It was the fans versus the referees in a tense and at times chaotic Western Hockey League (WHL) playoff game in Prince George Wednesday night.
Game 4 of the Prince George Cougars second-round series against the Penticton Vees saw the crowd turn on officials after the home team received multiple penalties that were viewed as unfair by those watching, cumulating in a fight in the stands, objects thrown onto the ice and repeated chants of “refs, you suck” erupting throughout the CN Centre.
At one point, officials doled out a two-minute penalty to the Cougars for fan behaviour as cans of beer and other drinks were thrown onto the ice.
“I didn’t know what the call was,” Cougars head coach Mark Lamb said during a postgame interview on local radio station the GOAT, which also broadcast the game. He said that in his multi-decade career in hockey, which included time playing in the NHL, he’d never seen a team receive a penalty for fan behaviour.
The Vees scored four power-play goals — three of them in game’s final five minutes — on their way to a 5-2 win.
Referees made multiple calls that drew the ire of spectators.
Among them was a five-minute penalty and game misconduct in the third period against Prince George defenceman Corbin Vaughan for checking to the head. Video replay indicated it was body-on-body.
After Cougars defenceman Arsenii Anisimov was given a delay of game penalty, drinks and other objects started to be thrown from the stands, despite repeated pleas from the in-house announcer to stop. The Cougars were then given a bench minor penalty.
“That was certainly one of the games of all time,” the Cougars said in a social media post following the game.
CBC News has reached out to WHL officials for comment.
The Vees win tied the best-of-seven series at 2-2.
