NCAA Hockey Brawl by Women Sets Record: 287 Penalty Minutes for Melee on Ice (VIDEO)
A NCAA hockey brawl between Ohio State and Bemidji State's women's teams set a record for the most penalty minutes and the most disqualifications ever in a college game. The women's teams fought viciously as soon as the game ended Friday, clearing the benches for an all-out melee on the ice.
The NCAA hockey brawl was the result of some "chippy-ness" throughout the game by the Bemidji Beavers, according to the Ohio Buckeyes coach Nate Handrahan. Once they started celebrating their 3-2 victory on the Buckeyes' home turf, things went sour.
"All I know is there were players taking liberty with our players," Handrahan told reporters at a press conference after the game. "I've got to believe that our players … we're not happy with teams celebrating on our ice surface and going off the ice yipping and hooting and hollering."
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The fight lasted a little under a minute, but resulted in 18 disqualifications- nine per team- and 287 penalty minutes handed out by referees. The penalties set a NCAA record for a college hockey game for men and women, Division I or Division III, according to Deadspin. The previous record was made during a game between Boston University and Maine Jan. 24, 2004; they racked up 268 penalty minutes.
The disqualifications were so severe that both the Beavers and Buckeyes could only dress six forwards and four defenseman for their Saturday night rematch. After overtime, the game resulted in a shootout, which the Beavers won.
Despite the infamous record- the last women's teams to rack up so many penalty minutes was Minnesota vs. Minnesota-Duluth Dec. 14. 2003, and they only managed 83- coach Handrahan seemed unperturbed.
"What happened at the end of the game doesn't happen often in women's hockey," he said. "But I can tell you this: we're happy to at least see our girls show some fight and some spirit."
