Thu, Jan 23, 2020• 03:00• Squatch Men: Lifestyle

Best Ice Hockey Fan Moments | Throwing Fish, Fists & More

In honor of the season of ice hockey and the upcoming NHL All-Star Game, here’s our list of the best and funniest fan moments in ice hockey history.

January doesn’t have a lot going for it – the holidays are over and half the country is frozen under a solid sheet of ice. But there’s one thing going on this month that gets us excited enough to crawl out of hibernation for a few hours – and that’s ice hockey.

So, in honor of the ice hockey season and the upcoming NHL All-Star Game on January 26th, we’re recognizing the true All-Stars of hockey – not the players, but the fans. Yes, we’re talking about you, shirtless guy who insists on pushing his painted beer belly against the glass and yelling “You the man, Jack Eichel!” Here are our Squatch Picks for the best and funniest ice hockey fan moments and traditions- including the strangest things that have been thrown on the ice, the craziest fights and, everyone’s favorite, the best moments of indecent exposure.

We all know that hockey can be a game of playing dirty, but at Dr. Squatch we’re all about keeping your shower game clean all season with natural soaps that leave you feeling like an NHL All-Star and conditioner that gives your hair that glorious pro hockey player flow.

Karma is a Puck to the Face

A word of caution to any fan who thinks they can heckle a player without consequence – The hockey gods are always watching.

During a 2001 Colorado Avalanche vs Blackhawks game, player Steve Sullivan of the Blackhawks was heckled by a fan after he took a stick to the face.

The heckling fan was then hit in the face by a stray hockey puck (see at 0:57 sec in video), proving that karma is real. To make it even better, take a look at the woman caught laughing at him on camera. Oof, that’s double the sting.

Hockey Fan Tradition: Throwing Strange Things on the Ice

For some reason, NHL fans have a strange tradition of throwing different types of fish and sea creatures on the ice. There have been several instances of San Jose Sharks fans tossing real sharks – dead, of course – onto the ice. Maybe even more strange are Red Wings fans, who have been throwing dead octopuses on the ice since the 1950s.

The Nashville Predators took a cue from the Red Wings in the late 1990s and have been chucking dead catfish on the ice at games ever since. One Predators fan even spent $147 to mail a dead catfish to the NHL offices in protest over a play.

Now you may be wondering, why do hockey fans throw fish on the ice?

Well, that’s a great question and I wish I had the answer for you. At least they’re dedicated!

It might be a good idea to double up on your favorite cologne when you go to your next hockey game, just incase you need to mask the smell of any fish being thrown.

And speaking of things that don’t belong on the ice…

Hockey Fans on the Ice

Refs have a hard enough job keeping track of the 12 players on the ice – so imagine how annoying it must be for them when a random (likely drunk) fan decides that they want to get in the game. But once they’re on the ice, they never know what to actually do with themselves.

Take the guy in this video as an example – he found himself on the ice at a 2014 Toronto Maple Leafs vs Tampa Bay Lightning game. Guess how he used his 30 seconds of fame?

By waving his hat around and, to the delight of the crowd, sliding around on his rear end. Unsurprisingly, his big moment came to an end with security escorting him off the rink.

Here’s an idea to add to the NHL rule book: players are allowed to check trespassing fans. That would teach ’em a lesson.

But what if it’s the other way around and the players trespass in the stands?

"They're All in the Stands!"

Everyone knows that the best part of ice hockey is when a fight breaks loose on the ice. But what about when players and fans fight? This will give you an idea of what could happen if the NHL takes our rule book suggestion…

Testosterone ran high at a 1979 Boston Bruins vs NY Rangers game. A fight between players escalated into total chaos, spilling over into the stands and several fans couldn’t help but get involved. One of the sportscasters could be heard saying “They’re all in the stands!” as a Bruins player pummeled a fan with his own shoe.

Getting beat up by a professional hockey player is rough, but getting slapped around with a penny loafer on national TV is a whole other level of humiliation.

This infamous brawl isn’t the only time that players got into it with the fans. This next one is the ultimate (hilarious) lesson to hockey fans everywhere.

Pour a Drink on a Player's Head & Get Punched in the Head

It’s never a good idea to pour a drink on someones head, but it’s especially dumb to do it to piss off a professional athlete (or a whole team of them). One knuckle-headed Oilers fan learned this the heard way when he dumped his drink on the head of the Calgary Flames assistant coach.

Spoiler alert – it didn’t end well.

Sasha Lakovic and practically half of the Flames team climbed over the glass and worked out their frustrations on the fan’s face. The fan was booed by the entire stadium as he was escorted out by the police. Not his best day, but hopefully he has a good soap to wash away the shame.

Indecent Exposure

There’s no denying that hockey fans are passionate and they have some very unique ways of showing it – publicly.

After the Washington Capitals won the 2018 Stanley Cup, everyone watching the game- in person and on TV- got an eyeful of one very enthusiastic fan. As Caps captain Alex Ovechkin took the trophy for a lap around the ice, the camera panned by a woman with her bare chest pressed against the glass. Nothing screams team pride like indecent exposure!