What a way to wrap up a minor-league hockey game
Who's in the mood for a good ol' line brawl?
The Portland Pirates and Adirondack Phantoms certainly were Sunday night. The American Hockey League affiliates of the Phoenix Coyotes and Philadelphia Flyers, respectively, stopped playing hockey and started throwing fists with 22 seconds remaining in an eventual 2-0 Pirates win.
The skirmish appeared to start when Phantoms captain Ben Holmstrom laid out Portland's Brendan Shinnimin near the side boards. Holmstrom and Pirates defenseman Connor Murphy immediately dropped the gloves and squared off, but the fight escalated from a 1-on-1 confrontation to a full-team melee when two more Adirondack players jumped in and began pounding on Murphy.
When Phantoms goalie Cal Heeter -- who had been called to the bench for an extra attacker -- returned to the ice and joined the fray, all hell broke loose, as illustrated by the novel-length box score.
Pirates goalie Louis Domingue was ejected 22 seconds short of a shutout, but he did finish with a most excellent stat line: 28 shots faced, 28 saves, 27 penalty minutes.
