It seems like scuffles can happen just as easily off the ice as on the ice. Brandon Astle, an Abbotsford Canucks broadcaster, was allegedly struck by a chair from an angry fan during the AHL playoffs.
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Disruptive Hockey Fan Allegedly Attacks AHL Playoffs Broadcaster With Chair
According to the New York Post, the attack occured during the Canucks’ Pacific Division Game 5 win against the Colorado Eagles at Blue Arena in Loveland, Colorado. While broadcasting, a fan threw a chair at Astle during the Monday game’s first period.
Video footage of the live incident was shared on social media by B/R Open Ice. Seconds into the video, you can hear an audible thud when the chair hits him. This was with 1:14 left in the first period.
“Got some yahoo chirping at me from behind,” said Astle. “Get out of here. What was he doing? Security! Try that again.”
The video cut to a later clip with 57 seconds left in the first period, where Astle revealed what had happened. “I’m fired up. He threw my chair at me. Hit me right in the back of the leg,” he explained. “What was he doing here? Unreal. Have another beer.”
Later on social media, Astle made a statement concerning the attack. “I could have handled this better,” the broadcaster admitted. “But was in shock & fired up as you can tell, as that has never happened to me before…”
Astle revealed that the disruptive fan was kicked out of the arena. He also reflected that one “yahoo” doesn’t reflect the rest of the Eagles fans or organization.
Hockey Organizations Decline To Comment On Chair-Throwing Fan Incident
Interestingly, some netizens were unsure whether they believed Astle’s story. According to The Province, another X account blasted Astle, claiming he was the fan and his account was untrue.
Although reports back up Astle’s claims, the outlet pointed out some lack of comments. Craig MacEwen, the Canucks’ director of communications, declined to comment on the incident. “We don’t have any comment,” he said. “Feel the incident has been dealt with and is over.”
On top of that, the Eagles’ vice-president of communications, Kevin McGlue, declined a conversation. “We have had discussions with Brandon over the past 24 hours, and the two teams are not going to be providing any further comment on the matter,” he said.
Even if the silence on the altercation is strange, we can assume they want to move past the situation. The arena allegedly dealt with the fan, and there’s nothing more to it than that.