Hockey Players Fight With Fans

The coach and two players of a minor league hockey team were suspended Sunday as the result of a 20-minute brawl between players and fans during a game Saturday night at the Seattle Coliseum.

The stick-swinging free-for-all erupted during the third period of the Seattle Thunderbirds’ 9-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans in the opener of a best-of-nine, first-round Western Hockey League series before 12,075.

Brian Shaw, president of the league’s board of directors, said Americans Coach Rick Kozuback and Tri-Cities players Terry Virtue and Jeff Fancy were suspended indefinitely after officials reviewed the incident. Seattle took a 2-0 lead in the series with a 6-2 victory on Sunday night.

The ruckus came shortly after a fight on the ice between Darcy Simon of the Thunderbirds and Greg Spenrath of the Americans. A dozen police officers struggled to restore order as fans and players swung wildly at each other with hockey sticks. Five fans were ejected and four others were arrested. Police officer Gary Arnold’s mouth was cut during the brawl.