The Sweetest Place on Earth turned sour on Tuesday night when minor league hockey fans began throwing debris onto the ice after they didn’t believe a game-winning goal had been actually scored in a rivalry playoff matchup.
Hershey Bears fans “refused to leave” Giant Center in Hershey, Pa., after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins winger Rutger McGroarty scored the deciding goal 5:03 into overtime to give his side a 4-3 win and a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-five Atlantic Division semifinal.
The issue?
Some Bears fans didn’t believe the puck had gone in the net and became irate after the officials left the ice without reviewing the goal. They then began chucking trash onto the ice.
Video posted to social media showed beer cans being flung onto the playing surface after both teams left the ice, with AHL reporter Tony Androckitis describing it as a “wild scene.”
CBS21 assistant news director Tyler Jeski wrote on X that Bears fans were “bewildered at how the OT game against Wilkes-Barre ended with a shot that didn’t appear to go into the net.”
In another video, fans could be heard chanting, “Refs, you suck!” One supporter also violently banged on the glass behind one of the goals.
“Totally unacceptable throwing things on the ice. I saw a group of Bears fans hit with objects sitting in the 1st row. Terrible behavior,” former TV sports anchor Andrew Kalista wrote on X.
But the replay showed that the puck did go in, despite the confusion from fans.
An overhead shot of the goal clearly showed the puck hitting the back bar of the net and deflecting out.
The loss puts the Bears on the brink of elimination amid a battle against a rival.
Not only do both teams call Pennsylvania home, but the Bears and Penguins are also the farm teams of the NHL’s Capitals and Penguins, respectively.
