw it...

I was at a Canucks - Flyers game a few years back. At that time, the Flyers had one of the Sutter twins (Ron) and the Canucks the other (Rich).

Partway through the game the Flyers' Craig Berube cross-checked Rich Sutter face first into the boards. Rich's body bent at a sickening angle and he fell motionless to the ice. The entire arena went silent, and at that moment I noticed that Ron Sutter was also on the ice, and was beginning to skate towards Berube. Fortunately for everyone, at that moment Rich Sutter began to stir and start struggling to his knees. A collective sigh of relief was breathed, and Rich Sutter was helped off the ice (mostly under his own power) by the Canucks trainer.

I imagine Ron Sutter had a few things to say to his teammate after the game, but I shudder to think what would have happened if his twin brother had been seriously injured or permanently crippled right in front of him.

 

[kaiser matias]

Canucks and Flames, game 7 of the 2004 quarterfinals had a strange ending that I believe was affected by a fan.

The Flames were winning 2-1 with about 20 seconds left in the game. Ed Jovanovski takes a penalty at this point, all but ending the Canucks chances of tying the game up. Canucks have their goalie pulled, hoping for something. Faceoff near the centre of the ice, and Iginla hits the post, with the puck bouncing out. As this happens, someone throws what appears to be a jersey onto the ice, right in front of a fan.

While the Canucks skate up the ice with the puck, the closest ref picks up the debris. At this point, Iginla, who is at the Canucks blueline ready to check the Canuck bringing the puck up (can't tell who it was, possibly Cooke?) Morrison deliberately slashes Iginla's stick in two. Skating backwords, Iginla calls for a penalty to the ref, who was busy picking up the jersey, and trips on his broken stick, effectively keeping him out the play (he would get back up and clothslines Morrison (somewhat similar to Bertuzzi, which happend a few months before this, and still an understandable thing after what happened).

Anyways, Naslund takes the puck in from the Flames blueline, goes in on Kirprusoff and tries to score. The rebound comes out and Matt Cooke comes in and scores with 5.7 seconds left, sending the game to overtime (the Flames would score about 2 minutes into OT, which was a rather anti-climatic finish to such an exciting end).

The point of this is, had the fan not thrown something on the ice, the ref would have seen Morrison's slash and he probably calls that. The play stops there, and there is no Naslund rush onto Kiprusoff, no rebound for Cooke to score with seconds left (like he did the year before against Minnesota with 1.2 seconds left). There is no overtime, and the Canucks lose in regulation.

 

[kaiser matias]

Also should mention that Canuck fans have thrown some random things on the ice before, including a salmon and a bra (the latter after Jeff Cowan scored a goal, leading to the nickname "Bra-barian").

 

[ilovetheflyers8]

Patrick Roy decides to carry the puck over the red line against NYR. He does a spin-o-rama .

------------------
On the one and only home opener for the Philadelphia Blazers of the WHA the ice was bad because (for some reason which I don't understand) the floor of the Philadelphia Civic Center was made of pipes rather than concrete, and the pipes were simply covered in sand. So when the zamboni came out before the game to surface the ice it broke through the ice. The referee told the team they could either put planks of wood around the zamboni and play or they could cancel the game. They decided to cancel the game.

Derek Sanderson, former Boston Bruins defence man who was stolen away with the ridiculous contract of 2.6 million would have to tell the crowd that the game was canceled. Mayor of Philadelphia Frank Rizzo said to Sanderson, "here, Derek, take the mic. You learn in politics, when things go bad, you get out" then he left. So Sanderson was handed the mic and says "On behalf of my team I want to apologize..." and then people started to throw the orange pucks that were given out by the team in honor of the teams first game.

-summarized/paraphrased from Ed Willes book The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association
-------------------
Also I believe during the playoffs last year someone stick got stuck in the glass and a fan pulled it through the crack. I think the player was a Hab. Anyone have a video?

Found it. In the 08-09 playoffs Briuns Vs. Habs a scrum happens after Kessel scores an empty net goal. During the scrum I guess Kovalev's stick pokes through the glass and a fan takes it from him- you can see it at around 0:18 in the second video.

 

[Wet Sprocket]

I remember watching the Pittsburgh/ San Jose two years ago was delayed due to a leak in the zamboni. Prior to the start of the game, the zamboni started leaking this hot, burgundy colored liquid. It looked like the machine was bleeding. It took them about 20 minutes or so to get the stuff off the ice so they could play. That was pretty wierd.

Also I went to the Sharks home opener that same season, and the power went out during the warmups. Game was delayed for about a half hour and they eventually skipped the usually season opening ceremonies. Not only that but the brand new Jumbo Tron wasn't functioning, and neither was the sound, so a good portion of the game was played without a PA, music or even a scoreboard.

 

[DevsFan84]

Fast foward to 1:39

 

[Eisen]

OK, so it`s not hockey, but that was hilarious.

The game was delayed for half an hour, cause there was no extra goal ready
And probably the best piece of TV moderation I have seen in a while as well.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Another one is the Bruins-Devils' playoff game with the replacement refs:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1067330/index.htm

Someday, Paul McInnis, Jim Sullivan and Vin Godleski will be able to tell their grandchildren they worked an NHL playoff game. Isn't that special? Paul, Jim and Vin were the replacement officials for Game 4 of the Wales Conference finals Sunday night, though considering what their presence did for the league's image, they might as well have been named Larry, Curly and Moe.

"Just when you thought you've seen everything in this league...." said Rick Middleton, the Boston Bruins' 14-year veteran, after the New Jersey Devils had defeated the Bruins 3-1 to even the best-of-seven series at two games apiece. "It's a shame."

A shame—and worse. The league made a laughingstock of a sold-out playoff game on U.S. and Canadian television, with one team two wins from competing for the league's precious—but now undeniably devalued—Stanley Cup. In fact, slapstick is what Game 4 became the moment the amateur officials took the ice at New Jersey's Meadowlands Arena for their warmup laps at 8:45 p.m., an hour after the puck was to have been dropped. The three—all very nice men who usually work as off-ice officials for the league—were told they would be handling the game at about 8 p.m., 10 minutes after NHL referee Dave Newell had pulled his crew off the ice in what amounted to a wildcat strike. Newell, who happens to be the president of the NHL Officials Association (NHLOA), acted in response to Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld's appearance behind the bench after he had been suspended by the league for his confrontation with referee Don Koharski following the Devils' 6-1 loss in Game 3 on Friday night.

 

[reckoning]

One of my favourite stories from the Rebel League concerned a game between Minnesota and Edmonton when Mike Walton and Gord Gallant got into a fight on the ice. The strange part about it was that they were teammates.

 

[SealsFan]

Patrick Roy decides to carry the puck over the red line against NYR. He does a spin-o-rama
[game.

If I knew how to upload vids to Youtube, I've got the Feb. 1970 Seals at Leafs game where Gary Smith lugs the puck past center ice. Smitty was the reason that rule was instituted, although Ed Giacomin was also known to roam in that era as well.

 

[Gilles Meloche]

One of my favourite stories from the Rebel League concerned a game between Minnesota and Edmonton when Mike Walton and Gord Gallant got into a fight on the ice. The strange part about it was that they were teammates.

Any video of this??....would be hilarious to see

 

[iamjs]

link on this one is now dead, but I mentioned this in a past thread:
found the link: http://www.johnstowncafe.com/johnstownarchiveprogramchiefs19951996.pdf

Other nominees Included "The Joe DiMaggio Maxwell House Award" Given to ECHL Penalty Minute Record Holder Jason Clarke ol Roanoke for his $150 fine levied by Commissioner Kelly for throwing a coffeepot (full of coffee) at Charlotte defender Sylvain Blouin underneath The Roanoke Civic Center stands. Minutes later the two were ejected Irom the game. "Jennifer Beals Flashdance "Award" Given to Blouin who retaliated on Clarke and acquired a $150 fine of his own for chucking a lit welding blowtorch(!) at the Roanoke heavyweight.

one more:
Former Chiefs forward Brian Ferreria threw a puck into the press box at then-commissioner Pat Kelly. He and teammate Matt Glennon eventually left the ice and ran for the press box looking for the commish. If you're seen the pressbox in Johnstown or for those who watched Slap Shot and watched Strother Martin get bounced down the steps, you know there's only one way in and one way out.

 

[Big Phil]

I'll just tell you ones I was reading in the book "Lets Talk Hockey 50 Wonderful debates". For those that don't know it's the chapter that dissects fan/player brawls.

- Milbury shoe incident

- Tie Domi beating up obese Philly fan that fell into the penalty box

- Calgary fan streaker Tim Hurlbut falls from the glass naked and knocks himself out cold while he lies on his back (think about that picture)

- Steve Sullivan incident where he mocks a Colorado fan who got hit in the face with a puck just prior to the fan doing likewise for an injuy to Sullivan

 

[Mayor Bee]

Just read that one recently, it was part of what made me think of starting this thread when I saw the PIMs one up.

Not necessarily in game but after a game in but there was a story about how a player in the WHA was stuffed in an equipment bag and rode a good bit of the way out of town under the bus to avoid arrest. I'll have to dig through the book again to see who and where it happened but I want to say Birmingham was either the team or city.

I think it was Frank "Seldom" Beaton. He was with the Cincinnati Stingers and had a nice sports car with a top-loading fuel tank. He had a kid working at a gas station fill up the tank, and while pulling the nozzle out, some gas dripped onto the paint of the car. Beaton jumped out of the car and beat the hell out of the kid, then drove off without paying.

He was traded to Birmingham, and he told Gilles Leger that he couldn't play in Cincinnati because he had an outstanding warrant for assault and robbery. They smuggled him once in the equipment bags, but I think the cops caught him next time after he thought he was in the clear and then tried to hide in the equipment closet.

 

[member 51464]

I'll just tell you ones I was reading in the book "Lets Talk Hockey 50 Wonderful debates". For those that don't know it's the chapter that dissects fan/player brawls.

- Milbury shoe incident

- Tie Domi beating up obese Philly fan that fell into the penalty box

- Calgary fan streaker Tim Hurlbut falls from the glass naked and knocks himself out cold while he lies on his back (think about that picture)

- Steve Sullivan incident where he mocks a Colorado fan who got hit in the face with a puck just prior to the fan doing likewise for an injuy to Sullivan