Fight Breaks out in Stands at Hockey Game, Goalie and Ref Try to Help Father

Going into the stands to get involved in a fight is never a good idea for a player, but sometimes instincts kick in.

During a Dutch hockey league match between Eindhoven and Geleen, a fight broke out in the stands. Things got out of control pretty quickly and people were being thrown around. 

A fight in the stands would be newsworthy enough. However, there is an interesting twist to the brawl. One of the men involved happened to be the father of the Eindhoven goaltender and a referee. With their father in trouble, they did everything they could to get to him.

Eurohockey.com provided a translation of IJSHockey.com that shared the details of the incident:

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The final round robin match in the Larry van Wieren Cup had to be abandoned at the 45 minute mark after a brawl in the stands had broken out. According to IJSHockey the atmosphere inside the arena had been unpleasent [sic] for some time and a hit finally set things off. The father of ref Ramon Sterkens and Eindhoven back-up goalkeeper Michael Sterkens was hit that set both of them off, Ramon tried to get off the ice to help his father, while Michael climbed up onto the glass. The NIJB gave the victory to Eindhoven who was leading 5:1 at the time. Both Eindhoven and Geleen will see each other in the Finals next weekend.

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It was an ugly incident that put both the goalie and the referee in a difficult spot. 

[YouTube, h/t Sports Illustrated]