NYPD And FDNY Hockey Teams Get In Heated Brawls At Annual Charity Game

You’d be forgiven if you mistook the annual hockey game between the New York Police and Fire Departments (NYPD and FDNY, respectively) for a boxing match.

For the 52nd time, these two groups of New York City’s finest put on skates in a charity event. On Sunday, the teams played at the UBS Arena, the home stadium of the New York Islanders.

And it didn’t take long for things to get wilder than a midnight bar fight.

Soon after the puck dropped, all five non-goalie skaters on the ice were locked in a duel with an opponent and swinging thunderous haymakers. The refs had all they could do to make sure they didn’t injure each other.

Fights like this happen nearly every year, and the intensity is not that surprising given how much the athletes care about this game. Newly anointed NYPD captain and defenseman George Antzoulis said the servicemen go to crazy lengths to get themselves ready for this event.

"Guys are missing work, missing overtime, missing things with their family, switching their tours around," Antzoulis said. "Guys are staying at work for three days straight, going from hockey back to work, sleeping in the office, sleeping in chairs, sleeping in their cars in the parking lot."

Eventually, the NYPD won for the first time in nearly a decade by a score of 3-2. But what would a game between these two teams be without at least one more fight?

This game never fails to deliver.