Pittsburgh Penguins fans found something to cheer about in Monday's 5-2 loss to the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning: the ejection of an elderly fan.
That man, who has not been publicly identified, is accused of stealing a puck from a young spectator sitting behind the glass at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
What's more, he nearly came to blows with the younger fan's mother, who drew back her arm to throw a punch before stopping before reaching the man's chin.
Still, the gray-haired fan wearing a replica Lowell MacDonald jersey received a round of applause when he made his unceremonious exit during the second half on Monday.
The incident unfolded with the game tied 1-1 when a puck became caught in the net hanging over one end of the ice.
'Turns out a puck went into the net and a kid about 3 or 4 rows back went and shook the glass. And when it hit the ground, an older gentleman reached down and grabbed the puck,” Penguins president of business operations Kevin Acklin told the local CBS affiliate.
Pittsburgh Penguins fans found something to cheer about in Monday's 5-2 loss to the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning: the ejection of an elderly fan (right)
The boy's mother ended up hitting the man, but in the end he stopped short.
It was that man who became the focus of attention of other Penguins fans, many of whom began booing him.
Severe; Others began recording the aftermath of the incident on their phones, images that soon went viral.
But according to Acklin, the man's motives were not as questionable as they seemed.
“They started booing this older fan who rightfully gave the puck to his granddaughter, who was a teenage granddaughter,” Acklin said.
In the end, the wife or girlfriend of a yet-to-be-identified player was escorted to the section by staff and personally handed another puck to the young fan. In addition, he also gave his mother a hug.
But the incident was not over yet. The gray-haired man in the replica MacDonald jersey chose this moment to resurface, resulting in hand-to-hand arguments with the other fan's mother and an additional spectator sitting nearby.
“It was a great moment, they hugged each other,” Acklin said. 'And as the wife or girlfriend was leaving, the grandfather stood up and started arguing with the fans around him.
“At that point, it got out of control and there was some hand gestures, and the older gentleman was escorted out of the building,” Acklin continued. 'It's unfortunate, there is a lot of passion. I think the worst thing was that during that whole iteration, Tampa scored on us, right in front of us and it was a little rowdy.
Ultimately, the man headed for the exit while chasing a Penguins staff member who had already left the area.
“I just want to warn everyone that there are always two sides to the story, and I give credit to our staff, we reached out to both families and they both felt they were right,” Acklin said.