NEW YORK – Toronto Maple Leafs forward Tie Domi was fined the
maximum $1,000 by the NHL on Friday for squirting water at fans
from the penalty box.
|  | | Tie Domi shows he thinks certain Philly fans deserve to be all wet. |
Domi wasn't suspended for wrestling with a spectator who tumbled
into the penalty box during the Maple Leafs' 2-1 victory over the
Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.
After Domi was penalized early in the third period, he responded
to fans' taunts by spraying water on a few who were sitting in the
front row. Chris Falcone, a 36-year-old concrete worker from
Havertown, Pa., lunged toward Domi and landed on the glass
partition separating fans from the box. The glass gave way, and
Falcone and Domi wrestled before linesman Kevin Collins stepped in.
Domi, who claimed things – including beer – were thrown at him
in the box, bloodied the fan with a series of punches while
Collins and fellow linesman Jean Morin tried separating the two.
"That's my work. Nobody is going to come into my work," said
Domi, who is among the league leaders with 206 penalty minutes.
"If he wants to come in here, he's going to have to pay the
price.
"He leaned over and went through the glass. When he got in
there, he started swinging. I'm not going to let anybody swing
at me. I don't care who it is."
The NHL's collective bargaining agreement does not allow for
fines higher than $1,000.
"While squirting water may seem relatively harmless, last night's game shows that it can cause a chain of unanticipated and unfortunate events." said NHL chief of hockey operations Colin Campbell. "All club personnel have been reminded that any physical contact with fans during a game is unacceptable and will result in suspension – and that from now on, even the squirting or throwing of water will be punished."
Paul Ranheim understands exactly how Domi felt, and has considered dousing a taunting fan or two during his own career.
"There's been times I wanted to do the same thing – squirt
water – and I just kind of catch myself and say it's not worth it,
because look what happens," the Philadelphia Flyers' forward said
Friday.
Most Flyers' players said the scrap, while out of the ordinary,
didn't amount to much, especially because no one was injured. Dan
McGillis called it "comical."
"Maybe he was a little too close, but he was getting sprayed
with water. It's just funny the glass broke. It's more funny than
anything," Andy Delmore said.
Ranheim said he tries to avoid similar situations.
"I think a player has to understand that you've got to take
some of that verbal abuse," he said. "You can't be squirting
water on fans like that. That's just enticing more things."
Officials from the arena said they were investigating the fight.
An arena security guard tried to hold Falcone back as he fell into
the box.
A police detective said Friday night there was no record of any
serious charge against Falcone, but it was possible that he had
been cited for a summary violation, which is roughly equivalent to
a traffic ticket. She said she would not have a record if he was
only cited for a summary offense.
Domi, who leads the Maple Leafs in penalty minutes with 206,
went after Falcone. Domi successfully pulled the fan's sweatshirt
over his head and landed several punches, but put his hands up when
he was separated from Falcone.
"Hey that's old time hockey, it was perfect," Domi said,
laughing, after the game. "Hey, he comes into my territory, that's
what happens."
NHL spokesman Frank Brown said the league was "looking into all
aspects of the incident."
Falcone told WCAU-TV on Friday: "I'm not going to sit there,
pay good money to watch a game and be soaking wet and nothing's
done, nothing's done. If I did that I'd be thrown out."
Falcone could not be reached for comment Friday. The telephone
at his business went unanswered.
"It was unfortunate, but you see it in other sports, too,"
Ranheim said. "You see basketball players get taunted, you see
football players. It's just how you react to it that determines if
it goes any further.
"If it's going to happen anywhere, it's probably to going to
happen in Philadelphia."
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