Clary Anderson skating arena was packed tight last night at the sold-out annual hockey meet between arch rivals Montclair High Mounties and Montclair Kimberly Academy Cougars. Outside the arena, $5 tickets were being scalped for up to $20 before the 7pm gametime. The exciting match led to a victory for the Mounties, 4-0. An eyewitness describes what happened next.
Montclair students were crazy happy after their win. Kids were spilling out over the ice and pulling down the hockey nets. Outside, under the train bridge on Chestnut Street, a crowd had gathered. There were two groups of about ten kids each – they looked older – maybe MHS grads or upper classmen. The two groups were screaming at each other, yelling in each others’ faces. Then a black kid punched a white kid in the side of the head, and the rest of them jumped into the fight and went to blows with each other.
The tipster said he didn’t notice and bottles or weapons, but a huge fight erupted.
“It seems like the cops arrived in about 45 seconds and broke up the fight. A parent driving by got out of his car and told everyone to break it up and go home.”
The manager on duty at Clary Anderson told Baristanet he didn’t know anything about a fight outside on Chestnut Street, but said there were only minor problems during the game: “A few kids were acting up, some arrived drunk, others were caught sneaking in alcohol-filled water bottles. Our staff and security guards on duty kicked about 10 kids out of the arena. The police came, parents were called and the teens were taken home. The problem was taken care of.”
Deja vu? We’ll update with more information when we hear back from MPD.
A Black kid at a Hockey game?
Good to see that Obama glow is making all things possible!
(…. save for the racial angle of this, it’s a rather uplifting development…)
“I was watching the fights the other night, and a hockey game broke out.”
–Pierre “Henny” Jeunehomme
I saw some kids stashing what I assumed to be alcohol under the snow at the base of a tree near the arena.
Ahhh…reminded me of my own misspent youth.
I still find it difficult to believe that professional hockey condones fighting.
If I were grand commissioner of global hockey concerns, I’d suspend players for 5 games for the first infraction and for the duration of the season for the second. A third infraction would result in a ban for life.
What…is the Obama honeymoon over? I thought the country was going to change with the new era of compassion and hope. Oh, well, same old same old.
Then a black kid punched a white kid…
Was that detail really relevant to the story? Was it that racial epithets were shouted by either kid and that led to the punch?
As written, the “color” of the fighters is completely irrelevant to the story (unless they were wearing rival school colors, which again the story doesn’t say).
A parent driving by got out of his car and told everyone to break it up and go home
That is hilarious. He is lucky he didn’t get dragged into the brawl and pummeled.
MB,
If they took away the fights, the NHL’s ratings would be even lower than they already are.
Ms. Noonan might have said it best in her column.
Peggy Noonan WSJ 1/30/09
Nine days after inauguration, the new president achieves a major Congressional victory, House passage of an economic stimulus bill by a vote of 244-188. It wasn’t even close. This is major.
But do you know anyone, Democrat or Republican, dancing in the street over this? You don’t. Because most everyone knows it isn’t a good bill, and knows that its failure to receive a single Republican vote, not one, suggests the old battle lines are hardening. Back to the Crips versus the Bloods. Not very inspiring…
My son has gone to this game for each of the past four years. He has never seen anything really happen there.These posts every year about all the “problems” there do the students of both schools,the vast majority of which are well behaved (although enthusiastic fans here) a real disservice.
oh please – this has been going on for as long as I can remember MKA vs. MHS hockey game. It always makes for a cluster f@ck.
“I still find it difficult to believe that professional hockey condones fighting.”
You see less of it in the playoffs because they are elimination series and injuries, penalities, and suspensions can seriously hurt a team’s chances. But during the regular season, hockey is played as a game of intimidation: get in their faces, swing a little hip, be pushy, shove-y, and not very nice — kind of like the local megamommies in their SUVs on the way to ballet practice, soccer games, or — youth hockey. When you get intimidated enough, you have two choices: turn yet another cheek or slap the shit out of the bastard that’s been bugging you all shift. Naturally, that action engenders retaliation, and the fight is on.
never mind the outrage..who won the fight mhs or mka? and how long did it take the pd to show up?
mhs 4-0 mka
oucchhh
I saw some school employees kicking the crowd of people who left the arena out of he park. can they do that in a public park? and if that can be done, by school employees?
I was one car ahead when the cops arrived and it was a swarm the likes I’ve never seen. Maybe 75 or so, like animals—extremely frightening!
Whats the problem?? New Management UNABLE to handle a simple game between two Montclair teams???
Last year’s game went off without a hitch. The game was televised last year with Comcast and it was a huge success.
The new management is constantly throwing high school students out of games for just cheering on their teams. I don’t believe this new management team has any expertise in high school hockey.
They also seem to have a problem running public skating sessions. The short fat little manager is constantly on the ice yelling and screaming at the skaters.
Glen Ride Verona boys ice hockey just completed the most successful season since the combined team was created, advancing to the state Public School Group B Semifinals. Yet not a word of it on this website. What’s up with that?
Sports coverage is not a high priority for the head Barista, demon. Regrettably so, but that’s about it. (Now, if it’d been about kids doing drama or comedy, that’d be a much different story….)
Sincere congrats, nonetheless, to the team. ANd thus, I’m guessing, to your own son.