The Dallas Stars have issued an apology after fans upset following an on-ice scuffle on Tuesday night threw trash onto the ice and forced referees to end the second period 22 seconds early.
The Stars’ 4-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights was a disaster in just about every aspect. Captain Jamie Benn was ejected for an undisciplined penalty less than two minutes into the game. They lost another forward to injury and ended up pulling their starting goalie.
However, the worst part came late in the second period when Dallas’ Max Domi mixed things up with the Knights’ Nicolas Hague. The scuffle led to a 10-minute game misconduct and two minor penalties for Domi and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for Hague.
Then fans threw trash onto the ice, even hitting Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill in the head with popcorn as the players came back onto the ice.
“I have never seen that much on the ice though, that’s for sure,” Hill told reporters.
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Officials decided to end the period early to get the ice cleaned up — and add 22 seconds to the third period.
The Stars issued an apology “for the actions of a few of our spectators” from team president and CEO Brad Alberts on Wednesday morning.
“Their actions were unacceptable and put the safety of the players and fans at risk,” Alberts said. “The actions of these individuals certainly do not reflect our great city, organization and fan base.”
The Stars, now trailing 3-0 in the Western Conference final, will look to avoid elimination when they host the Golden Knights in Game 4 on Thursday night.
“We don’t love it. We have amazing fans here, and that’s out of character for them,” Stars center Tyler Seguin told reporters after the game. “Hopefully they don’t do that again, but we put them inthat position. They’re emotional, too, just like us.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stars call trash-throwing fans’ actions in NHL playoffs ‘unacceptable’
