A brawl between Arizona Coyotes and Boston Bruins supporters ended with one fan getting his finger bitten off.
The incident occurred on Friday during the Coyotes-Bruins game at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona. A video of the incident shows the brawl going on for around 40 seconds before police intervened.
Insane crowd fight at the Coyotes-Bruins game last night. Excellent work from the cop in the foreground! pic.twitter.com/BQhFXtHG9g
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) December 10, 2022
The fan who lost his finger was Stephen Rocha and was immediately transported to the hospital, police said.
Meanwhile, the fan who bit off Rocha’s digit was arrested for aggravated assault. Five others were also given citations for their respective roles in the tussle. A police officer was injured while trying to break up the fight.
“According to the police report, the individual arrested for aggravated assault bit the tip of another individual’s finger completely off during the brawl,” Arizona State University Police said. “For clarification, the victim of the assault was involved in the fight. Also, none of the individuals involved have any affiliation with the university.”
The video received wild responses on Twitter, with many wondering the frequency of such fights at a hockey game while also taking a jab at the teams.
“I have never seen a fight at a hockey game in the stands, either live, or on television, in the past. But now it is not uncommon over social media. Have these fights always been taking place? Or is this a new phenomenon? Exception being when players and fans have gotten into it,” one user tweeted.
“Just some curiosity? Why would there be a brawl in the stands between the Coyotes & Bruins? The worst team & the best team. A passionate fan base & a fledgling fan base. Iconic franchise and misplaced franchise? Why? Come on people … do better,” another one wrote.
Coyotes CEO Xavier Gutierrez confirmed to reporters that the fan lost a finger during the NHL Board of Governors meetings in Florida on Monday.
The Coyotes are playing this season at Arizona State’s 5,000-seat hockey arena for at least the following three seasons after their lease at their Glendale facility expired and the city decided not to renew it. The team won the game 4-3.
